Inez Murphree

Inez Murphree of Pittsboro always cooks black-eyed peas and cornbread on New Year’s for supper with as many of the family coming as can, and fireworks following. Mrs. Inez, now 80, was making chocolate pudding, cake or pie by age 8 or 9, which the whole family likes now, and when a baby is born in the Murphree family, they joke about seeing how much “Murphree” is in him by trying when he is old enough to see how much he likes biscuits sopped in chocolate gravy.

She’s not the dessert maker that she used to be, saying that her daughters make most of them now–Lola, red velvet cake; Barbara, strawberry cake, and Betty, fresh apple cake.
She has made many a banana or coconut cake with seven minute frosting, and a holiday tradition she and daughter, Barbara, make is orange slice candy cake, which is better made about three days ahead.

The butter roll recipe was handed down from her grandmother, Annie Washington Cooper. She describes it as a special favorite dessert that she serves often. The Washington Cake is passed down from her mother’s family.

Molasses cake is one her mother made often, and during WWII when sugar was rationed, it was about the only cake most women could afford to bake for their family.
She doesn’t remember why, but her mother could buy brown sugar then. Inez says it is an old favorite of southern Mississippi farmer’s wives–very good served warm with slices of butter and a cold glass of milk.

She says children enjoyed this cake anytime they could sneak into their mother’s kitchen and find it fresh from the oven, but were often forbidden to touch it until mealtime.

Her mother and older married sisters also made a molasses pie often using three whole eggs, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 cup molasses, 1/2 cup buttermilk, 2 Tbsp. butter, 2 Tbsp. corn starch all mixed together and poured into an unbaked pie shell and baked at 325° an hour.

The Murphree family has an annual reunion held every third year in Mississippi. One year granddaughter, Dawn Mathis Jeter, put together “The Inez Murphree  Family Cookbook” and sold it to help pay for reunion expenses that year.

Most of Mrs. Inez’s recipes are handed down from family members, and those are included in the book. Her most requested dishes for the reunion are butter roll, chicken and dumplings, and chicken and dressing. One of her sisters, who is now 90, used to make 100 fried fruit pies for the event, which is held every July.

Besides the reunion favorites, her children, grands and great grands enjoy her English Pea Salad, green beans and Southern fried chicken.

She makes a lot of squash and tomato relish for her children to give to friends for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

The squash relish is good on hot dogs, hamburgers or used as a dip on chips. It is good eaten with any meat or vegetable, she said.

Molasses Cake
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup molasses
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup sweet milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups self-rising flour
Vanilla or ginger
Cream shortening, sugar and eggs. Add molasses, milk, mix well. Beat in the flour slowly, mix completely. Stir in flavoring. Have tube pan or any cake pan (square or round) or deep iron skillet greased and completely floured. Bake in 350° oven for about 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in center.

Orange Slice Candy Cake
2 cups chopped pecans
1 lb. bag orange slice candy, cut into thirds
1 cup coconut
1 cup butter or oleo
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
4 eggs
1 lb. chopped dates
1 cup raisins
2 1/2 cups flour
Preheat oven to 300°. Cream butter, sugar and eggs; dissolve baking soda in buttermilk before adding to flour. Mix buttermilk, flour and sugar mixture well. In separate container, mix pecans, dates, raisins, and orange slice candy, which has been sprinkled lightly with flour. (Orange slices may be cut with cooking scissors that have been dipped lightly in cooking oil.) Mix all ingredients together. Pour into greased and floured tube or bundt pan. Bake for one hour at 300° or until toothpick inserted into thick portion of cake comes out clean.

Grandma’s Butter Roll
Homemade biscuit dough, already prepared
2 1/2 cups sugar
Nutmeg
1 stick oleo
2 cups milk
Vanilla flavoring
Make a rich dough similar to biscuit dough. Roll dough thin like a pie crust. Mix one cup sugar and nutmeg in a small bowl. Sprinkle this mixture over rolled out dough. Cut a stick of oleo in small slices and mostly cover the dough. Roll up dough in a roll. Use sharp kitchen knife to slice the roll as you would cinnamon rolls. Place cut rolls into long deep baking dish. Sprinkle sugar over rolls. Heat, but do not boil, two cups of milk and 1 1/2 cup sugar in saucepan with a few drops of vanilla flavoring. When heated well, pour over rolls in baking dish. Bake in 300° oven approximately 45 minutes or until rolls are golden brown. If liquid cooks away, just add more milk while it is in oven. This dish is better if it has plenty of liquid and served warm.

The “Washington” Cake
4 3/4 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups butter or oleo
6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. nutmeg
2 3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1-11 oz. pkg. currants
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour tube or bundt pan. Sift flour with baking powder, salt and nutmeg; set aside. In large mixing bowl, beat with electric mixer at high speed. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. At low speed, beat in flour mixture, alternating with milk, beat only until completely mixed. Stir in currants (or you may use raisins that have been sprinkled with flour). Pour in prepared pan and bake for one hour and 15 minutes, or until toothpicks inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Turn out of pan onto large cake plates.

English Pea Salad
1 can small English peas
2 T. celery
1 small jar chopped pimentos
3 boiled eggs
1/2 cup sweet pickles, chopped
1 cup yellow whole kernel corn
3 T. chopped onion
Black pepper
Mayonnaise
Mix all ingredients together. Add enough mayonnaise to have a moist mixture. Serves well with chicken and dressing.

Squash Relish
Chop equal amounts of yellow squash, onions, and bell pepper (both green and red). Add a few pods of hot peppers, and a small shaker of mustard seed. Add enough turmeric that when stirred well, makes very yellow in color. Add two small jars of pimentos. Add 1 tsp. salt to about every two quarts of chopped ingredients. To every cup of vinegar, add 1 1/2 cups sugar. Cover chopped ingredients with sugar vinegar mixture. Stir all together and cook until it begins to thicken. Pour in pint jars or jelly jars. Seal while hot and follow directions on lid for perfect seal.

Tomato Pepper Relish
Chop equal amounts of tomatoes, green sweet peppers (banana pepper and a few pods of hot peppers). Chop onions and fresh ripe tomatoes. Add small jars of chopped pimentos, small container of mustard seeds. Add about 1 tsp. of salt to every two quarts. Cover with 1 1/2  cups sugar to every cup vinegar until completely covered, about one inch over all ingredients. Cook slowly until most liquid has cooked away and mixture is thick. If you desire hot relish, add a small amount of ground red peppers.