Cornbread Nation 5: The Best of Southern Food Writing Book

Foreword John Egerton XI

Introduction Fred W. Sauceman 1

Setting the Table

Why Study Southern Food? Marcie Cohen Ferris 5

What Is Southern? Edna Lewis 7

The Grace before Dinner Jennifer Justus 12

Gardens, Fields, and Forests

Gratitude: May Barbara Kingsolver 19

Corn as a Way of Life Loyal Jones 26

Between the Rows with Both Hands: Bean-Picking in Northeast Tennessee Margaret Carr 30

Field Pea Philosophy Scott Peacock 33

The Season of Fried Green Tomatoes Martha Stamps 35

Onion Medicine Anthony Cavender 37

Coveted, French, and Now in Tennessee Molly O'Neill 41

Living through the Honey Daniel Wallace 45

Capturing Summer in the Ice Cream Churn Dan Huntley 48

Sweet Potato Pie Marilyn Kallet 50

Coops, Pens, and Pits

Ode to Chicken Kevin Young 53

Mulling over Mull: A North Georgia Foodways Localism Charles C. Doyle 55

Some Like It Extra Hot David Ramsey 62

Victory or Supper: The Easter Egg Fights of Peters Hollow Kara Carden 69

There's a Word for It-the Origins of "Barbecue" John Shelton Reed 71

A Jewish Yankee's Quest for the Last Great Country Hams of Western Kentucky: How a City Boy Fell Madly for Country Ham and Wound Up Eating It Raw Alan Deutschman 77

From Southern Waters

Ode to a Catfish House Katherine Whitworth 87

Soft-Shell Science Carroll Leggett 89

Humble Paddlefish Fulfills Southerners' Caviar Dreams Jeffrey Gettleman 93

Bayou Coquille Garland Strother 97

Lamentations

USDA Approved: The Mark of Discrimination in Twentieth-Century Farm Policy Pete Daniel 101

So Long, White Lily Jack Neely 107

What Happened to Poor Man's Pâté? Chuck Shuford 110

Friends and Fancy Food Rheta Grimsley Johnson 114

Eating My Heart Out: The Good and Bad of the Meal of a Lifetime Beth Ann Fennelly 116

Funeral Food Kathleen Purvis 121

Sad Streaks and Weepy Meringues Sarah Anne Loudin Thomas 126

Malabsorption Syndrome Marianne Worthington 127

African American Foodways: Food, Fear, Race, Art, and the Future Ari Weinzweig 129

Celebrations

Juneteenth Jamboree Robb Walsh 137

The Sacred Feast Kathryn Eastburn 143

Open City Jessica B. Harris 150

Red Velvet Revisited Neely Barnwell Dykshorn 155

The Food and Music Pantheon Roy Blount Jr. 158

Recollections

A Fine Virginian Lucretia Bingham 165

Chapel Hill Eats and a Chef Remembers Ben Barker 169

Purdue John Martin Taylor 174

Platters and Permanence Walk and Talk A-Plenty at Spartanburg's Beacon Susan Shelton 177

The Restaurant That Time Forgot Lee Walburn 181

Miss Congealiality Julia Reed 185

Opinion Stew Salley Shannon 188

This Recipe Is Remembrance Michelle Healy 192

Knowing Sylvia Woods 195

Accents

Muffulettas and Meringue Pies: The Immigrant Experience in the South Amy C. Evans 199

Your Dekalb Farmers Market: Food and Ethnicity in Atlanta Tore C Olsson 217

Descendants of Greek Immigrants Aren't Pining for Pita John T. Edge 228

From Barbecue to Baklava: The Delta's Culinary Crossroads Amy C. Evans 232

The Delta Hot Tamale: Save Those Coffee Cans Martha Hall Foose 235

In the Doe's Kitchen with Aunt Florence Anne Martin 237

Home Cooking: East Meets South at a Delta Table Joan Nathan 240

Virginia Is for Wontons Mei Chin 244

Bozo's George Motz 247

Currying Flavor Brett Anderson 249

Cooking for a Sunday Day Corby Kummer 253

Welcome to Cuban Sandwich City Andrew Huse 257

Global Cornbreads: The Whole World in a Pan Crescent Dragonwagon 260

Demystifying Grits for the Northern Palate John S. Forrester 262

The Invasion of the Whores de Orvrays Robert St. John 265

Tasty Tradition Rolls On Bill Archer 269

Good Humor Devon Brenner 271

The Liquid South

Early Times in Mississippi Donna Tartt 275

Sazeracs: I Take My Liquor Brown Sara Ronhen 278

The Michelada: Getting to the Bottom of a Mysterious Texas Concoction Francine Maroukian 287

Dr. Enuf: A New Age Nutraceutical with a Patent Medicine Pedigree Fred W. Sauceman 289

Have a Fried Coke-and a Frown? John Kessler 294

Taste of Tradition: Iced Tea Fred Thompson 295

Praise Wine John Simpkins 297

A Benediction

Butter Elizabeth Alexander 301

Contributors 303

Acknowledgments 307