Recipes by Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson: Barbecue Sauce; Homemade Table Peach Preserves; Spoon Bread

Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson's Barbecue Sauce

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter
2 cloves garlic, minced, optional
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper sauce
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; stir in garlic. Cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients. Raise heat to medium-high; heat to a boil. Cook 1 minute; remove from heat.

Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson's Homemade Table Peach Preserves

4 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon extract
6 pounds peaches (about 24), peeled and sliced

In a very large saucepan, dissolve sugar in water over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, cooking for 5 minutes or until it appears as a clear syrup. Skim off any froth. Add vanilla and lemon extracts and stir in peaches and return to a boil. Watch pot carefully, stirring to prevent boiling over. Boil for 5 minutes and remove from heat and skim off any froth. Pour hot preserves into hot, sterilized, glass canning jars and affix lids and rings, which will create a seal, suction after cooling and naturally thickened for storing. Serve with hot biscuits. Makes 7 pint jars.

(This is an old recipe. Heat processing jelly for 5 to 15 minutes is now recommended for safety. The heat processing gives a better seal, and destroys mold that may be present on the top surface of the product.)

Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson's Spoon Bread

3 cups milk
3 eggs
1 cup cornmeal
Butter (the size of a walnut)
3 level teaspoons baking powder
1 level teaspoon salt

Stir cornmeal into 2 cups of milk and let mixture come to a boil, making a mush. Remove from heat and add balance of milk and well-beaten eggs. Stir in salt, baking powder and melted butter. Bake in 2-quart greased casserole for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F. Serves 8.