By ANDREW ARMSTRONG / Recipe Columnist

I’m a huge fan of recipes from years past. This particular column was designed to give you a taste of true, old-school, southern cooking, just like your grandma use to make. The mid-1900s brought a wide variety of cooking classics, but my favorite was the invention of cold dinner salads. Cook your loved ones a dish that is cool and refreshing on one of our classic, scorching Alabama summer days, which are just around the corner.

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Southern Toadstools

1 pack of chicken with bones, rinsed well

1 stick of butter

1½ cups of milk or buttermilk

1 package of mushrooms, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 can of cream of celery soup

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 beef bouillon cube

Flour, for breading

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat a deep fryer of oil at 350 degrees. Mix the flour with salt and pepper to taste. Dip the chicken into the flour and place in the fryer. Fry until the outside is a nice golden color, but do not cook all the way. Preheat the oven at 350 degrees. In a skillet melt the butter and sauté the beef bouillon, salt, pepper, onions, garlic and mushrooms. Once it has sautéed to your desired consistency, add in 2 tablespoons of flour. Mix it well and once the flour is dissolved, then pour in the milk and soup while continuously stirring. Place the chicken in a baking dish and pour the gravy over the chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.

Lemon BBQ Sauce

2 tablespoons of garlic powder

1 tablespoon of salt

¼ a cup of vegetable oil

4 tablespoons of ketchup

1 cup of lemon juice

2½ tablespoons of onion, minced

1 teaspoon of black pepper

1 teaspoon of thyme

Mix the ingredients together and refrigerate. This sauce is good for pouring over food or as a marinade.

Teriyaki Sauce

1 cup of soy sauce

1 cup of vegetable oil

1½ tablespoons of brown sugar

1 cup of orange juice

1 teaspoon of ginger powder

1 tablespoon of garlic salt

Mix the ingredients together and refrigerate. This sauce is good for pouring over food or as a marinade.

Congealed Tuna Loaf

1 can of tuna

1 cup of celery, chopped

½ a cup of stuffed olives, chopped with juice

5 boiled eggs, peeled and chopped

½ a lemon, juiced

½ a cup of mayo

1 tablespoon of onion, chopped

1 envelope of unflavored gelatin

1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ a cup of cold water

Heat the olives and juice, then soften the gelatin in the cold water. Mix the two together with the remaining ingredients. Pour into a loaf pan and chill it for 24 hours before serving.

Sausage Rolls

3 cups of flour

1 cup of cheese, shredded

2 teaspoons of salt

1 cup of softened butter

1 pound of ground hot sausage

5 tablespoons of water

Mix all the ingredients together to form a ball of dough. If needed add extra water. Roll out the dough on a floured surface, using a rolling pen. Grab the dough by the edge of the width and roll into a log. Chill overnight or four hours. Preheat the oven at 400 degrees and slice about ¼ to a ½ an inch thick and bake.

Congealed Chicken Salad

1 package of instant fruit Jell-O, any flavor (3 ounces)

2 chicken bouillon cubes

1¾ a cup of water, boiling

¼ a teaspoon of paprika

¼ a teaspoon of black pepper

2 tablespoons of vinegar

¼ a cup of mayonnaise

2 cups of chicken, cooked and chopped

½ a cup of celery, chopped

1 small jar of pimento

1 tablespoon of parsley

¼ a cup of pineapple, drained

¼ a cup of nuts, crushed

2 tablespoons of relish

Mix the first three ingredients together until well dissolved, then stir in the remaining ingredients. Pour into a dish or a mold and chill, until it is well set. Serve with lettuce and crackers.