Getting a Taste of Branson, Missouri

by Sandra Scott

I knew Branson<, Missouri was an excellent music destination but it wasn’t until I visited that I learned that it is also a foodie’s delight.  To me succotash was cream corn with lima beans.  I thought some ingenious mom found a way to get her family to eat lima beans by adding them to the cream corn. 

During my stay in Branson I learned that there is an entirely different succotash, one that is delicious. Actually, it was just one of Branson’s surprises. I had always thought that Branson was solely just country music but learned that the shows feature music from country to soul to pop. Another surprise was Silver Dollar City, which I pictured as a typical theme park with the main feature being rides.  Yes, there are 30 exciting rides but one has to seek them out as they are located on the perimeter of the tree-filled park. <

Family-owned Silver Dollar City grew around Marvel Cave, one of nature’s wonders. Surrounding the entrance to the cave is a theme park where at one time stood the mining town of Marmaros<. Today the area is filled with over 100 craftsmen making lye soap, candles, furniture and blowing glass. But it was the aromas that drew me to Sullivan’s Mill where the pastry chef was just taking huge cinnamon rolls out of the oven and then to Brown’s Candy shop where fresh peanut brittle was hardening. But it was Buckshot Annie’s Skillet Cookery that really caught my attention.  On a huge skillet Missouri’s version of succotash was cooking. The Missouri version is a meal in itself containing corn, chicken, onions, and peppers.

It was my lucky day because I was scheduled for a cooking class at Silver Dollar City’s Culinary & Craft School. Debbie Dance Uhrigh, a Master Craftsman of Culinary Arts explained that succotash can include whatever vegetables and/or meats are available.  Uhrigh explained that her show kitchen did not have any fancy equipment. She likes to prepare food in a simply manner the old-fashioned way because she found cooking a great way to get rid of the days stress by stirring, beating, and kneading. Our lesson ended with a dessert of gingersnaps.

Silver Dollar City wasn’t the only culinary delight in the Branson.  My husband, John, and I stayed at the luxurious Big Cedar Lodge on beautiful Table Rock Lake a short distance from the center of Branson. One evening we enjoyed their Chuck Wagon Dinner in the woods on the edge of the lake.  Needless to say the steaks were awesome but the beans cooked in a pot over the open fire were the best I have ever tasted.  <

When we returned to our room where we slept with the door open so we could hear the tumbling waterfalls outside the lodge we found the “Cookie Ladies” had delivered a “Sweet Dreams” treat. One night it was a Pepparkakor, along with the recipe and information on the “Wish Cookie.”  Following the instructions I placed the Swedish Pepparkakor in the palm of my hand and made a wish.  Using the index of my other hand I tapped the cookie in the middle.  Swedish tradition states that if the Pepparkakor breaks into three pieces the wish will come true.  Alas, mine did not, maybe because my wish was not realistic.  I wished to stay at Big Cedar for at least a month! Until you can visit Branson try these yummy recipes.

Silver Dollar City’s Succotash

1 lb. lightly breaded okra
8 ounces frozen whole kernel corn
8 ounces yellow summer squash
8 ounces slice red potatoes – precook in an oven at 350 for 30 minutes
8 ounces diced pre-cooked chicken (or leftovers)
4 ounces sliced green peppers
4 ounces sliced onions
1 tsp. garlic power
1 tsp. black pepper
1tsp salt
Butter-flavored vegetable oil as needed

Sauté onions and peppers in oil.  Remove from skillet. Sauté chicken in same skillet with the oil. Remove after heating thoroughly. Sauté corn, squash, and potatoes in same skillet. Remove. Fry okra until golden brown. Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Add all the other ingredients to the skillet and heat to desired temperature.  Serves four as a main dish.

Silver Dollar City’s Famous Ginger Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ginger
1/ 2 tsp. salt
1/ 2 tsp. cloves
3/ 4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar plus 1/ 4 cup set aside
2 tbs. Molasses
1 large egg

In a mixing bowl sift flour, soda, spices, and salt. In a second mixing bowl, cream shortening and 1 cup of sugar until fluffy. Add molasses and the egg. Beat mixture for one minute. Add the flour mixture and mix at low speed until combined. Shape dough into 1 1/ 2 inch balls. Put 1/ 4 cup of sugar on a small plate then roll the balls in it. Arrange balls of dough three inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 16 minutes or until light brown on the bottom.  Transfer to a cooling rack.  Uhrig said the trick is to remove them from the oven “on the way down,” that is once they have puffed remove them before the top settles down.

Big Cedar Lodge’s Baked Beans

1 cup kidney beans
1 cup black beans
2 cups great northern beans
1 onion chopped
1 clove chopped garlic
2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
1 cup cooked, chopped bacon
½ cup tomato paste
1 qt barbecue sauce
2 qt water
2 green peppers diced
1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup sorghum

Soak beans overnight. Sauté onion, pepper and garlic until translucent. Add the barbecue sauce and water. Add all the other ingredients except for beans.

Bring to simmer until all the ingredients are dissolved. Add the beans and simmer for 1 ½ to 2 hours or until the beans are tender (do not boil the beans or they will be overcooked and mushy). Once the beans are almost cooked transfer to a casserole dish cover and bake for 20 to 30 minutes.

Big Cedar’s Pepparkakor

2/ 3 cup light brown sugar
2/ 3 cup light molasses
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cardamon
1/ 2 tsp. ground cloves
12 tbs. butter, cut up
2 eggs
5 1/ 2 cups all-purpose flour (approximate)
1/ 2 tsp. baking soda

Combine brown sugar, molasses, and spices in saucepan. Heat, stirring constantly, boil 1 minute, then remove from heat. Place butter in a mixing bowl, add hot sugar mixture, stir until it melts the butter. Blend in 2 eggs. In another bowl mix 2 cups flour and baking soda.  Gradually mix into butter mixture. Mix in enough additional flour to make dough stiff. Shape dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate several hours or overnight. Cut dough in quarters. Shape one quarter at a time, refrigerate other dough. Use a rounded teaspoonful of dough for each ball.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Cook on wire rack. Store in airtight container. Makes about 7 dozen.

For more information check www.explorebranson.com, www.silverdollarcity.com, and www.bigcedarlodge.com.