The Darling Dahlias and the Texas Star

by Susan Wittig Albert

  1 deep-dish pie crust

  1⁄2 pound ground pork sausage

  1⁄2 cup chopped onion

  1⁄4 cup chopped red bell pepper

  1 1⁄2 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese

  1 tablespoon flour

  3 eggs, beaten

  1 cup evaporated milk

  1 tablespoon minced parsley

  3⁄4 teaspoon salt

  1⁄4 teaspoon garlic

  1⁄4 teaspoon pepper

  Paprika

  Heat oven to 350ºF. Pre-bake the pie shell for about 10 to 12 minutes. Cool. Reduce oven to 325ºF. In a skillet, brown the sausage, breaking it up into small pieces. Drain, except for 1 tablespoon fat. In the same skillet, in the reserved fat, sauté onion and pepper. Drain. Combine cheese and flour. Stir in sausage, onion, and pepper. Spread on the bottom of the pre-baked crust. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over sausage mixture. Bake 45 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes before slicing.

  Resources

  Here are a few of the many books I have found useful in my research for the Darling Dahlias series:

  Around the Southern Table, by Sarah Belk. The recipes are modern; the book is valuable for its historical notes.

  Biscuits, Spoonbread, and Sweet Potato Pie, by Bill Neal. The Southern heritage of breads and sweets, with historical commentary.

  Daily Life in the United States 1920–1940, by David E. Kyvig. How Americans lived in the Roaring Twenties, the Depression era.

  Dry Goods, Butler Brothers 1934 general merchandise catalog. What people were wearing and using during the early thirties.

  Everyday Fashions of the Thirties, As Pictured in Sears Catalogs, edited by Stella Blum. Helpful period descriptions of clothing styles, fabrics, materials.

  The Happy Bottom Riding Club: The Life and Times of Pancho Barnes, by Lauren Kessler. Barnes was a barnstormer, racer, cross-country flier, Hollywood stunt pilot, and the “fastest woman on earth.” She was a model for Lily Dare.

  Month-by-Month Gardening in Alabama, by Bob Polomski. What Alabama gardeners might be doing at different seasons of the year.

  On the Wing: Jessie Woods and the Flying Aces Air Circus, by Ann L. Cooper. The real-life account of a woman wingwalker and owner of a flying circus in the 1930s.