Founders Square is the heartbeat of the fairgrounds and is the oldest section of cabins. Many of these cabins have been passed down for generations and one that has seen its share of visitors is Paul and Voncile Breazeale’s beautiful cabin on Founders Square. They have welcomed President Ronald and Nancy Reagan, and far too many national, state and local dignitaries to list in this article. People flock back to these hallowed grounds to celebrate the laid-back attitudes and days gone by at the fair.
The Breazeale family returns each year from across the country to settle into their cabin life. Voncile said that her entire fair cabin is set up and designed to host people. The island at her cabin is bigger than the one they have at their home. She said that occasionally they will host 1,000 for food and other festivities, and their cabin sleeps about 30 people. They are often worn out at the end the fair, but Voncile said that she would live there year-round if they would keep the water and electricity connected. Commitment like that shows the simple pleasures that the fair brings to people each year.
Voncile’s favorite fair recipes for Appetizers, Salads, and Desserts:
ASPARAGUS SANDWICHES
1 loaf fresh thin-sliced sandwich bread
Green Giant very young tender asparagus spears
Hellman's mayonnaise (I used about 1/2 cup)
Tabasco sauce (I used about 3 drops)
Fresh minced garlic (I used 1 clove, minced)
Parmesan cheese (I used about 2 tablespoons, freshly grated)
Worcestershire sauce (I used about 1/2 teaspoon)
Paprika (I used 1 dash)
Mix all ingredients together to taste except asparagus spears and bread. Trim crust from bread. Spread mayonnaise mixture onto bread then lay one asparagus spear onto the center of each slice of bread and roll up. Lay on serving platter seam side down. Note: It helps to press the bread at the seams just barely with the blade of a knife so as to lay flat.
OPEN-FACE TOMATO
SANDWICHES
2 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 package ranch style buttermilk salad dressing mix
Horseradish sauce, to taste (not plain horseradish)
Dash of dried dill
Creole seasoning, to taste
Thin white sandwich bread
Tomatoes, peeled and sliced
Lemon pepper seasoning
Dried basil
Combine first five ingredients. Cut bread into rounds with a biscuit cutter. Spread cheese mixture on thickly. Top with a slice of tomato. Sprinkle with lemon pepper and dried basil.
CORN SALAD
2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 small purple onion, chopped
Dressing:
1 cup Hellman's Light mayonnaise
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons white vinegar
Mix corn, pepper, and onion. Mix all dressing ingredients together and stir into corn mixture. Refrigerate until well chilled.
Just before serving (or to each individual serving) add regular Fritos corn chips to taste, as Fritos will become soggy in the dressing of any leftover salad.
(Recipe is easily doubled, but make only 1 1/2 times the dressing for four cans of corn.)
FAVORITE FRUIT SALAD
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
20 oz. pineapple chunks (Reserve 3/4 cup juice)
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1/3 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
11 oz. can mandarin oranges, drained
2 medium red delicious or gala apples (Do not peel apples)
2 bananas, sliced
1 cup sweet red grapes, halved
Mix sugar with cornstarch. Blend in pineapple juice, orange juice, lemon juice, and orange peel. Boil about one minute, stirring constantly. Pour hot mixture over fruit in a large bowl and stir. Refrigerate overnight uncovered.
This salad keeps well. Color of the apples/bananas does not change.
WHITE CHOCOLATE
BREAD PUDDING
16 slices fresh white sandwich bread
1 stick butter
1 quart whole milk
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla flavoring
Break bread and put into a 9 x 13-inch pan or Pyrex baking dish that has been sprayed lightly with Pam. Mix other ingredients and pour over the bread. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Pour sauce over the top while hot.
Sauce:
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
1 stick butter
6 oz. white chocolate chips
6 teaspoons water
Melt butter and chocolate chips in a bowl in microwave oven. Add other ingredients and stir until completely smooth. Pour over baked pudding while hot.
STRAWBERRY PIE
1 9-inch baked pie shell
2 pints of washed, hulled strawberries
1 cup 7 Up
2 heaping tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 (3 oz.) package lemon Jello
1 (3 oz.) whipped cream
2 drops red food coloring
Mix 7-Up and sugar. Cook over medium heat with cornstarch. When thick, add dry lemon Jello and two drops red food coloring. Pour over whole strawberries in the baked and cooled pie shell. Chill. Serve with whipped cream.
Passing down recipes at the Jordan’s Cabin on Founders Square:
The Founders Square family cabin of our good friends Teri and Dan Jordan, has been bringing their family together for at least three generation. Dan’s grandmother Mildred Jordan started many of the fair family traditions and they have been honorably passed down and adopted by various family members to keep her memory alive at the fair. Teri and Dan are a devoted fair family and Teri told me that she and Dan will be going to the fair until they “are not physically able to go anymore.”
Mildred’s 7 Layer
Lemon Cake
Mildred Jordan, Dan’s grandmother starting making this cake before he was born. Although Mildred has passed away, Dan’s mother keeps her tradition alive by making the cake every year. She prepares it ahead of time and packs it in a cooler to make the trip from Virginia.
1 cup butter
3 cups flour
1 cup milk, separated
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift dry ingredients into a bowl. Add sugar, butter, and 3/4 cup milk. Beat for two minutes. Add eggs and the remaining 1/4 cup of milk. Beat for two additional minutes. Bake in seven thin layers in a well-greased and floured nine-inch cake pans for 12 to 15 minutes.
For the filling:
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons butter
The zest and juice of 3 lemons
3 eggs, beaten
Stir eggs and sugar with butter in top of the double broiler until well mixed. Add lemon juice and zest and cook until thick enough to spread, about 30 minutes stirring frequently.
Allow cake layers to cool slightly and spread a thin layer of the glaze on top of each layer stacking as you go.
Teri’s mother-in-law, Lou Jordan, makes this cake for the family. She bakes it and freezes it for the long trip to Philadelphia. Lou said that the cake tradition started with Grandmother Mildred making the cake over 70 years ago.
Jordan Bean Salad
Teri has been making this salad for years and loves it because you can make a lot and serve it with many different meals. They serve it with their barbecue dinner meal and then lunch everyday which is usually sandwiches or fried chicken. It makes the perfect side with anything. When Teri told me about the “Bean Salad,” I incorrectly assumed that it would contain legumes, that is the bean’s seeds. She has no idea why they did not go with the more traditional Vegetable Salad title but Bean Salad stuck and that is what it has been called for the past 28 years.
1 16 oz. can cut green beans
1 16 oz. can shoe peg corn
1 purple onion, thinly sliced
About 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 16 ounce can English peas
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 small jar of chopped pimentos
Marinade:
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup vinegar (can use tarragon vinegar)
Mix all marinade ingredients and boil until sugar is thoroughly dissolved. Pour over vegetables and allow to marinate overnight. Served cold or room temperature.
Elizabeth Dallas’ Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
Teri told me that when she joined the Jordan family it became her turn to begin a fair tradition. I think she hit is out of the park when she decided to serve her mother’s homemade vanilla ice cream. Teri and her family have been eating this ice cream every summer since she was a little girl. She can still remember having to take turns hand-cranking the ice cream maker!
Teri’s “new” tradition at the fair is to prepare the ice cream every Sunday after the harness races. It is a perfect way to celebrate.
3 eggs well beaten1 can evaporated milk
1 can condensed milk (Mrs. Dallas uses Carnation but any brand will do)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups whole milk (2 percent can be substituted)
Mix all ingredients WELL and pour into ice cream maker can. Fill to the rim line or the can with extra milk and stir.
Turn on ice cream maker and start rotating with ice and ice cream salt on top until you reach the top. You will have to continue to replenish as it melts. (especially with the fair heat)
When the maker goes off it is ready to serve. Be careful to wipe the salt off the lid before opening the top. Teri’s mom always put her spoons in the freezer before she starting mixing the ice cream.
Tales and Recipes from the Underwood Cabin on Founders Square:
Martha West of Vicksburg told me the funniest fair story. Around the late 60s or early 70s, her family was hosting their usual gathering (about 40 people) at lunch one day of the fair. Her mother noticed a couple in line getting food. No one knew who they were so she continued to inquire about “these guests” all the time offering polite and friendly conservation. At the end of the lunch the mysterious couple got up and ask where they would find the cashier or be able to pay their check. To great embarrassment to the couple and great laughs of the family, they kindly let them know that they were not at a restraint but a fair family reunion. The couple was unbelievably apologetic and mortified but in typical Mississippi hospitality the Martha and her family invited them to come back the next year. That is Neshoba County fair hospitality
Martha and her family have hosted and served countless dinners. A dinner that her family insist on every time they get to the fair is her simple chicken pot pie.
Mom’s Chicken Pie
Martha said that her paper copy of this recipe has the most food splatters on it because it is the most requested meal of her family. I think it’s the simplicity of it and the delicious and rich topping. This is an easy comfort meal for any family to enjoy. I can see why her family always request it during the fair.
4 bone-in chicken breasts
1/2 onion
About 2 stalks celery
Broth from cooking the chicken
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 cup self-rising flour
1 stick of butter
1 cup of whole milk
Boil the chicken in water that just covers it with salt, pepper, onion, and celery stalks. Simmer for about an hour on low. Drain chicken reserving the broth. Cool, remove the bone, and cut chicken into bite-size pieces.
Put chicken and two cups of chicken broth in a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Add can of cream of chicken soup to the chicken and broth. Mix gently as not to break up the chicken.
In a separate bowl, mix self-rising flour, melted butter, and one cup of milk. Pour onto chicken mixture. Do not stir. Bake uncovered for 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes until crust is lightly browned.
Chili Sauce
(Best made in the summer when tomatoes are fresh and good)
1 gallon of tomatoes, high acidic work best
5 onions – white or Vidalia
5 large green bell peppers
2 seeded jalapeño peppers
4 cups white vinegar
4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons salt
1/2 half teaspoon pepper
Peel and core the tomatoes. Do this easily by dropping each boiling water and allowing the skins to begin to split. Immediately remove tomatoes and plunge each in ice cold water. The skins should easily slip off. Cut out center core.
Use a food processor to chop the tomatoes, onions, green bell peppers, and jalapeños. Pour all ingredients into a large pot to cook. Add sugar and white vinegar, salt and pepper. Cook on medium low heat for about two and a half hours until mixture is thick.
Fill half pint jars. Add lids and screw top in place. Place jars in a water bath with water covering the top of the jar in the pot, and let it come to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes.
*This recipe makes a large amount so feel free to reduce the amounts of each in accordance with your needs. However, consider making a big batch and share it with friends just as Martha West and her family have done for years. She serves this over lots of fresh vegetables: raw or steamed. She said it is particularly good over fresh summer tomatoes.
Spicy Cornbread
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup of sour cream
¼ cup of Crisco oil
1can cream style corn one
½ cup self-rising cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped green bell pepper
1-2 jalapeños peppers, seeded and chopped (more or less depending on your spice tolerance)
Mix all ingredients together and pour into a greased 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Cook 25 minutes at 400 degrees.
This is great served alongside the fresh vegetables with the chili sauce.
Martha also remembers always having strawberry cake, lemon cake, and something called Hershey Bar Poundcake. She was not able to find the Hershey Bar Poundcake recipe, so I decided to submit my Milky Way Poundcake recipe instead. This is one of my all-time favorite recipes and would make a Great addition to any table at home or the Neshoba County fair. It’s very important to spray your Bundt pan with high-quality nonstick spray such as Bakers Joy.
Milky Way Pound Cake
6 Milky Way candy bars, melted with one stick of butter
1 box yellow cake mix (the kind with “pudding in the mix”)
Mix cake per instructions on the box, fold in melted Milky Way mixture and make sure batter is well combined. Pour into a well-greased Bundt pan and bake according to instructions on the box or for about 40 minutes.
Allow to cool for about 20 minutes and then remove from pan. Top with a dusting of powdered sugar.
I hope you will notice a constant theme in these articles about the fair. It’s food, families, and fun. That’s what the Neshoba County fair is really about. It brings people together, and what better way to spend a hot July in Mississippi than gathered around a big family table with the favorite people in your life.
