Southern cooks give tips, bring humor
I asked you to tell me about good Southern cooks and you delivered. I’ll start calling people this week as we move closer to launching the series. Meanwhile, let me share a few of the replies with you.
P.J. from Germantown made me laugh out loud. He or she (With initials, how can I know?) quickly established that the only Southern dish s/he makes is milk gravy. Here’s the email in part:
“Some call it sausage gravy. Use sausage, you’ve already screwed it up. Gotta have bacon grease. Tons of restaurants serve it — ain’t none of it right. If I could make a biscuit, they would build shrines so they wouldn’t have to worship me in the rain.”
P.J. is singing my tune: I love biscuits and gravy; put a slice of ripe tomato on top and call it breakfast.
Barbara also earned a chuckle: “YES, please give us info on cooking the best black-eyed peas and lima beans. Also green beans, which are usually better, even at restaurants like Captain D’s, than I can fix at home.”
I feel your pain. I can cook vegetables, but there’s the problem of not being able to fry chicken.
Folks are offering to teach me, and I say in the most non-Southern way, bless your hearts. I’ll be calling you, and by the time summer is over, I’ll know how to fry chicken.
And although my middle-age sensibilities won’t allow me not to look for ways to make healthy substitutions here are there, mostly we’ll follow the advice Tiffani sent in her e-mail: “I think the key to true Southern food is to not hold back on your seasonings. Don’t worry about your diet and exercise tomorrow. I think that when you try to use skim milk instead of whole milk, cut the salt out and get rid of the pork jowl, you lose tons of flavor. You shouldn’t eat heavy Southern cooking everyday, but when you do, season it how it’s supposed to be seasoned and you won’t be sorry.”
The first article will run June 25, and we’ll tackle two staples of the Southern table: Biscuits and cornbread. If you have something to say about either, e-mail me at biggs@ commercialappeal.com.
THis AnD THAT
Babalu Tacos and Tapas, the very popular Jackson, Mississippi, restaurant, opens Monday at 2113 Madison in Overton Square. It’s not a Mexican place, but they serve tacos (Food Network named one the tastiest taco in Mississippi.) and make a tableside guacamole that’s been named the best appetizer in the state for three years by Mississippi Magazine. It’s not a Spanish place, but it will serve tapas. And it’s not a bar, yet has an extensive cocktail menu. It’ll be open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Mon-
to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday.
Literatini, a fundraiser to benefit Literacy Mid-South, is Friday 7 to 10 p.m. at The Booksellers of Laurelwood, 387 Perkins Road Extended. Sample food and martinis from local restaurants such as Alchemy, Automatic Slim’s, Jim’s Place, Roaring Silly Goose, and others will be available. Tickets are $50 per single, $75 per couple and are available online at brownpapertickets.com/ event/632566.
Also on Friday, L’Ecole Culinaire will host a barbecue-themed open house. Take a tour of the campus, sample regional barbecue and make barbecue rub you can take home. It’s from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at 1245 N. Germantown Parkway, and it’s free. Call 901-754-7115 for more information.
Three Angels Diner, 2617 Broad Ave., has been sold by Jason and Rebecca Severs to her sister and brother-in-law, Amy and Julio Zuniga.
Don’t forget that Sunday is Father’s Day. Belle: A Southern Bistro, 117 Union Ave., will add meat and potato dishes to its brunch menu in his honor. Anyone else have a brunch special for dad? Post it here or on the Southern Tastes Facebook page at facebook.com/sotastes.
RECIPE Of THE WEEK
At Flight (See review in last week’s GoMemphis or at gomemphis.com.), I was wowed by the Key lime pie with Key lime sorbet. How serendipitous that I came across this recipe while flipping through a book. Enjoy it!