Food, family and friendship are some of the themes explored in the critically-acclaimed film THE HELP arriving on Blu-ray and DVD on 12/6/11. Give thanks with these delicious Southern-style holiday recipes from THE HELP’s food stylist Lee Ann Fleming in celebration of the upcoming release!  If you haven’t seen the movie, now’s a great time.  I saw it, loved it, and would see it again!  This is also a fabulous gift.  I’ll be getting it for my mother.  She was raising kids during this era and will love the look back.

THE HELP BLU-RAY & DVD – SOUTHERN STYLE HOLIDAY RECIPES

All recipes were created by THE HELP food stylist Lee Ann Fleming and reprinted with permission.

SPINACH-STUFFED SQUASH

• 4 yellow crookneck squash
• Melted butter
• Salt and pepper
• Grated Parmesan cheese

Spinach stuffing:

• ½ cup chopped onion
  ½ cup butter
• 2 (10 oz.) packages frozen chopped spinach, cooked and drained
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tsp. red wine vinegar
• Bread crumbs

Cook whole squash in boiling, salted water for about 10 minutes until tender. Very carefully cut into halves and scoop out the seeds. Sprinkle each shell with butter, salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese.

Spinach Stuffing: Sauté onions in butter until tender. Add spinach, salt, sour cream, and vinegar and blend well. Stuff each squash shell with spinach mixture. Sprinkle each with Additional Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs. Dot with butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated to serve.

SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE

• 3 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
• 1 cup sugar
• cup melted butter
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla
• ½ cup raisins (optional)
• Mix well and pour into a buttered casserole dish

Topping:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup melted butter

Mix topping with fork and sprinkle crumbs on top of casserole 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

CHEESECAKE PECAN PIE

Ingredients:

• 1 (15 oz.) pkg. refrigerated pie crusts (or homemade – see below for recipe)
• 1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
• 4 large eggs, divided
• ¾  cup sugar, divided
• 2 tsp. vanilla, divided
• ¼  tsp. salt
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup light corn syrup

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Unfold and stack 2 piecrust together. Gently roll  or press together and fit into a 9 inch pie plate according to directions; fold edges under and crimp. Note: For a more homemade flavor, try Lee Ann’s Homemade Pie Crust recipe (below)

Beat cream cheese, 1 egg,  ½ cup sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla and salt at medium speed with a mixer until smooth; pour into piecrust and sprinkle with pecans.

Stir together corn syrup, 3 eggs, remaining 1/4 cup sugar and remaining 1 tsp. vanilla and pour mixture over pecans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes until set.

Homemade Pie Crust

Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cups plain flour
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup shortening (or butter flavor shortening)
• 4-5 tbsp. cold ice water

Directions:

In a medium bowl, stir flour and salt together.  Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until pieces are pea-size.  Sprinkle 1 tbsp. of water over part of the flour mixture; gently toss with a fork. Push moistened dough to the side of the bowl. Repeat using 1 tbsp. of water at a time, until all the flour mixture is moistened.

Form dough into a ball; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

On a lightly floured surface, use your hands to slightly flatten dough. Roll dough from center to edges into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. To transfer pastry, wrap it around the rolling pin. Unroll pastry into a 9-inch pie plate. Ease pastry into pie plate without stretching it.

Trim pastry to ½ inch beyond edge of pie plate. Fold under extra pastry. Crimp edges as desired.

MAMAW’S HOMEMADE ROLLS

• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 eggs
• 2 pkg. dry yeast
• 1 cup dry yeast
• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 6 cups sifted flour

Soak yeast in the lukewarm water. Pour boiling water over the shortening, sugar, and slat. Allow this mixture to cool to lukewarm. Add yeast to this mixture. Then add eggs and flour. Stir and mix well. Cover and store in the refrigerator overnight (or at least 3-4 hours). The mixture will keep a week in the refrigerator. Remove the portion you wish to use and knead on a floured board. Roll thin and cut with a biscuit cutter. Dip half in melted butter and fold over for pocket rolls. Place in a greased pan and allow to rise 2-3 hours. Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes. This recipe can easily be cut in half.

MRS. WALTERS’ FRUIT SALAD

• 1 can mandarin oranges, drained
• 1 can pineapple chunks, drained
• 1 can flaked coconut
• 1 small jar red maraschino cherries, drained
• 1 (8 oz.) carton sour cream

Mix and refrigerate.

*Save the drained juice from oranges and pineapples.  Add to orange juice to enhance your morning beverage.

THE HELP BLU-RAY & DVD Film Clip – “Put Mama in a Chair”

Minnie (Octavia Spencer) and Aibileen (Viola Davis) joke together about their employers in the privacy of the kitchen.

THE HELP is available on Blu-ray and DVD on December 6, 2011.

THE HELP Lee Ann Fleming, Food Stylist (reprinted with permission from DreamWorks)

LEE ANN FLEMING -Food Stylist, THE HELP

Lee Ann Flemming lives in Cruger, Mississippi, where she and her husband Steve  have been residents for the past 31 years.  They have one son, Steve, a daughter-in-law, Stephanie and granddaughter Leila Rose.  Lee Ann teaches English teacher at Carroll Academy where her husband serves as the school’s headmaster.  She also writes a weekly newspaper article for the Sunday edition of the Greenwood Commonwealth.

Lee Ann served as food stylist and official pie maker of Minny’s chocolate pie in the DreamWorks production of the movie, THE HELP.  She continues to help promote the movie by giving and writing newspaper and magazine interviews and even some television spots for local TV stations.

Lee Ann has written a cook book entitle Recipes and Remembrances that includes some of her favorite articles and recipes from the first three years of her newspaper articles.  Her future plans include beginning work on another cookbook and sharing her love of Southern Food and cooking with her granddaughter, Leila.

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