Lana Ferguson

By Published On: August 17, 2016

Lana Ferguson thought she wanted to be a chef. She cooked dinner at home a lot. She watched Emeril every Friday night at eight, and she even had her own apron that said, “BAM!”
Now a journalism student and junior at Ole Miss, she frequently goes to Farmer’s Markets in Oxford on Tuesday and Wednesday and “a bunch on Saturdays.”
Farmer’s Markets are more popular here than in her hometown of Mechanicsville, Va., Lana said, but she has worked at one there.
A summer intern for the Calhoun County Journal, she also attended the Bruce Farmer’s Market during the time she was here.

Lana Cook PHotoTrying to eat healthier since starting college, she began  market shopping and buys mostly vegetables.
“Cold lunch, hot dinner,” is what she says. She eats a lot of raw, cold vegetables at lunch, and might fix a big stir fry or roast vegetables, then have her leftover veggies with pasta or rice.
She likes homemade macaroni and cheese a lot because there’s so much you can do with it, and she prefers hot sauce on hers. “I put hot sauce on everything.”

Pinterest is her major place to look at recipes, and she never looks at just one for directions. She makes her own recipe from all the different ones she checks out.
Her recipes for berry pie, lemon bars, peanut butter chocolate chip bars and eggplant mini pizza are all her own combinations.
She is also one who looks in the pantry to see what she can make from what is there.
“Food Network molded me!” and she says she watches a “ton” of it.
She calls herself a “foodie” and says “Richmond, VA  is good for that.”

Since moving to Mississippi, some of her Southern favorite foods are cornbread, catfish, fried okra (“all the fried stuff!”) and Ajax is one Oxford restaurant she likes.
Tamales, red beans and rice, and crawfish are three things she had for the first time after coming to Oxford.
About family and food, one of her favorites while in Virginia is mashed potatoes with cream cheese, but they also make a lot of casseroles.

Her family always has Italian food for Christmas, so any Italian dish she eats here reminds her of home.
“Baking came later,” after her dinner cooking, and she likes to bake cakes and cupcakes like her grandmother taught her.
She also loves her grandma’s pancakes that are only made at Christmas. “They are so buttery,” and Lana can’t wait for the recipe to be given to her.
Ace of Cakes was also a baking influence, especially for decorating. “I bake and clean when I’m stressed.” But her baking “is for everyone else,” she says.

She likes to make and share goodies with The Daily Mississippian staff at Ole Miss, and she made a Berry Pie and brownies for the CCJ staff.
Last week while visiting at home in Virginia she made a strawberry pretzel icebox pie from Southern Living that “turned out pretty, but it was super sweet.”
She also recently made her first “pee-can” pie that she was very proud of and “really liked.”

Berry Pie w/Homemade Crust
For the crust:
3  3/4 cups all purpose flour
3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 1/3 cups cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2/3 cup ice water
3 tsp. vodka (or distilled white vinegar)
1 egg beaten with 1 tsp. water
For the filling:
2 cups blackberries
2 cups blueberries
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Juice of one lemon
Zest of half a lemon
2 Tbsp. flour (or cornstarch, whichever is on hand or preferred)
For pie dough: Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in large bowl. Add the pieces of cold buttered blend together with hands until consistency is like coarse crumbs. Put dough in fridge at least 15 minutes. While that’s in fridge, mix together water and vodka in small bowl. Once you’ve taken dough out, slowly pour liquid mixture into dough. Gently stir with fork as you do this. Stir until everything is fully incorporated and can be formed into ball. Form two loose balls with dough and chill in fridge at least three hours, overnight if possible. Let dough sit at room temperature for around 10 minutes before you roll it out.
For pie: Preheat oven to 400. Combine all of the berries, sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and zest, and flour in medium bowl. Let this sit at room temperature while rolling out pie crust. Roll out dough on floured surface until big enough to hang out edges of pie dish. Place dough in dish and trim edges. Crimp edges. Spoon filling into crust. Roll out second ball of dough and place on top, trimming edges once more. You can poke a few holes with fork in the top or make design with the dough. Beat together egg and water, then brush on top of crust. Generously sprinkle sugar on top for added sweetness. Place pie in 400° oven, then immediately reduce temperature to 375. Bake 45-60 minutes, watching it closely the last 15. Crust should be firm and golden with filling bubbling. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
1/2 cup softened butter
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
6 overly ripe bananas mashed
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350. Grease two 9×5-inch loaf pans. Cream butter, peanut butter, and sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Sift in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir completely until dry and wet ingredients are combined. Fold in mashed bananas. Set aside about 1/4 cup of chocolate chips for later. Fold in the rest. Pour batter into each pan, filling about 3/4 of the way. Sprinkle extra chocolate chips on top of both loaves. Bake 50-60 minutes, checking with a toothpick to see when bread is cooked through.  (Makes two loaves)

Eggplant Mini-Pizzas
One eggplant (size depends on how many you want to serve. You can normally get two servings out of one small eggplant)
1 Tbsp. salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup of your favorite store-bought tomato sauce
1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese
Preheat  oven to 375. Cut egg plant into thick slices, about 3/4”. Place slices on to paper towels, and sprinkle generously with salt. Let them sit about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes has passed, blot eggplant with paper towel removing the water. Lay dry eggplant slices on baking sheet and brush on the olive oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Roast in oven about 25 minutes. Once they’re done baking, spoon generous amounts of tomato sauce on each slice. Sprinkle cheese on top. Put  eggplant back in the oven under the broiler for just a few minutes until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

Simple Lemon Bars
For the crust:
2 sticks softened butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
For filling:
6 eggs
3 cups granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. lemon zest
1 cup lemon juice
1 cup flour
1/4 cup powdered sugar for dusting
Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9×13 pan with non-stick cooking spray. Cream together butter and sugar. Mix in  flour and salt until a dough forms. Press dough into pan, spreading evenly. It should be about 1/2” thick. Bake crust 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Chill. Whisk eggs, sugar, lemon zest and juice, and flour, and pour into cooled crust. Bake  30-35 minutes, until the filling has firmed up and set.  Let cool to room temperature and dust with powdered sugar.

Share This Story!