Trisha Yearwood's Southern Comfort Recipes

Apr. 8, 2008— -- Country music legend Trisha Yearwood shows off her hidden talents with her first-ever cookbook: "Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen."

Her recipes offer a contemporary twist on simple homemade Southern fare, inspired by her childhood in rural Georgia.

Yearwood wrote the book along with her mother, Gwen, and her sister, Beth, paying homage to her family's favorite dishes made from easy-to-find ingredients, such as chicken with dumplings, breakfast sausage casserole, cranberry jelled salad, and easy peach cobbler.

She joined "Good Morning America" today and shared her recipes for Ribbon Meatloaf, Biscuits, German Chocolate Cake and His and Her Deviled Eggs. All of these recipes can be found below and are courtesy of Trisha Yearwood's new book, "Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen."

Ribbon Meatloaf

*Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef

1 tablespoon minced onion

1 ½ teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon pepper

1/3 cup self-rising flour (see note)

2 cups canned tomatoes, drained and juices reserved

1 ¾ cups frozen peas, thawed

1 recipe biscuit dough

Directions:

Combine the beef, onion, salt, and pepper in a large skillet and cook over medium heat until the meat is browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the flour and 1/3 cup of the reserved tomato liquid. Remove 1 cup of this meat mixture and set aside. Add the tomatoes, crushing them with your hands as you add them, and the peas to the skillet. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

On a well-floured surface, roll the biscuit dough into a large rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Spread the reserved cup of meat mixture thinly over the dough, then roll the dough like a jelly roll, beginning from one long edge. Place the roll on a greased baking sheet. Using kitchen shears or a very sharp knife, cut 1-inch slices almost through to the bottom of the roll. To expose some of the filling, pull alternate slices to the left and right. Bake for 15 minutes, or until browned.

Reheat the beef and vegetable mixture. Slice the baked loaf and spoon some of the hot vegetable and meat mixture over each slice.

Daddy's Biscuits

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons vegetable shortening

2 cups self-rising flour

¾ cup buttermilk, well shaken

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Using a pastry blender or two table knives, cut the shortening into the flour until it resembles coarse meal. Use a fork to stir in the buttermilk to make a soft dough, or until the dough comes together and leaves the sides of the bowl. Continue stirring with the fork until all the flour is worked into the dough, then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead 3 or 4 times until smooth and manageable.

With your hands or a floured rolling pin, flatten the dough to a thickness of ½ inch. Cut the dough with a 2 ½-inch floured biscuit cutter. Place the rounds on the baking sheet 1 inch apart for crisp biscuits or almost touching for softer biscuits. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

His 'n' Hers Deviled Eggs

Ingredients:

12 large eggs

His Filling

¼ cup mayonnaise

2 teaspoons yellow mustard

1 tablespoon butter, softened

Salt and pepper to taste

Her Filling

¼ cup mayonnaise

1 ½ tablespoons sweet pickle relish

1 teaspoon yellow mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

Paprika for garnish

Directions:

Place the eggs in a medium saucepan with water to cover and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover the pan, and let stand for 20 minutes. Pour off the hot water and refill the saucepan with cold water. Crack the eggsshells all over and let them sit in the cold water for 5 minutes. Peel the eggs, cover, and chill for at least 1 hour.

Halve the eggs lengthwise. Carefully remove the yolks and transfer them to a small bowl. Mash the yolks with a fork, then stir in the filling ingredients of your choice. Season with salt and pepper. Scoop a spoonful of the mixture into each egg white half. Sprinkle the tops with paprika.

German Chocolate Cake with Coconut Frosting

Ingredients:

4 ounces sweet dark chocolate

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature

¼ cup warm milk

2 ½ cups sifted cake flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

5 medium egg whites

2 cups sugar

5 medium egg yolks, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup buttermilk, well shaken

Coconut Frosting1 cup sugar

4 medium egg yolks

1 cup evaporated milk

½2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

10 ounces fresh or frozen and thawed grated coconut

1 ½ cups finely ground pecans, walnuts, or almonds

Directions:

Prepare the chocolate by melting it in the top of a double boiler, stirring until it is smooth. Add ¼ cup (½ stick) of the butter and stir until it is melted and blended. Add ¼ cup of warm milk and stir until smooth. Set the chocolate aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Line the bottoms only of 3 9-inch cake pans with circles of parchment paper, or grease each pan bottom only with solid shortening and dust lightly with flour. Sift together the sifted and measured flour, baking soda, and salt.

Whip the egg whites until stiff using the wire beater of the mixer. Transfer the beaten whites to a separate bowl and set aside.

In the mixer bowl, cream the remaining 1 ½ sticks of butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the melted, cooled chocolate and the vanilla. Mix well.

With the mixer on very low, stir in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Do this by adding about a third of the flour and slowly stirring it in completely. Then add about half the buttermilk and stir it in. Continue adding flour and buttermilk in this manner, ending with flour. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and stir again. With a long-handled spoon or spatula, fold and stir the beaten egg whites into the batter until the batter is smooth with no visible clumps of whites.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Bake on the middle rack of the oven, allowing at least 1/4-inch clearance between the pans and the oven walls. The cake will rise above the pan edges as it bakes but will not spill over and will settle back down as it continues to bake. The cake is done when it begins to pull away from the sides of the pans and springs back to a light touch. Cool layers in the pans for about 8 minutes.

Run a knife around the edges of each pan and turn the layers out onto wire racks that have been sprayed with cooking spray. Cool layers completely before frosting.

To make the frosting, combine the sugar, egg yolks, and evaporated milk in the top of a double boiler. Stir with a wire whisk until the yolks are fully incorporated. Add the butter. Place over simmering water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 12 to 15 minutes longer, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. Add the vanilla, coconut, and nuts. Cool.

To assemble the cake, place one layer on a cake stand and spread with frosting. Frost each layer completely, top and sides, as it is added to the cake.