Eat Drink Mississippi August September 2017

Mississippi Seafood Trail | Berry Picking | The Great Ruleville Roast

eat. drink.

MISSISSIPPI Feast Like The King in Tupelo

Elvis-Inspired Recipes

+ Forklift + Downtown Grille + 303 Jefferson + 1884 Cafe + Sully’s

Crunchy Grilled Snapper Burritos Classic Southern Tomato Pie Quickie Pie

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 1

2 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

Don’t Miss This Great Event.

FOOD

MUSIC

DRINKS

TUESDAY OCTOBER 3, 2017 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm Town of Livingston at the corner of Highway 463 and Highway 22 Tickets: $50.00 per person and may be purchased online at www.madcaap.org Musical Entertainment by Rhythm Masters Food and wine by 28 fine restaurants and Our “Not To Be Missed” Silent Auction held in Livingston Chapel.

Sponsors and Restaurants Dianne Anderson Gary Anderson

Adults Only

21 Years and Over

Jim and Amy Streetman

No Pets, Please

Town of Livingston

Casual Attire

drink. MISSISSIPPI • 3 To learn more about how MadCAAP’s programs assist the poor visit eat. www.madcaap.org

tupelo.net

4 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

CONTENTS August/September 2017 • Volume 6 Number 5

21

in this issue 15 WHAT’S HOT Green Tomatoes Not Just for the Frying Pan

22 MISSISSIPPI SEAFOOD TRAIL Discover the Difference in Fresh Gulf Seafood

26 MISSISSIPPI MADE Yoder Brands

30 BRILLIANT BAKER Young Entrepreneur Aspires to Be Cake Queen of the South

34 MEMORY LANE Aunt Bessie Was Legendary Berry Picker and Pea Sheller

36 FEAST LIKE THE KING The Tupelo Elvis Experience

42 ARE YOU HUNGRY TONIGHT? Can’t Help Falling in Love with These Elvis-Inspired Recipes

30 eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 5

Missing an issue?

Back issues are available for order on our website! eat. drink.

MISSISSIPPI OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2016

Soups for the Season page 22

VOLUME 6, NUMBER 1

FOOD REVOLUTION

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MISSISSIPPI HOMEMADE CHICKEN PIE

DECEMBER/JANUARY 2017

Yuletide Yummies

+ Southern Eatery + CRAVE Bistro + Livingston + Skidmore’s Grill + Tasty Tails eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI •1

LOCAL CHEF CROWNED KING OF SEAFOOD

page 22

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI

UP IN FARMS FOOD HUB

VOLUME 6, NUMBER 2

GINGERBREAD VILLAGE

December/January 2017

Now Offered at The Kitchen Table

eat. drink.

MISSISSIPPI

+ GRIT + Crystal Grill + Moo’s Barn & Grill + Nightingale’s Pantry + Hook Gulf Coast Cuisine

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 1

Chocolate Share the Love

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI VOLUME 6, NUMBER 3

Belzoni’s

WORLD CATFISH FESTIVAL TIPS FOR AN ORGANIZED KITCHEN

eat. drink.

MISSISSIPPI APRIL/MAY 2017

February/March 2017

- The Debutante Farmer -

ELIZABETH

HEISKELL DELTA COUPLE RECOGNIZED NATIONALLY FOR CULINARY WORK

+ Catfish Blues + Lillo's Family Restaurant + Taste Bistro & Desserts + Phillips Drive-In + Second Street Bean eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 1

It’s Time for a

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI

fiesta

VOLUME 6, NUMBER 4

eat. drink.

MISSISSIPPI Walthall County

DAIRY FESTIVAL

April/May 2017

JUNE/JULY 2017 EXPLORING STARKVILLE’S CULINARY SCENE

Summer’s

+ McEwen’s + Ground Zero Blues Club + Betty’s Eat Shop + Phillip M’s

TheMISSISSIPPI Wayward Kraken eat.+drink.

•1

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI

BOUNTY Fresh-From-the-Garden Recipes

BEST BURGER in Mississippi

Gourmet Ice Pop Shops June/July 2017

TAYLOR HICKS GETS A TASTE OF THE MAGNOLIA STATE

+ Steak by Melissa + Bellazar’s + Drago’s + Bin 612 + Jack’s by the Tracks

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 1

3720 Hardy Street, Suite 3 Hattiesburg, MS

601-261-2224 www.KitchenTableNow.com 6 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

eat. drink.

MISSISSIPPI www.eatdrinkmississippi.com

CONTENTS August/September 2017

56

53 46 IN THE BLOGLIGHT

68 CAPITAL/RIVER

Sipp’ Jackson

48 FROM MISSISSIPPI TO BEYOND Passion for Seafood Turns Into Career for Jeff Hansell

52 FROM THE BOOKSHELF

303 Jefferson - Clinton

72 COASTAL Sully’s - Hattiesburg

76

FEATURED FESTIVAL The Great Ruleville Roast

Little Gulf Coast Seafood Cookbook Kent Whitaker

54 RAISE YOUR GLASS Where Did Iced Tea Come From?

56 THE HILLS Forklift - Tupelo

60 THE DELTA Downtown Grille - Greenville ON THE COVER: The Belvis Burger at Neon Pig in Tupelo, page 41.

Photography by Megan Wolfe

64 THE PINES 1884 Cafe/The Simmons-Wright Co. - Kewanee

in every issue 8 From the Publisher 10 From Our Readers 16 Fabulous Foodie Finds 20 Deep South Dish 78 Events 80 Recipe/Ad Index 82 Till We Eat Again

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 7

{ from the publisher }

small town I grew up in, we didn't have access Ifindntothefresh Gulf seafood. We were lucky if we could affordable shrimp in the local grocer's freezer

case. Even if we could, it just wasn't the same as what can be had from the waters just outside the beaches of Gulfport. Lucky for us, that was only a two-and-ahalf hour drive from home.

The arrival of summer meant shrimp season was upon us. Many times, my daddy would make the trek to the marina in Gulfport alone.

Sometimes my momma joined him and a few times my brothers and I tagged along. I remember loading up the family car with coolers and heading down Highway 49 in hopes of stocking our freezer for the remainder of the year.

It was such fun to watch the boats sail into the harbor, dock, and then show off their bounty. My daddy would go from boat to boat to check out what each had to offer. I think his favorite part was haggling with the shrimpers on the best price. Once that had been settled upon, the coolers would be loaded and we'd head back up the highway.

We couldn't wait to get home to enjoy a shrimp feast for dinner.

Before that could happen, the shrimp had to be de-headed. If you wanted to participate in the eating of the shrimp, you had to participate in the de-heading. It was a dreaded and sometimes painful process; it was easy to stick your finger with one of the points at the shrimp's head and tail. When we sat down to dinner, we realized that it was absolutely worth it. After de-heading, daddy held out enough shrimp for dinner and the remainder was divided into perfect portions for our family, placed in freezer bags, covered with water, then frozen for another day.

For our shrimp dinner, we would have both boiled and fried shrimp.

My daddy was an expert when it came to cooking shrimp. His fried shrimp were the absolute best I've ever eaten. He used a homemade batter recipe that he'd stir up and bathe the shrimp in before dropping them in hot grease to fry to perfection. We all ate until our bellies hurt and never let a single shrimp go to waste.

I was taught the value of fresh Mississippi Gulf seafood at an early age. In my opinion, none other comes close in quality. I haven't found the time as an adult to make a shrimp run to the Coast, but when I purchase it locally, I make sure to check the label to verify where it came from. We should demand the same from our local restaurants.

It's easier now than ever to find out exactly where our foods come

q

from. One handy tool is the Mississippi Seafood Trail, a comprehensive guide to local restaurants serving genuine Gulf seafood. Don't miss our feature beginning on page 22.

I was only six years old when Elvis Presley passed away, so I don't remember much about him from when he was alive other than he was the "King of Rock and Roll." August 16th marks the 40th anniversary of his death and his legend continues to rock on. One thing I do know about him is that he loved to eat. Today, you can get the Elvis experience in his hometown of Tupelo by visiting his birthplace and feasting like "The King" at local eateries. Our feature beginning on page 36 highlights a few of the Elvis-inspired dishes on menus in Tupelo. We've even included a few Elvis-inspired recipes for you to try at home.

From Gulfport to Tupelo and beyond, our great state has beautiful sights to see and delicious food to devour. I encourage you to load your family into the car, set out on a good ole Mississippi road trip, and make lasting memories together.

"So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun.�

Ecclesiastes 8:15

r

EAT DRINK MISSISSIPPI (USPS 17200) is published bi-monthly by Carney Publications LLC, 296 F.E. Sellers Hwy., Monticello, MS 39654-9555. Periodicals postage paid at Monticello, MS, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to EAT DRINK MISSISSIPPI, P.O. Box 1663, Madison, MS 39130.

8 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

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VOLUME 6, NUMBER 4

Access issues on all your devices - iOS, Android, and desktop computer.

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MISSISSIPPI JUNE/JULY 2017

BOUNTY Fresh-From-the-Garden Recipes

BEST BURGER in Mississippi

Gourmet Ice Pop Shops June/July 2017

On desktop computer, visit www.magzter.com and search for Eat Drink Mississippi or visit www.eatdrinkmississippi.com for a direct link.

Summer’s eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI

Download the free Eat Drink Mississippi app to purchase and view in app.

TAYLOR HICKS GETS A TASTE OF THE MAGNOLIA STATE

+ Steak by Melissa + Bellazar’s + Drago’s + Bin 612 + Jack’s by the Tracks

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 1

Getting a taste of Mississippi has never been easier!

Daily Blue Plates | Happy Hour | Lakeside Patio LOCATED AT THE TOWNSHIP OFF HIGHLAND COLONY PKWY NEXT TO THE CLUB 361 TOWNSHIP AVE. RIDGELAND, MS 39157 | 601.707.0587 | ANJOURESTAURANT.NET

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 9

{ from our readers } Love your magazine! We look forward to every issue to plan our next feast-cation!

Bethany Ashley Collins Just wanted to say thanks to you and your staff for your wonderful publication.

Keep up the good work.

Ann Barbour Loxley, Ala.

Love, love, love Eat Drink Mississippi.

Kent Usry via Facebook ••• CORRECTION: In the June/July 2017 issue, Jadyn Cunningham’s age was printed incorrectly. She is thirteen years old. We apologize for the error.

VENDORS WANTED We are currently seeking magazine vendors in all areas of the state.

If you would like to sell this magazine at your business, call 601-756-1584 or email info@eatdrinkmississippi.com for more information.

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MISSISSIPPI J.J. Carney Publisher/Editor John Carney Executive Editor Paige McKay Associate Editor Anne Morgan Carney Executive Assistant Joe Luca Newsstand Sales Consultant

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Want more recipes?

Check out our recipe collection on our website!

www.eatdrinkmississippi.com DISCOVERY NIGHT

MCM Partners’ Signature Family Fundraiser S AT U R D AY

SEPT 23 6:00 - 9:00 PM

mschildrensmuseum.org eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 11

{contributors} SCOTT BOYD is a Monticello native.

He is a journalism graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi. For the past 18 years, he has been editor and publisher of The Beacon, a weekly newspaper in Macon.

JULIAN BRUNT is a food and culture writer from the Gulf Coast whose roots run more than three hundred years deep in Southern soil. He is deeply concerned with culinary and cultural traditions and thinks no man worth his salt that cannot hold forth in tall tale and willingly endure the heat of the kitchen.

LISA LAFONTAINE BYNUM is a freelance writer from Grenada.

Her work has appeared in several publications in Mississippi. She is a graduate of Delta State University where she received a BA in Marketing and her MBA. In her free time, she enjoys food writing and photography. She currently resides in Brandon.

Photo by Alisa Chapman Photography KELSEY WELLS LAMBERT is a news writer at Lawrence County Press in Monticello. She is a graduate of Southwest Mississippi Community College where she served as editor of The Pine Burr.

She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Communications at William Carey University and served as a staff writer and life editor of The Cobbler student newspaper until she became managing editor her senior year. She and her husband currently reside in the Divide community where she is active in her church and community.

12 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

SUSAN MARQUEZ lives and writes in Madison. She has a degree in RadioTV-Film from the University of Southern Mississippi and had a long career in advertising and marketing before stumbling into a freelance writing career in 2001.

Hundreds of published articles later, Marquez still loves to tell the stories of the interesting people, places, and events throughout the South.

KATHY K. MARTIN is an Ole Miss journalism graduate who currently lives in Collierville, Tennessee with her husband and two children. She works as a freelance writer and chairs her church’s Christian writers group.

RICHELLE PUTNAM is a Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) Teaching Artist/ Roster Artist (Literary), a Mississippi Humanities Speaker, and a 2014 MAC Literary Arts Fellow. Her YA biography, The Inspiring Life of Eudora Welty (The History Press, April 2014), received the 2014 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards Silver Medal. She is also the author of Lauderdale County, Mississippi; a Brief History (The History Press, 2011) and co-author of Legendary Locals of Meridian, Mississippi (Arcadia Publishing 2013). Her mission as a writer and teaching artist is to help children see the beauty of words and to realize their power.

JANETTE TIBBETTS is a ninth generation Mississippian. She grew up on a Jones County dairy farm, attended Millsaps, taught school, and was a merchant. She is the founder and curator of “The Sandbank,” a Beatrix Potter Collection, at USM.

She is a freelance writer and photographer. Janette writes weekly garden and food columns for magazines and newspapers.

She was awarded a writer’s grant from the Mississippi Art’s Commission and the National Endowment of the Arts. She lives with her husband, Jon, and writes in their home near Hattiesburg. A published author of short stories, she is presently completing a novel.

EMMA WILLIAMS is a recent graduate of Quitman High School in Quitman.

She plans to make a career in Culinary Arts after attending Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. She lives in Ocean Springs and is currently working full-time in the food service field and writes part-time on topics that relate to the culinary field.

MEGAN WOLFE is a freelance writer and photojournalist from San Francisco. Her work can regularly be found in the Collierville Herald, The South Reporter, and other mid-South publications. She is currently based in Holly Springs, where she spends her free time creating multimedia projects to promote community events and the local arts.

KATIE YOUNGBLOOD is a freelance writer from Tupelo. She is a graduate of Mississippi State University where she earned a B.S. degree in Marketing, Communications, and Business Psychology. An avid traveler, when home she resides with her husband in Leland.

DID YOU

KNOW?

• Almost 1 in 4 Mississippians — about 690,000 people — don’t have enough to eat.

• More than 1 in 4 children (28.7%) go to bed hungry most every night.

Stomachs are growling all over the state. Hunger is a problem all across America, but in Mississippi, it’s practically an epidemic.

DONATE NOW! Every $1.00 donated provides seven meals to hungry Mississippians.

www.msfoodnet.org

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 13

SUBSCRIBE NOW for a taste of Mississippi all year long!

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FROM: __________________________________________ NAME __________________________________________ ADDRESS __________________________________________ CITY __________________________________________ STATE ZIP __________________________________________ PHONE __________________________________________ E-MAIL ADDRESS

14 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

MY SUBSCRIPTION

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1-year $24 2-years $36

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PAYMENT ENCLOSED BILL ME LATER TO: __________________________________________ NAME __________________________________________ ADDRESS __________________________________________ CITY __________________________________________ STATE ZIP

Makes a great gift!

{ what’s hot }

Green Tomatoes Not Just for the Frying Pan

P

erhaps in part due to the popular 1991 film Fried Green Tomatoes, many people are familiar with the Southern side dish of the same name.

But as proven by the following recipe for Grilled Green Tomato “Sandwiches” with Herbed Cream Cheese from Karen Adler and Judith Fertig’s The Gardener & The Grill (Running Press), green tomatoes can be even more delicious when grilled than they are when fried. edm

Grilled Green Tomato “Sandwiches” with Herbed Cream Cheese Serves 6 Herbed Cream Cheese: 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese at room temperature 1 garlic clove, minced 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil 1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives Tomatoes: 4 large green tomatoes (about 1-1/2 pounds), sliced 3/4inch thick (to make 12 slices) Olive oil, for brushing 2 teaspoons Seasoning Salt (see below) or kosher salt Ground black pepper Prepare a medium-hot fire in your grill. Place a welloiled perforated grill rack over direct heat.

In a bowl, blend the cream cheese, garlic, basil, and chives together until smooth. Set aside.

Brush the tomato slices with olive oil on both sides and season with seasoning salt and pepper. Place the slices on a baking sheet and bring out to the grill with the bowl of Herbed Cream Cheese and a knife for spreading.

Grill all of the tomatoes on one side for about 3 minutes with the lid open, then flip and grill on the other side for 3 minutes more, or until the tomatoes have good grill marks.

Remove the tomato slices from the grill and allow to

cool slightly on the baking sheet. Spread Herbed Cream Cheese on half of the slices, top with a second slice and set the sandwiches on a platter. Serve the sandwiches hot, with oozing cream cheese filling.

Variation: Grill all of the tomato slices as above and top each grilled tomato with a dollop of the cream cheese and serve open-faced.

Seasoning Salt Makes 1-1/4 cups 1 cup sea salt 2 tablespoons paprika 1 teaspoon parsley flakes 1 teaspoon dried chives 1 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves 1/2 teaspoon celery seed 1/2 teaspoon curry powder 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon red pepper Combine all of the ingredients in a glass jar and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Shake to blend. This keeps for several months in the pantry. eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 15

{ fabulous foodie finds }

The Style and Elegance of When it comes to home décor, the iridescent shine of a pearl provides a beautiful color and shimmer. It’s elegant, stylish, and easy to add to any room or color scheme because it’s neutral, yet still beautiful. Whether you’re into more subtle pearl pieces or want them at the center of attention, here are few items we’ve found that you can add to your décor and are sure to add a little glitz to your home.

Small Tray in Crackle White Pearl, $295.00 Kendra Scott, Jackson

Pearl Island Candy Dish, $19.99 Mikasa

Godinger Salt & Pepper Shakers, $29.25 The Gift Home see page 80 for store information 16 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

Pearl Kemp & Beatley Napkin Ring, $3.00 Dillard’s

Placemat, $60.00 The Kitchen Table, Hattiesburg

Mosaic Charger Plate, $19.95 Pier 1 Imports

Coasters, set of 4, $14.95 Pier 1 Imports

Mother of Pearl Spreaders & Forks Set, $24.00 Newport Style eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 17

{ chef’s corner }

Q&A with Chef Christian Amelot of Anjou Restaurant

A

graduate of Savoie Léman culinary school of Thonon les Bains, Chef Christian Amelot brings over 40 years of French culinary expertise to the kitchen. Amelot began his career in 1972 as a personal chef to French Foreign Minister Maurice Schuman while on active duty in the French Navy. He served many visiting dignitaries and has worked in reputed kitchens at the Hotel Hermitage, a five-star hotel in La Baule, France, and the gourmet La Braiserie in Marseilles.

In 1984, Amelot, his wife, and their two daughters, Anne and Sophie, moved to Jackson for a new endeavor. He served as the Chef de Cuisine at The Sundancer, a fine dining restaurant in Highland Village. The Sundancer closed four years later, and Amelot went on to share his culinary skills as corporate chef for Valley Food Services for nearly 20 years, followed by US Food Service’s Jackson-New Orleans division as their corporate Executive Chef. In 2012, Anne opened the French-inspired Anjou Restaurant in Ridgeland, where Amelot created the menu for his daughter’s new eatery. Three years later, Amelot came on board full-time to take the reins of the kitchen, where he now serves as the Exectuive Chef. Amelot created the menu at Anjou as a balance of traditional French cuisine and the Southern palate. Guests can expect French favorites, such as house-made beignets, crepes, and quiche, as well as Southern classics, including fried oysters and shrimp and grits.

Who or what influenced you to become a chef? My father was a hunter, so we always had wild game like pheasant, rabbit, deer, and wild boar. My mother was the cook in the family and I learned a lot from her. She inspired me in the kitchen.

What is your favorite food memory? When I was in my early twenties, I was working at a five-star hotel called L’hermitage in La Baulle, France. We made incredible food for banquets, wedding receptions, and beautiful table displays. I learned a lot and worked on many extravagant events.

How would you describe your cooking style? French Mediterranean with a touch of Southern.

What are your signature dishes? I make a delicious classic Bearnaise sauce!

What’s your favorite ingredient? Garlic, parsley, and sweet onions– they add great flavor to any dish!

What’s your favorite dish to prepare? I really enjoy making pastries, croissants, pain au chocolate, Tarte Tatin, and Brown Sugar 18 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

Tart that my mother has always made.

What’s your favorite dish to eat? I love Langostinos, pasta dishes, and even homemade pizzas.

What do you enjoy doing on your days off? I love riding my motorcycles.

What do you enjoy cooking at home? Fresh vegetables and classic French dishes like Pot au feu

When you’re not at work, where do you like to eat out? I actually don’t eat out very much. I enjoy cooking at home, but when I do I enjoy Char, Amerigo, and The Manship.

Tell us a little about your restaurant. We are a family-run, French Southern bistro. My daughter, Anne Amelot-Holmes, is the proprietor and takes care of front-of-house operations. We serve lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch, and even offer catering and private dining services for groups large and small. edm

photo by christina foto

Onion soup gratinÉe About 8 to 10 portions, depending on size of the bowl 2 pounds fresh sliced yellow onions 3 ounces unsalted butter 2 teaspoons canola oil 1 glass of dry white wine 3 quarts of good chicken stock or 50/50 beef/chicken stock Salt, to taste Pepper, to taste 1 teaspoon fresh thyme 2 pounds grated swiss cheese Dry French sourdough bread, sliced and toasted

Sauté sliced onion in butter and canola oil until brown (not too dark). Add white wine and stock. Season with salt, pepper, and thyme. Cook on slow boil for about 30 to 40 minutes.

Fill up bowl or cup to 3/4 full. Add 2 slices of toasted dry French sourdough bread (crouton size) and 2-1/2 ounces of swiss cheese on top. Place bowl in high temperature oven ( 400 degrees F). Serve when the top of soup is lightly browned.

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 19

DEEP SOUTH DISH Food. Family. Memories.

Mary Foreman, a native of Biloxi, is the author of the popular website deepsouthdish.com, where she shares her favorite, homespun, mostly from scratch and, very often, heirloom and heritage, Southern recipes. She is also author of her first cookbook, Deep South Dish: Homestyle Southern Recipes.

Louisiana Creole Tomatoes Make One Tasty Pie

I

BY MARY FOREMAN

t’s hard to believe we’re around the corner from fall, but we are, and that means we’re on the back end of summer vegetables. I mentioned in my last column that I’ve been planting tomatoes in fabric bags the past couple of years, and wow did they produce this year. I think it’s safe to say that I’ve eaten my fair share of tomato sandwiches this season.

I usually pick up a few different varieties of tomato plants–the usual Big Boy and Better Boys, but the last few years I’ve gotten the biggest return from a variety called Creole. If you’re from the Gulf Coast, you probably know about Louisiana’s Creole tomatoes, and you might be among the masses who wait with baited breath every season for them to show up. Akin to the Vidalia Georgia sweet onions, Creoles are less about a variety of tomatoes and more about the parish river soil in which they are grown.

The tomatoes are beautiful. Heavy and huge, just one will cover the full palm of your hand, and they are super juicy and flavorful. Like Vidalia onions, true Louisiana Creole tomatoes are available for a very limited time, and they sell fast, having a bit of a cult following. Folks drive down from north Mississippi and over from Alabama and Florida to get them the day they hit the markets. They even have their own festival in New Orleans, and whether you pick up the authentic ones from Louisiana, or grow your own, you will not be disappointed in this variety of tomato.

I don’t know who first thought to turn tomatoes into a savory, cheesy pie, but I sure thank them. It’s worth turning on the oven even in the heat of the summer. Layers of sliced tomatoes, shredded mozzarella cheese, fresh herbs, sweet onion, and bacon are piled into a flaky pastry crust and finished with a cheesy mayonnaise dressing. It’s Southern to the core.

Summer tomatoes can be very juicy, which can create a bit of a soggy bottom on your pie, but I’ve got a few solutions that are helpful to counter that.

First, salt and layer the tomato slices in between several layers of paper towels.

This will help to draw out the excess juice, as will knocking off any excess seeds before layering. Secondly, I like to lay down a layer of the cheese into the crust before layering in the remaining ingredients.

Get this luscious tomato pie in the oven while you still can. It’s definitely a winner. edm

Classic Southern Tomato Pie ©From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

1 (10 inch) deep dish pie crust 3 medium sized tomatoes, sliced (about 18 slices) Kosher salt 2 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled, divided 1 small Vidalia or other sweet onion, quartered and sliced thin (about 1 cup) 3 cups shredded mozzarella, divided Pinch granulated sugar, optional Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste Garlic powder, to taste 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil 1 cup real mayonnaise (do not substitute low fat or fat free) 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce 1/8 cup chopped fresh parsley 20 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

Place the uncooked pie crust in a glass, deep dish pie pan, turning the edges under and 1/2 inch over the top of the pie plate to crimp; dock crust with a fork in several places. Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crust is dry-looking and just beginning to lightly brown. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with two layers of paper towels. Slice tomatoes 1/4-inch thick and lay them out on the paper towels to drain. Sprinkle tomatoes lightly with salt and cover with another layer of paper towels. Let rest for 30 minutes while you prepare the bacon and onions.

Cook the bacon crisp, remove, and set aside; sauté onions in the bacon drippings until tender, but not browned.

Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Add half a cup of the mozzarella cheese to the bottom of the cooled pie crust.

Knock excess seeds off from tomato slices and top cheese with half of the tomatoes. Sprinkle lightly with sugar, if using, then season to taste with the black pepper and garlic powder. Add half of the basil, top with half of the onions, and half of the bacon. Sprinkle a half cup of the cheese on top. Repeat layers, except omit the last layer of cheese.

In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, hot sauce, parsley, and the remaining 2 cups of cheese; spread evenly over the top. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 40 to 45 minutes, or until bubbly and light golden brown on

top. Shield edges of pie crust with aluminum foil if they are browning too quickly. Let pie cool to room temperature before slicing, using a serrated knife. Best served warm, but also very good cold. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

Tomato pie can be served as a main dish with a garden salad and a side of seasonal fruit, as a side on a veggie plate, or along with any main dish protein such as pork, beef, chicken, or seafood.

Cook’s Notes: Times are estimates as ovens vary. May also use a combination of cheeses - mozzarella with cheddar, swiss, pepper jack, monterey jack, are all good choices to mix, but always use majority mozzarella. May also use part Parmesan cheese for some of the cheese in the top dressing. May substitute a teaspoon of dried basil and parsley for the fresh herbs and/or use sliced green onion in place of the sweet onion. May also be made with green tomatoes.

Mini Pie Variation: Mini tomato pies are an excellent party food. Use a biscuit cutter to cut mini dough circles out of pie pastry and bake in mini muffin tins, or use mini phyllo shells on a baking sheet. Pre-bake the crusts until very lightly browned, fill as above, except chop tomatoes after draining. Bake about 20 minutes or until light golden brown.

Ham and Tomato Pie: Substitute 1/4 cup of diced, smoked ham for the bacon. eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 21

Discover the Difference in Fresh Gulf Seafood story by susan marquez artwork by tara gerald photos courtesy of the focus group

D

rive along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and you may feel like you’re on a seafood trail of dining.

Restaurants serving fresh gulf seafood are abundant in the tri-county area that borders the Gulf of Mexico, but the official Mississippi Seafood Trail extends far beyond the Gulf Coast area. As a matter of fact, it stretches for 360 miles across the state and includes many of Mississippi’s best restaurants which serve genuine, fresh Mississippi Gulf seafood.

Established in 2014 by the Mississippi Hospitality and Restaurant Association, the purpose of the Mississippi Seafood Trail is to promote restaurants that serve wild-caught, genuine gulf coast seafood. “It’s a value-added benefit for our member restaurants,” said Mike Cashion, executive director of the Mississippi Hospitality and Restaurant Association.

“We promote the Trail online through social media and a website, and through extensive billboard media strategically placed at entry points into the state.”

Cashion said that while there is no other requirement of restaurants other than serving wild-caught gulf seafood, they do encourage the restaurants on the Trail to serve as many seafood items as their menu will allow. And while there isn’t a tracking mechanism to see if gulf seafood sales have increased since the inception of the Seafood Trail, Cashion said that antidotal information has shown there has been very positive feedback from both the restaurants on the Trail, as well as from customers.

“We closely follow the Twitter comments and it’s amazing to see how people really take the time to tweet about their experience, sharing pictures of the dishes they’re eating, as well as pictures of the restaurants where they are dining. The restaurants on the Trail are also doing a great job of posting daily specials.”

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One thing Cashion said they are learning from the social media posts is that many visitors from Louisiana and Alabama cite the Seafood Trail as their primary reason for coming to Mississippi. “A lot of people just eat their way along the trail, trying all the dishes in all the restaurants they can.” Because of that draw, the Mississippi Department of Tourism supports the Seafood

Trail through grants and through additional social media promotions.

The execution and promotion of the Mississippi Seafood Trail has earned it

the designation of being the #2 Food Trail in the country by the readers of USA Today. “That’s a pretty impressive designation,” said Cashion. “It shows we’re doing something right. A lot of people have worked very hard to make the Seafood Trail something we can be proud of and something that will benefit our state, particularly those in the seafood industry and those who serve seafood in their restaurants.”

The range of seafood that can be wild-caught in the Mississippi Gulf includes fresh crab, oysters, and shrimp, in addition to several varieties of finfish, including snapper, sea trout, mullet, drum, and flounder.

One of the 65 restaurants on the Mississippi Seafood Trail that is nowhere near the Gulf Coast is Weidmann’s in Meridian. One of the oldest restaurants in the state, owner Charles Frazier said that this is the first year for Weidmann’s to be on the Mississippi Seafood Trail. “We have always served fresh seafood from the Gulf.” With a steady stream of folks who stop in to eat at Weidmann’s while traveling I-20 from Houston to Atlanta and back, the lure of fresh seafood is stronger than ever. “A lot of our customers order seafood here because they know it’s fresh, and it’s from Mississippi’s gulf. We think the Mississippi Restaurant Association is a great organization, and we are proud to be a part of it. And now, more than ever, we are proud to be a part of the growing Mississippi Seafood Trail.” edm www.mississippiseafoodtrail.com

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 23

Finger-Lickin’ Shrimp Courtesy of Bob Blumer’s Surreal Gourmet Bites (Chronicle)

Yields 12 bites 3/4 cup best-available olive oil 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons minced fresh Italian parsley 2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano or thyme or 1 teaspoon dried 12 colossal shrimp, shells on 1/2 cup kosher salt or coarse sea salt Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

In a small bowl, prepare dipping sauce by whipping together 1/2 cup of the olive oil,

24 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

the lemon juice, garlic, parsley, and oregano.

Reserve.

Using a paring knife, make a 1/4-inch incision down the backs of the shrimp. Devein them, but do not remove the shells.

In a medium bowl, add remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and the shrimp. Toss the shrimp in the oil, then sprinkle salt overtop, and toss thoroughly so that the shrimp are coated in salt.

Grill shrimp directly over the heat or pan cook for approximately 3 minutes per side, or until shrimp are opaque throughout. Serve with dipping sauce.

HuÎtres GratinÉes (Oysters in Cheese Sauce) from Sarah Woodward’s The Food of France (Kyle Books) Serves 4 as a first course 16 fine oysters 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon white dry vermouth 1-1/4 cups whole milk 2 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs from a baguette 1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaved parsley 2 tablespoons finely grated hard cheese, such as Gruyere Freshly ground black pepper Open the oysters over a pan to catch the juices and then sieve the juice, you should end up with around 1 cup. Scrape out the oysters and keep cool. Place the deeper half of each shell in hot water and scrub well.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Make a béchamel sauce by first melting the butter over a gentle heat and then stirring in the flour. Cook

for 2 minutes, stirring all the time, until lightly caramel-colored. Add the vermouth, cook 1 minute, and then slowly start stirring in the milk. Once all the milk is amalgamated, cook another 5 minutes, still stirring, until you have a thick sauce. Remove from the heat.

In a separate pan, bring the oyster juice to the boil, reduce to a simmer,0 and then slip in the oysters. Simmer the oysters for 1 minute only, then remove them with a slotted spoon.

Arrange the scrubbed shells in a gratin dish and divide the oyster flesh equally among them. Add just enough of the oyster liquid to the béchamel sauce to relax it (around half of the liquid) and then spoon the sauce over the oysters.

Mix together the breadcrumbs, parsley and cheese and scatter over the oysters; season with pepper. Cook in the oven until the sauce is bubbling and the topping nicely browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve straight away.

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{ mississippi made }

Summer Sausage Everyone Will Love

“T

story and photography BY Scott Boyd

he journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” That’s the writing on the wall at Olen Yoder’s office in Macon.

After years of tinkering with formulas and recipes, Yoder thinks he’s finally achieved perfection in the fine art of summer sausage manufacturing.

Yoder’s journey with summer sausage is paved with years of trial and error, initially with the goal of meat snacks for Noxubee County hunters. At his Macon meat and wild game processing plant, Yoder and his sons made jerky treats for

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years, trying to find the perfect mixes of seasonings for beef, sausage, venison, and even catfish.

In 2001, Yoder left his native Tennessee to purchase Sunbelt Meats in Macon, a meat market more famous for venison processing than anything else. Yoder’s mission was simple - develop Sunbelt into a premium beef and pork processing house, while still working to service the busy hunting industry.

Starting in early 2016, Yoder finalized the plan for his much-anticipated summer sausage, packaged under the “Yoder

Olen Yoder Brands” label. “We think we’ve finally developed a product that everyone will love,” he said.

Summer sausage dates back to 17th Century Germany - the days of pre-refrigeration - the days when food had to last. Considered the “soul food” of the Germans, summer sausage is considered any sausage that can be kept without refrigeration. In the days of old, butchering of animals for meat was reserved for the cooler months, thus “summer sausage” came from the need for meat through the warmer months.

Yoder’s initial foray into the summer sausage market has focused on four flavors - original, teriyaki, jalapeño and pepper cheese, and for those with a desire for heat - habanero and pepper cheese. After passing the rigorous tests of the Food and Drug Administration for distribution, Yoder Brands is now offered in grocery and specialty stores in numerous locations

around Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. “Whenever we go into a new store and show our products and convince them to give it a taste test, we never get turned down,” said Yoder, grinning like a new, proud papa.

Yoder, 38, no longer owns Sunbelt Meats and is concentrating on his new summer sausage venture with a specialty market handling the manufacturing process according to his strict standards.

Yoder says the future may include more flavors of summer sausage and even other special “Yoder Brand” items, like barbecue sauce and honey. edm Yoder Brand 47121 Highway 14 E, Macon 662.312.2159 www.yoderbrand.com eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 27

Summer Brunch

When it comes to planning brunch, there really are no rules.

It’s the perfect opportunity to combine your favorite flavors and foods in one delicious meal. This Brunch Bruschetta Bar

is a gorgeous way to feed a crowd and highlight your favorite summertime ingredients.

Brunch Bruschetta Bar Courtesy of Half Baked Harvest

Servings: 8-12 1 cup basil pesto 1 cup sun-dried tomato spread 2 cups cherry tomatoes, marinated cherry tomatoes, or diced tomatoes 6-8 soft-boiled or poached eggs 6-8 scrambled eggs 12 slices grilled or toasted bread Olive oil, to taste Salt, to taste Pepper, to taste 2-3 varieties of soft cheeses 2 cups fresh fruit 1 sliced avocado 28 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

2 cups sauteed veggies, such as spinach and mushrooms 6-8 pieces fried bacon 2-3 varieties of prosciutto, salami, or smoked salmon 1 cup fruit jam 1 cup nut butter 1/2 cup honey 1 carton not-from-concentrate Florida’s Natural Brand Orange Juice On large serving board, arrange sauces and spreads.

Add poached eggs, scrambled eggs, and bread. Drizzle poached eggs with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange cheese, fruits, veggies, meats, jams, nut butter and honey around eggs.

Pour orange juice into juice glasses for sipping.

Bin 612 boasts a cafe-like atmosphere popular with college students and locals alike. The Bin’s menu offers an eclectic blend of pizzas, panini, burgers and more made with fresh local ingredients.

•

612 UNIVERSITY DR. • STARKVILLE 662.324.6126 WWW.EATLOCALSTARKVILLE.COM MONDAY-THURSDAY 11AM-12AM FRIDAY-SATURDAY 11AM-1AM SUNDAY 11AM-10PM

www.eatdrinkmississippi.com

eat. drink.

MISSISSIPPI

DINING GUIDE - DINING GUIDE - DINING GUIDE • DINING GUIDE - DINING GUIDE

Visit our website for Mississippi culinary news, recipes, cooking tips, culinary events, and more!

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 29

Brilliant Baker

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Young Entrepreneur Aspires to Be Cake Queen of the South

Q

Story by Emma Williams | photography by shea goff

uitman is a sleepy little town, deep in the South, and easily overlooked. Steeped in history as it is, it might not be the place one expects to find talented up-andcoming entrepreneurs of the future, like the remarkable Joyce Marie Harris. Meeting Harris for the first time, it’s easy to see the friendliness that has become part of her brand. She’s a Quitman native, happily at ease in her hometown, but she carries herself with the self-assured manner of an expert in her craft.

Harris is an aspiring entrepreneur in the culinary field, intent on using her knowledge to improve her hometown. She initially spent her college years attaining a degree in interpersonal communication; however, late in her second semester, Harris knew that she could never be truly happy with her life unless she did something very specific. She remembers, “I just called my mom and said, ‘Mom, I just really want to spend the rest of my life making cakes.’” The young student was lucky to find that her family would support her dreams. With their unwavering love providing the freedom to pursue her dreams,

Harris attended a French pastry school in Chicago, learning all she could about her craft. Even today, her mother assists her whenever possible, and her father supports her as though he knows no other path.

The gifted baker gained her first professional experience working with cakes at a grocery store, and she admits that it was different from her end goals: quantity was the focus in that job, rather than quality, and the ingredients and end results were often below the exacting standards she holds for her own products. Yet, Harris is grateful for that experience, because it helped her learn valuable customer service skills vital to her growing business. From there, she gained a job at the famed Little Goat Bakery under the tutelage of the rising Mathew Rice. This move allowed her to focus on quality and substance, learning as she worked. As Harris grew in her skills and ability, she was discovered by the designer cake company Elysia Root Cakes and offered an internship under Elysia Root herself. Harris was eventually offered a full-time position with the designer company, which she quickly took. Harris reflects eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 31

on this period particularly fondly, recalling that she was able to experience the joy of creation without the stress of owning an independent company.

In August of 2016, Harris received a notification that would change the course of her life. Her brother had been in an automobile accident, and she needed to return to Quitman in order to be with her family. Once home, she decided to stay. It was the right move for her, but Harris begrudgingly admits that the move has impacted her work in a few rather significant ways.

She laments that because she grew accustomed to the quality and accessibility of goods for chefs in Chicago. She has had to circumvent the lack of her usual resources in rather unique ways. Occasionally, however, she simply has to find a way to cope: “Sometimes you just can’t find something in Quitman. Or you have to go somewhere else to get it, and that takes time. I end up having to either turn people away or lower the quality of my product, and I can’t do that. That’s bad for everyone.”

Availability of ingredients isn’t the only drawback. Quitman is, after all, a very old, small town, steeped in tradition and history, but seldom known to embrace modern influences. This can be an issue for the creative cake designer. She seems to want to bring the world to Quitman through her cakes, sharing her skills and knowledge with people who have not been afforded the opportunity to explore the possibilities offered in bigger towns or cities. Creativity and expression are as much a part of Harris’ products as taste or quality, but it has taken time for her hometown customers to realize the scope of her work. For

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those in her hometown who don’t understand the scope of her work, she has developed a mantra, of sorts: “It doesn’t have to be a sheet cake!”

If it is frustrating to build a new brand in a small town, it is also worth it. Harris says she loves her current work for the personal connections she has with her customers. For all their wonderful ingredients and ease of access, the big cities lack the sense of belonging that a hometown provides. She wants to contribute to the community she cherishes, too. Helping to improve her community is something that Harris has grown to love about her work, and the fact that she is helping others grow through the powers of cake only seems to be encouraging her. In fact, Harris encourages others to pursue their talents, and has this to say to any aspiring and passionate chefs: “It’s great to go somewhere else and learn. There’s so much more out there, so many cultures and ingredients that affect cooking that we can’t access from home. Get out there. Learn.”

Today, Harris is working in a local restaurant, using her free time to plot her eventual takeover of Southern pastry production. How will she do this? Harris intends to provide cakes of top-quality for affordable prices–all while utilizing the best of the resources at her disposal. When asked about her ultimate goal, Harris simply smiles and says, “Honestly, I just want to be the Cake Queen of the South.” As determined as this lively young woman is, she might even make it. edm www.facebook.com/jmcakedesigns

photos this page courtesy of joyce marie harris

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{ memory lane }

Aunt Bessie Was Legendary Berry Picker and Pea Sheller by janette tibbetts

I

was never good at picking blackberries or shelling peas.

And shelling butter beans was an even more difficult task.

However, we had an Aunt whose name is easily recalled in the rural lore of Gitano (a community in Smith County) because of her aptness at these chores. If you asked who the greatest berry picker and pea sheller in this area was, most would recall our aunt’s feat.

Aunt Bessie knew where the juiciest and best tasting blackberries were growing on the banks of the spring-fed branch that ran along the bottom of their pasture. Not only did she know which berry patches ripened the earliest, but she also knew when the sun would move over the bushes laden with ripe fruit and bring unbearable heat while at her favorite task. Thus, she planned her berry picking mornings accordingly.

Sometimes I would follow along with her daughters, Marita, Jean, and Dorothy with the pails of our syrup cans in hand and our ambitious plans to help Aunt Bessie pick the delicious fruit we found difficult to refrain from eating. As we approached the berry patch, she would remind us to pick up a stick and tap on our tin buckets in order to run the snakes off. The crude noise we created must have worked because we never encountered one and we always looked.

By the time we had the bottoms of our buckets covered, we considered it an enough of an accomplishment — especially when considering the temptation to pop the sweet berries into our mouths instead of our buckets and our proximity to the ready-tojab-us briars — to wander down the bank for a break and to wade in the cool spring water along the sandbar as we attempted to wash the black stain from our fingers.

After our feet had become wrinkled, we climbed up the bank to help Aunt Bessie.

We usually found she had already filled her 3-gallon white enamel pail, as well as each of our smaller buckets, which she handed back to us still referring

34 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

to them as our berries, praising our work, thanking us for running off the snakes and keeping her company. Aunt Bessie’s berries were always clear of stems, green berries, and petals from dried blossoms. She never failed to make sure ours were also.

We proudly followed Aunt Bessie up the winding path back to her home.

Aunt Bessie cooked with the same haste with which she picked. She even called the dish she baked from about a quart of the beautiful, fresh berries she had just picked a Quickie Pie. As soon as she walked in the back door she went straight to her stove, lit the oven, and turned on the stove top. She immediately emptied a quart or so of the big beautiful berries from her pail into a boiler, sprinkled them with sugar, and set them to cook. She placed a lump of butter in a baker and put it in the oven.

Without measuring, she mixed at least a couple of heaping cups of sugar and flour with enough milk to form a thin batter. While the butter was bubbling, she layered the batter over it before pouring the steaming berries and juice on top of the batter. She returned the deep-baker to her hot oven where these delectable ingredients created an amazing aroma as they quickly reversed positions.

I sat side by side with my cousins on a long bench at her kitchen table while Aunt Bessie served us the most delicious pie I have ever tasted. The golden, buttery crust was on the top and along the sides of the tasty batter that had baked into a delectable cake, marbled with purple and covering the sweet berries.

Before the Lady Finger, Dixie Lee, and Crowder peas were ready to be picked, the blackberries had already been gone for nearly a month. It never occurred to me to volunteer to go with my cousins to the pea patch.

There just wasn’t anything about picking peas to lure me to the field. I did observe Aunt Bessie shelling peas on her long front porch which extended across the front of their spacious log house. During the days Aunt Bessie

was shelling peas, her children knew to stay out of her way. They nor I ever volunteered to help. Their mother was the master sheller, and she could shell several bushels a day. Focusing on the chore before her, she approached it with great intensity and kept a steady eye on her work to the extreme she prevented off-colored peas and dried blooms from falling into her pan.

Her neighbors marveled at the quickness of Aunt Bessie’s hands, as well as the neatness of her work, and offered to pay her to help them shell their peas. She only asked that they bring the peas to her house in order for

her to be able to stay home with her daughters. Although she gladly helped her neighbors, she never accepted their money. She said neighbors were supposed to help one another.

While I was still a child, Aunt Bessie’s generosity impressed me; however, it would be decades later and after a couple trips to the mechanical pea sheller before I knew to give Aunt Bessie credit for never squashing peas. edm

QUICKIE PIE Serves 8, may be halved 2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries (may substitute blueberries or strawberries) 2 cups self-rising flour 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided 1 cup milk 1/2 pound butter Cool Whip or ice cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place butter in large baker. Heat in oven until bubbling.

Mix blackberries with 2 tablespoons of sugar in

saucepan. Bring to boil over low to medium heat. With wooden spoon, gently rotate berries.

Mix together flour, 2 cups sugar, and milk. Add batter to baker while butter is bubbling. Pour boiling berries and juice on top of batter.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until top is golden brown.

Serve hot. Top with Cool Whip or ice cream.

Cook’s Note: If baking with fresh berries, sprinkle with sugar and allow to set at room temperature for 30 minutes. eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 35

Feast Like The King

ABOVE: Birthplace of Elvis Presley RIGHT: Elvis Presley's childhood church

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The Tupelo Elvis Experience

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 37

ABOVE: The Presley family’s dining table at the birthplace of Elvis Presley in Tupelo LEFT: Presley family portrait

story and photography by megan wolfe

F

orty years ago, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll left the building one last time, but he never left the hearts of his fans. In fact, thousands of tourists pour into Tupelo annually, some traveling from as far as China, Australia, Germany, Japan, Scotland, and the Netherlands.

Checking in with the Tupelo Convention & Visitors Bureau, groups and individuals alike are directed to a number of stops along an “Elvis Itinerary.” There are two tours recommended, both of which can be found via the CVB’s website. For ours, we started at the Elvis Presley Birthplace.

A city treasure, the Birthplace showcases 12 exhibits, including the church Elvis attended as a child and Vernon and Gladys Presley’s two-room, shotgun house–the house Elvis was born in.

The humble shack is just big enough for a bedroom and a kitchen. The furniture inside is not original, nor is the wallpaper, but it’s enough to imagine the small family sitting around the dinner table. Maybe the three of them shared blackeyed peas, turnip greens, and cornbread, just like any other Southern family. Maybe they had pork chops from the hogs they kept. Maybe not.

We can’t say for sure what they might have had at the Birthplace dinner table, but childhood friends confirm

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Dough Burger at Johnnie’s Drive-In

that young Elvis liked to go to Johnnie’s Drive-In for a cheeseburger and an RC Cola. Here, there’s a table with a plaque that reads “The Elvis Booth.” This is said to be Elvis’ favorite table.

A true mom-and-pop, Johnnie’s was established in 1945, and not much has changed since. Customers are greeted warmly at the door, and a burger and soda can be enjoyed for less than $5. The Dough Burger, a beef patty with a flour additive, is a highly recommended top seller.

Additionally, diners venturing to try the BBQ sandwich should expect a new, yet old, experience. Johnnie’s BBQ is dressed similarly to a hamburger, with lettuce, tomato, mustard, and, unless requested hot, the meat is served cold on a toasted bun. It’s a tradition that predates the establishment’s ability to warm up meat that had been earlier cooked, and it’s a quirk that has carried on through the decades. eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 39

Elvis Sandwich at Cafe 212

40 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

Cheeseburgers may have been the go-to for young Elvis, but there are some fabulous options in Tupelo for tourists looking to try the famous Elvis Sandwich. Grilled on honeyberry bread, Cafe 212 in downtown Tupelo dishes up Elvis’ ooey-gooey go-to as the Blue Suede Grill. Add crispy bacon for “extra Elvis” or, for the ultimate sweet experience, pair this peanut butter, honey, and banana delight with an iced Spicy Chai Latte.

But if the Blue Suede is still too rich, Cafe 212 offers other Elvis-inspired options, like The Hound Dog, the T.C.B. Grill, and the Blue Hawaii Grill. None of which will disappoint.

Alternatively, if Elvis’ choice sandwich isn’t rich enough, the savory Belvis Burger at Neon Pig is a sandwich fit for a King, and inspired by one. Described by staff as “Neon Pig’s award-winning Smash Burger on steroids,” the burger is topped

with pork belly, bacon, pimento cheese, jerky sauce, and creole mustard. Paper towels should be kept handy because the Belvis literally drips with flavor.

Elvis fans have no shortage of delicious options to taste year-round in Tupelo. Which is good news; the events here are frequent. At this time, the city is anticipating Fan Day at the Elvis Presley Birthplace in August, plus tours and tribute artist competitions, and the CVB is looking forward to the annual Elvis Festival next year.

Extravagant events, entertainment, and a medley of dining options, they’re all a part of the “Elvis Experience” in Tupelo. edm www.elvispresleybirthplace.com

Belvis Burger at Neon Pig

Johnnie’s Drive-In 908 E Main St., Tupelo 662.842.6748 ••• Cafe 212 212 W Main St., Tupelo 662.844.6323 www.cafe212tupelo.com ••• Neon Pig 1203 N Gloster St., Tupelo 662.269.2533 www.tupelo.neonpig.com

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 41

Are You Hungry Tonight?

Can’t Help Falling in Love with These Elvis-Inspired Recipes

By Lisa LaFontaine Bynum Have you ever wondered what Elvis Presley’s favorite foods were? A little research turns up dozens of recipes.

Of course, there are the legendary fried banana and peanut butter sandwiches. In addition, we found an easy

poke cake recipe which was also an alleged favorite.

We hope these Elvis-inspired recipes will leave you “all shook up” and anxious to get into the kitchen to try them for yourself.

Jailhouse Rock Cake

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Chocolate Peanut Butter & Banana Ice Cream

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 43

Peanut Butter Burgers with Bacon & Fried Plantains

44 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

Peanut Butter Burgers with Bacon and Fried Plantains Serves 4 8 strips of uncooked bacon 1 large ripe plantain, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch medallions 2 pounds ground beef, formed into four patties 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter Four hamburger buns In a large skillet, fry bacon until it is crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan to drain on paper towels. Reserve the

bacon grease.

Working in batches, fry the plantain medallions in the bacon grease until tender and golden brown, about 2-4 minutes per side. Remove from pan and place on paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.

Season hamburger patties with salt and pepper. Grill or pan fry burgers to desired doneness. Toast buns if desired.

Place one patty on the bottom of each bun. Spread 1/2 tablespoon of peanut butter over the top of each patty.

Layer on the bacon and the fried plantain medallions. Top with the remaining bun.

Jailhouse Rock Cake Serves 6-8 1 (15 ounce) box white cake mix 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple 1 cup sugar 1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 3 cups powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups chopped pecans, divided Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare cake mix according to package directions using

a prepared 9 x 13 dish. Allow cake to cool after baking.

Combine pineapple with juice and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer until sugar is dissolved.

Using a chop stick or something similar, poke holes throughout the cake. Pour the pineapple mixture over the cake.

Mix together the cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar until combined. Stir in the vanilla extract and 1-1/2 cups of the chopped pecans. Evenly spread the icing over the cake. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup of chopped pecans.

Chocolate Peanut Butter and Banana Ice Cream Serves 6 3 ripe bananas 1 cup peanut butter (not natural) 1 cup whole milk 3/4 cup granulated sugar 2 cups heavy cream 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla 1-1/2 cups mini peanut butter cup candies

Place bananas, peanut butter, milk, and sugar in a blender. Process until smooth.

Pour banana peanut butter mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add cream and vanilla. Stir until combined. Place bowl in the fridge for about 20 minutes to chill.

Churn ice cream according to manufacturer’s directions.

During the last five minutes of mixing, add peanut butter cups.

Serve immediately for soft serve ice cream. For a firmer consistency, freeze ice cream for several hours.

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 45

{ in the bloglight }

Y

by kelsey wells lambert

olanda Clay-Moore has called the Magnolia State home to an article naming Jackson’s Bully’s Restaurant one of the 50 since she was ten years old. As a child, she dined on best BBQ restaurants in America. This section also features her grandmother’s tea cakes and watched her parents releases about new offerings coming to Jackson. While recipes make delicious creations at home and in their restaurant, Edna’s are not yet a part of the blog, restaurant reviews are available in Kitchen. She credits her father as her inspiration to work with addition to the three main categories. food as an adult.

Sipp’ Jackson is coordinated by Clay-Moore, but she has “It was quite humorous that requests would come in for a lot of help with the content that is posted. Contributors his spaghetti when someone passed in the neighborhood. It’s include Jackson Free Press, Jackson Foodies Facebook Group, Eat actually my favorite dish, but I’m not quite ready to share his Jackson, and, of course, the folks at Visit Jackson. recipe,” she explained.

Clay-Moore is pleased with Clay-Moore, Public the response she has received Relations Manager for Visit to Sipp’ Jackson. She said that Jackson, gained her blog the blog has been well received experience when she had to by the community, and she create a blog as part of the hopes to expand the offerings requirements for her Master’s of the blog in the future to degree in Entertainment further highlight Jackson’s Business. After receiving her culinary scene with features degree, she soon stopped on brunch spots, events with a updating the site. Though food element, and more. other blogs had articles Clay-Moore stays busy that mentioned some of when she’s not working on a the culinary offerings of new post for Sipp’ Jackson.

Jackson, Clay-Moore and her She raises a “Modern-Day co-workers noticed that no Brady Bunch” of nine children blog had been published that with her husband and best focused solely on food in the friend, Cornelius. She is also a capital city. To fill this void, musician and a member of the they created Sipp’ Jackson.

Mississippi Mass Choir. Her “There are a lot of work with Jackson cuisine has great things to capture in given her many opportunities the culinary world here in to travel and see the impact Jackson,” said Clay-Moore. that local food and restaurants Yolanda Clay-Moore The blog is divided into can have on a community. three categories. The “Who’s Who” posts focus on the faces behind the food–chefs and restaurant owners who make Jackson a great place to dine with their passion for great meals. “Articles” show off the restaurants of the state’s capital. These posts tell the history and current offerings of the numerous locally-owned, independent dining establishments in Jackson, explaining their importance to the culture of Jackson. Finally, “Press” shows off the achievements of Jackson restaurants as they earn national attention for their creations. For example, Sipp’ Jackson recently featured a link 46 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

One of her more recent trips took her to the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival. While there, she learned this great principle from chef Matthew Kajdan: Sometimes a simple dish with fresh ingredients, like a cucumber and tomato salad or a simple corn salad, holds its own place and leaves a memorable impression.

With her passion and dedication, Moore and Sipp’ Jackson are sure to see continued success. edm www.sippjackson.com

YOLANDA'S FAVORITE RECIPE

Broccoli Salad YOU WILL NEED 2 heads fresh broccoli 1 red onion 1/2 pound bacon 3/4 cups raisins 3/4 cup of sliced almonds 1 cup mayonaise 1/2 cup white sugar 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

PROCEDURE Place bacon in a deep skillet and cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Cool and crumble.

Cut the broccoli into bite-size pieces and cut the onion into thin bite-size slices. Combine with the bacon, raisins, your favorite nuts and mix well.

To prepare the dressing, mix the mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar together until smooth. Stir into the salad, let chill and serve.

TOP TIP Dried cranberries also add a wonderful surprise

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 47

{ from mississippi to beyond }

Soft-Shell Crawfish Caprese: Heirloom Tomatoes, Grilled Green Tomatoes, White Remoulade, Crab Boiled Mozzarella, Basil 48 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

Passion for Seafood Turns Into Career for Jeff Hansell

By Kathy K. Martin

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eff Hansell’s fascination with food began as a young boy growing up in Waveland. “My days as a child were spent in or on the water fishing, crabbing, shrimping, floundering, anything I could catch, clean, and eat.” He turned that seafood passion into a career path when he graduated from the culinary program at the University of Southern Mississippi and advanced his career with chef positions at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, Montagna at the Little Nell in Aspen, Colorado, and at Veranda on Highland in Birmingham, Alabama. Throughout those cooking stints, he also received many accolades, such as representing the Gulf Coast as one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs 2014 and being featured twice as Best Chefs of America and Best Chefs of American South.

Today, Hansell serves as executive chef and owner of Oxlot 9, which opened in 2015 in the renovated Southern Hotel in Covington, Louisiana, just across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans. While the cuisine is definitely gulf-inspired Southern fare, he says that he aspires to present his food in a fresh light while still using similar techniques, tastes, textures, and ingredients of the South. “We are a seafood-forward restaurant with five or six different fish specials a night, plus oysters and scallops, but we have just about anything you could expect, such as rabbit, venison, quail, duck, foie gras, and bone marrow.” His inspiration for the menu is an ode to his upbringing, where seafood always played a role in what was for dinner.

His first real kitchen job was at the renowned Commander’s Palace, where he worked under Chef Tory McPhail during the reopening after Hurricane Katrina.

“It was a well-oiled machine of 20 to 25 cooks per shift, all in perfect, professional

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 49

Pok Pok Fish: Grilled Wahoo, Baby Arugula, Shishito Peppers, Roasted Peaches, Spiced Peanuts, Sweet Chili Sauce, Black Vinegar

unison.” He was challenged there and quickly promoted through all of the food stations in about six months. He learned more about the world outside of Southern cuisine when he worked under Chef Robert McCormick in Aspen.

While there, he discovered the art of curing, smoking, and preserving meat. After that, he returned home and worked with Chef John Besh at Lüke in New Orleans. “He was another great chef and mentor who really walked the walk,” explains Hansell. “He showed me an appreciation of the heritage of Southern Louisiana food, culture, techniques, and ingredients.”

Overall, Hansell believes that food is an important component of our lives. “We celebrate with it, come together over it, and we mourn with it,” he says. Even though he isn’t able to cook at home often because of his job, he enjoys cooking Spanish and Mexican food, fish tacos, ceviche, and tamales when he has time off from his restaurant.

He and his wife, Amy, who serves as owner and general manager of Oxlot 9, opened two restaurants in under a year together, Oxlot 9 and Smoke BBQ. He says that they hope to grow their brand with one or two more concepts and break into the private event market. “My greatest reward for the work,” he says, “is the immediate gratification I get nightly when our patrons love their experience with us.” edm

Stuffed Blue Crab with Brown Butter Sabayon, Swiss Chard, and Fried Leeks

50 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

STUFFED BLUE CRAB Serves: 5-6 appetizer portions 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 medium shallots, minced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 rib celery, minced 1/2 poblano pepper, deseeded and minced 1 tablespoon salt 1 teaspoon paprika 1-1/2 to 2 cups crab stock 1 small loaf of stale French bread (small dice) 1 pound lump crab meat (picked over for shell) 1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh dill 1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley 6 cleaned crab shells Brown Butter Sabayon Swiss Chard Fried Leeks Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt unsalted butter in saucepan. On medium heat, sweat the minced shallot, garlic, celery, and poblano pepper in butter about 3-4 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Season with salt and paprika and deglaze with crab stock. Once stock has come to a boil, turn down heat to a slow simmer for 3-4 minutes.

Start slowly adding diced French bread little by little until most of the liquid is soaked up. Remove mixture from heat and set aside.

In large bowl, mix together picked crab meat, dill, parsley, and bread mixture. Stuff into cleaned crab shells. Top with Brown Butter Sabayon and bake at 350 degrees until tops are browned and stuffing is hot (about four minutes).

To Plate: Place Swiss chard on the bottom of plates. Lay stuffed crab on top of the greens and garnish with fried leeks and additional Sabayon.

Brown Butter Sabayon 3 large egg yolks 3 tablespoons verjus 1 tablespoon lemon Juice 1 teaspoon white pepper 1 tablespoon salt 1 pound browned butter (see below) In a medium bowl over double boiler, combine all ingredients except for the browned butter.

Constantly whisk mixture until it becomes thick and mousse-like. Turn down heat on double boiler and begin to slowly add browned butter while continuing to quickly whisk. Once you have emulsified all of the butter, set aside in a warm place.

If mixture begins to become too thick, add a splash of warm water to thin.

Note: To make browned butter, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When color is light brown, remove pan and pour melted butter into heat-proof bowl. Milk solids will have settled to the bottom of the saucepan; try to leave this ‘sediment’ in the pan so that your melted browned butter will be clear.

Swiss chard 1 tablespoon butter 2 bunches of Swiss chard (cleaned and ribs removed) Salt Melt butter in pan, quickly wilt the Swiss chard in the butter. Remove and season with salt.

Fried leeks 1 leek, julienned Oil for frying Lightly fry julienned leeks in hot oil. Remove and drain.

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 51

{ from the bookshelf }

Little Gulf Coast Seafood Cookbook

By Kent Whitaker Published by Great American Publishers

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by kelsey wells lambert

he Gulf Coast is a special region of America that holds many memories for residents and visitors. Kent Whitaker and his wife, Ally, have fond coastal memories of days spent on the beach and at various historical sites as children.

Since marriage, they have created memories of their own in Gulf Coast towns, many involving the local cuisine. Much of the Gulf Coast has a rich history of serving up fresh-cooked seafood that only a few hours before was caught from the Gulf ’s waters.

Kent has combined an appreciation for these tastes and a passion for good cooking into Little Gulf Coast Seafood Cookbook. Don’t let its small size fool you; this little volume of under 200 pages is overflowing with the culture and tastes of the Gulf Coast. Pictures of the prepared dishes beckon chefs to the saltwater air for fresh flavors and ingredients sure to please the whole family. Join Whitaker as he explores some of his favorite dishes and recipes.

Because buying and preparing fresh seafood can prove difficult for those who do not use it on a regular basis, Whitaker provides tips for these endeavors before jumping into the eye-catching, mouth-watering recipes. The recipes are wellorganized and the culinary journey begins with appetizers of Whole Gulf Shrimp Spring Rolls, Coastal Crab Dip, and Sweet Buttermilk Mullet Fritters, among others. If a good gumbo is what you crave, try one of Whitaker's two options, or try a different soup option with Spicy Crab Soup or Gulf Coast Chopped Shrimp Bisque. Po-Boys and seafood sandwiches are a staple of local cuisine, so try a traditional Seafood Po-Boy or an adventurous 52 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

Biloxi Bacon Po-Boy with Fried Pickles and Jalapeños.

Main seafood dishes range from Texas Coast Shrimp Scampi to Mexico Beach Butter Scallops to Cedar Plank Grilled Cobia. This large section of the book contains recipes for many different types of fresh seafood. Of course, no fresh seafood dish is complete without sides, and Creamy Coleslaw and Semi Dirty Rice are sure not to disappoint.

Whitaker also includes ideas for flavored butters to enhance seafood’s taste, along with homemade sauces and seasonings. Fruit-based drinks add to the tropical feel. Need a tasty dessert to finish off a meal? Try a Coastal Key Lime Pie with Chocolate or Coastal Sunshine Orange Squares. A recipe listing in the back of the book helps you keep track of your favorite recipes, dividing the seafood recipes by the type of seafood they feature and other food by category.

Some of Whitaker's fondest memories of the Gulf Coast are the many coastal parks and museums that he has visited. Included among the recipes are pages with descriptions of many of these coastal attractions and museums to encourage others to visit these areas and to give readers an even better look at coastal living and history.

Little Gulf Coast Seafood Cookbook is brimming with tasty additions to your family’s recipe collection, and it won’t take up much space on your recipe book shelf! It is a wonderful addition to the collection of any chef who values the tastes and culture of the Gulf of Mexico and its beaches. edm

Crunchy Grilled Snapper Burritos with Avocado Mayo There are several species of snapper found in the Gulf of Mexico including red snapper, yellowtail, mangrove, and lane snapper. The red snapper seems to be the most popular among the species for sport fishing. Fillets from snapper have a flaky texture and light flavor. This easy to make snapper burrito builds on that flavor with a cool and crunchy feel. I suggest prepping the avocado mayo and topping mix before starting on grilling the fillets.

Avocado Mayo

Snapper Fillets

1 ripe avocado, peeled and pit removed 1/4 cup sour cream 2 tablespoons mayonnaise 1/2 teaspoon salt

6 (6-ounce) boneless, skinless snapper fillets 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 tablespoons Coastal Tex-Mex Seasoning 6 (10- to 11-inch) flour tortillas

In a bowl, mash avocado; add sour cream, mayonnaise, and salt. Cover until needed.

Pre-heat grill. Lightly coat fillets with oil; evenly sprinkle with seasoning mix. Lightly grease grilling basket, foil sheets, or the grill grates. Grill fillets for 2-3 minutes on one side; turn and grill other side for an additional 2- to 3 minutes. Grilling time may vary depending on fillet thickness. The fillets will flake easily with a fork when done.

Spread equal portions of avocado mayonnaise over each tortilla, add a layer of cabbage down center, and top with a hot fillet from the grill. Fold ends of tortilla; roll up tightly.

Serve hot.

Crunchy Filling

3 cups cabbage slaw mix 1/2 cup tomatoes, diced 1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro 2 tablespoons lime juice 3/4 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeño pepper 3 teaspoons minced garlic Salt and pepper, to taste In a bowl, combine slaw mix, tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, jalapeño pepper, and garlic. Mix; add salt and pepper, to taste. Toss again to evenly mix.

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 53

{ raise your glass }

Where Did Iced Tea Come From?

I

ced tea is a popular beverage served in restaurants across the country, and people at home mix up instant versions of iced tea once the warm weather hits.

The origins of iced tea are still in question. Various sources state that iced tea emerged in 1904 at the St. Louis World’s Fair.

However, records indicate that iced tea may have been served even earlier than 1904.

In 1839, a cookbook titled The Kentucky Housewife featured a recipe for a chilled Tea Punch. In 1879, another cookbook, Housekeeping in Old Virginia, included a recipe for sweet tea, a popular, sweeter version of iced tea. It is widely believed that tea was served cold in areas of the southern United States before iced tea became a novelty elsewhere.

Many historical accounts credit the 1904 World’s Fair with introducing iced tea to the masses. Particularly warm June weather at the fair led British tea vendor Richard Blechynden to rethink his idea for a tea party to promote Ceylon and Indian Tea at his vendor pavilion. While the public lined up for a nearby ice cream vendor in an effort to escape the heat, few people were in line to sample a cup of hot tea.

Blechynden adapted to the situation and noticed an ice delivery at a nearby food stand. He purchased blocks of ice and began picking away to chip ice into glasses. He poured the brewed tea over the ice and began offering it to the crowd. The iced tea was a success and helped to solidify a beverage that residents of the southern United States had long been enjoying.

54 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

According to the company Teas Etc., 85 percent of the tea consumed in the United States today is served over ice. Iced tea is also enjoyed all over the world.

Although Blechynden may have not been the true originator behind iced tea, he did help bring the drink to the masses and also assisted in introducing the Americans to tea grown in India.

Until then, tea imported from China was the most commonly consumed tea in the United States. The invention of the first commercial electric refrigerator for home use in 1913 also helped to solidify the widespread consumption of iced tea, since the refrigerator made it much easier to store chilled tea.

While green tea is now a popular choice for both hot and cold tea, it is important to note that many people were using green tea leaves for brewing long before black tea became the standard. That’s because green tea cut from China and Japan was imported to North America. During World War II, trade between the United States and China and Japan was halted, leaving India to supply the majority of the tea to America. They sent over their black tea, and most people continued to brew black tea even after WWII ended.

Iced tea enthusiasts will tell you that the beverage is best created from loose tea leaves and should not be left to sit longer than 72 hours to prevent the natural health benefits from fading.

Allow a pot of tea to cool before pouring it over ice, then enjoy the nutritionally sound and delicious benefits of iced tea. edm

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Downtown Grille Greenville

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Forkl ift Tupelo The Hills

The Delta -

18Kewanee 84 Cafe The Pines

- 303Clinton Jefferson -

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Capital/River

Our wonderful state is divided into five travel regions - The Hills, The Delta, The Pines, Capital/River, and Coastal. It is our goal to give equal coverage to all regions of the state in every issue. The following sections are color coded by region for your convenience. We hope you will take the time and travel to all regions to take advantage of the diverse culinary styles present throughout our state.

We do suggest that you call to verify operating hours before visiting any of these wonderful establishments.

Sully’s -

Hattiesburg

Coastal

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 55

The Hills

BBQ Shrimp 56 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

The Hills

Forklift 1103 W. Jackson St., Tupelo • 662.510.7001 • www.forkliftrestaurant.com

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story and photography by Megan Wolfe

itting at a coffee shop to write this article, a biscuit with bacon compliments my latte and finds itself the perfect introduction to the restaurant that I’m about to describe.

With a flaky crust and a dense, moist center, this simple bread is one of the most celebrated of Southern foods. Its origin rests in the early 19th century, pre-dating the Civil War. Back then, yeast was difficult and expensive to keep, so cooks invented a “quick bread” that would bake without yeast.

Other quick breads include soda bread and the other Southern favorite, cornbread.

On the menu at Forklift in Tupelo, quick breads mingle among appetizers like the Charcuterie Board and the BlackEyed-Pea Hummus. Here, they’re paired with these small dishes, reincarnated as flat biscuits and cornbread crackers.

Forklift’s menu encompasses the traditional and the traditionally inspired. Shrimp & Grits, Steak & Frites (Forklift’s steak and fries), and Meatloaf & Gravy, represent traditional

options, while selects like the BLT Salad take traditional concepts and build on them.

Owner and chef David Leathers says some have classified his work as “nouveau Southern.” I’ll refer back to the BLT as a good example. Layers of the classic sandwich are represented by pork jowl bacon, arugula, and heirloom tomatoes. Biscuit crumbs top a buttermilk vinaigrette, swirled around the plate, as a substitution for bread and mayo.

Other dishes have been equally reimagined. The Cluck & Waffles features chicken that’s been brined, baked with bourbon and brown sugar for 72 hours, and fried. For an impressive presentation, the chicken is then perched atop a crunchy, buttermilk waffle. Then, sweet potato hot sauce, sweet potato butter, and maple syrup are poured over for an extra punch of sweetness.

For dessert, Leathers proudly reintroduces Southerners to the original Strawberry Shortcake recipe by removing the eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 57

The Hills conventional pound cake and sandwiching together fresh berries and cream in a biscuit.

As for drinks, Forklift boasts 150 American whiskies and bourbons, all made in the U.S., as well as a number of local beers. Currently, Leathers looks forward to collaborating with local breweries to create custom flavors for events in the near future. For now, if you’re selecting a cocktail, he recommends the Rattlesnake, but warns that it can sneak up on you.

Decoratively, the restaurant keeps with the theme its name suggests. Diners lift their forks at brunch, lunch, and dinner in Forklift’s warehouse-inspired setting. Industrial light fixtures, artwork painted on palettes, napkins made from mechanics rags, and mechanics uniforms accent the modern space in a way that’s sleek, and contrarily elegant.

There’s a welcomed, and often missed, familiarity here in the design for anyone from a major city, and that sense is very intentionally crafted. City patrons will particularly be delighted to see an open kitchen and Chef ’s Table, where they can watch the kitchen staff work their magic first-hand.

But back to the topic of delicious biscuits. Next door to Forklift, David Leathers is preparing to open his second restaurant, Butterbean, where patrons will build their own biscuits from a multitude of options. It seems his enthusiasm for the quick bread has grown into a passion that will not only delight Forklift diners, but also the everyday coffee shop-goer, looking for a quick bite and a smooth espresso.

Taking another bite of my biscuit, I suppose, with a sip of my latte, that just might include me, too. edm

58 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

OPPOSITE PAGE: Rattlesnake cocktail BLT Salad Deviled Eggs Cluck & Waffles Strawberry Shortcake

The Hills

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 59

The Delta

Filet with Truffle Butter and Sauteed Vegetables

60 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

The Delta

Downtown Grille 525 Washington Ave., Greenville • 662.702.5161 • www.downtowngrille525.com

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story and photography by katie youngblood

nce a bustling port city during the cotton trade, the Mississippi River town of Greenville has long been known as the heart and soul of the Delta. A land of rich history, it provides the perfect backdrop for the new Downtown Grille – a place with the hopes and means to join the ranks of other legendary Delta diners.

Owned and operated by Allen and Erin Sanders, the pair has been traveling down a culinary path since meeting as teens. He a busboy and she a waitress, they worked together at Greenville’s classic Bourbon Mall. From there, the duo went on to Oxford and opened their own restaurant, the Delta Steak Company. They ran it successfully for 10 years before getting wind of some exciting changes happening in their hometown.

The Revitalization Project of Greenville was formed by local businessman and Sanders’ relative, Bill Boykin. “He wants to see his hometown flourish,” says Allen. “We all do.”

The project’s initial focus was the old Sears building. Boykin invested in the whole block and has since filled it with the restaurant, loft apartments, and a microbrewery. “This place didn’t even have a roof!” Erin remembers of the dilapidated structure.

Being a part of rebuilding and replenishing their hometown

immediately excited the couple. Not only did they want to help develop the area, they wanted to give their Greenville residents another dining option. So, when it came time to get their new restaurant ready, the Sanders did a lot of research. “We ate everywhere around here,” recalls Erin, who often questioned: “What does this town not have?” With lots of people traveling outside the city limits to go out to eat, Erin says they developed a goal. “We wanted to keep them in Greenville.”

Located on historic Washington Ave., the Downtown Grille opened earlier this year, with the Sanders hitting the ground running. Allen plans menus and recipes and also cooks there. A firm believer in using the freshest ingredients possible, Allen’s motto is keep it simple. “Dishes don’t have to have a lot of ingredients,” he says. “It’s all about quality.”

Allen’s high standards set the Grille apart from the rest.

“The salmon is fresh and whole. The oysters have to be shucked. The crabs are still alive,” says Allen, who knows exactly where the food he prepares comes from.

Not only does Allen put out great, fresh seafood, the Grille is Greenville’s newest home for prime steaks – including a 31-day dry aged Waygu. “We want to turn people on to things they haven’t had before,” says Allen about the specials. “We’re eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 61

The Delta

Hot Tamale Boudin Bites

Specialty cocktails: The Sawgrass, left, and The Sunnyside 62 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

The Delta

ABOVE: Downtown Grille Owners Allen and Erin Sanders, Speckled Trout with Creamy Risotto, ouisiana Crawfish Cakes, White Chocolate Bread Pudding, Catfish Lafitte and Cheese Grits

constantly changing it up so people wonder what we’re having next.”

Downtown Grille is open for dinner nightly TuesdaySaturday. The menu boasts lots of apps, but more than a few Grille fans recommend fried green tomatoes and hot tamale boudin balls (not wanting to do the same old thing, Allen mixed the two Delta classics perfectly). Entrees include spicy Cajun pasta dishes, juicy grilled steaks and chops, and gourmet signature plates like chicken Marchand, shrimp and grits (piled with bacon, andouille, and Tabasco cream sauce), and stuffed catfish (full of hot sausage and bell peppers).

Open for lunch Tuesday-Friday, the Grille ups the game on classics like burgers – try Delta style with pimento cheese, seafood po-boys, and fried green BLTs. A real Grille treat is Sunday brunch. Its packed menu offers plates like eggs benedict, pancakes, chicken and waffles, Eggs Delta (smothered in homemade sausage tomato gravy), and seafood specials, too; like the Uptown – a bagel that comes topped with smoked salmon and cream cheese.

Not only does the Grille take food seriously, they take cocktails seriously, too. The Sanders call their drink slinger, Don Johnson, a “bartender-extraordinaire.” He learned the skill from Allen’s brother, a mixologist who came down from New York and trained Johnson in the trade.

“Don has really taken it to the next level,” says Erin.

Johnson creates masterworks, like tequila infused grape tomatoes and mixers that must marinate for days. “People have forgotten what real taste is like,” Johnson says of the same old bar drinks. You won’t find any high fructose corn syrup or blue dye #5 in his drinks. Only the freshest ingredients are in his concoctions, using them to bring out the natural botanicals of the spirits. The bartender-extraordinaire loves to use things people don’t get all the time–like ginger and lemongrass.

“These drinks are good for you!” declares Johnson with a smile.

With a desire to offer anything but the same old thing, expect the Grille to continue to experiment and grow. “There really is nothing else like this in Greenville,” says Erin.

The couple hope more businesses follow their lead and open up shop downtown. “The Delta is such a beautiful place,” remarks Allen. “30 years from now, I want my grandkids saying that their grandparents helped change Greenville.” edm eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 63

The Pines

64 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

1884 Cafe

The Pines

The Simmons-Wright Company 5493 Highway 11 & 80, Kewanee • 601.632.1884 • www.thesimmons-wrightcompany.com

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story and photography by richelle putnam

ravelers often take the Highway 11/80 route through Mississippi, not for speed, but for a relaxed drive through small, country towns that have been bypassed

by I-59/20. Passing through Kewanee in Lauderdale County, they’ll come across one of Mississippi’s finest historic treasures: The Simmons-Wright Company. And they’ll pull over, park, and go inside… they just can’t help themselves.

“We meet a lot of tourists,” said Gary Pickett, who runs the store with his wife, Janice. “Senator Rick Santorum has eaten with us and we’ve had people from Australia, Sweden, England, Japan, Russia, and Germany.” Once, a National Geographic photographer touring the South stayed at the store several hours taking photos.

In 1884, William Simmons and Tom Wright built the original Simmons-Wright store as a wooden structure facing the Old Dixie Highway. At that time, when transportation was primarily by horse and buggy, there was no Highway 11/80.

“The store burned in 1925 and was rebuilt with brick,” said Gary. An old warehouse, cotton gin, and blacksmith shop still surround it on the backside.

Gary’s aunt, Jewel Bernice Simmons, ran the store from the 1970s until her death in 1998 at the age of 96. She had never married and Gary was like a son to her.

“She made me promise I would never put her in a nursing home and I never did,” said Gary. “When she was 93, she had an accident at the store. She said the only way she would retire was if I took over the business.”

Around 2011, the Picketts started the 1884 Cafe inside the Simmons-Wright store because people were requesting fresh, cooked vegetables.

“We bought a little concession trailer and started cooking,” said Gary. “But the trailer was so small that even with two people it was crowded.”

So, a fully-equipped kitchen was installed just out the back eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 65

The Pines

Janice and Gary Pickett

66 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

The Pines

door. This has become Cynthia Walker’s domain.

“I’ve always known the Picketts,” said Walker, kitchen manager and head cook. “I happened to come by one day when they had to go to a funeral. I stayed in the store until they came back. It started from there and I ended up in the kitchen.”

Janice is the “recipe lady” and she searches through various recipes and old family recipes for new dishes. Then, she and Walker put their heads together to create the café’s tasty lunches of turnip greens, chicken and dumplings, fried chicken, cornbread, and peas. On the short order menu is the Philly cheese steak sandwich, club sandwich, hamburger, chef salads, and more. If you arrive hungry before lunch, no worries.

Breakfast awaits you with a full menu of bacon, eggs, pancakes, grits, omelets, and biscuits and gravy. Everything at 1884 Café is served in a to-go box, so customers may dine in or get it to go.

The store’s busiest time happens during Antique Alley, which falls the Thursday after Mother’s Day every year.

“We’ll have about 1,000 people a day come in. This year, there were 36 vendors set up around the store,” said Janice.

“You can’t plan food for that kind of crowd, so we take it day by day. We do mostly quick food, like hamburgers and hotdogs because people want to get it and go.”

“Sometimes it can be stressful,” said Cynthia. “There are no less than 15 or 20 [food order] tickets at a time. We have runners running plates back and forth.”

At Thanksgiving and Christmas, customers from miles away call in orders for their full holiday dinners, complete with turkey, ham, dressing, vegetables, cakes, and pies.

Gary smokes his signature barbecue in his homemade smoker behind the kitchen. “We started with hickory wood, but hickory made a more bitter taste,” he said. “I switched to pecan wood to give the barbecue a sweeter taste.”

Janice creates all the barbecue sauces from scratch, including an original and a spicy. “I tasted the spicy until it grabbed me. Then I felt like that was spicy enough.” She uses coffee, along with red wine vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar, and sorghum molasses in her barbecue recipe that is bottled and sold in the store.

Gary’s homemade pepper sauce also contains a special ingredient. “If you ever had a ghost pepper, you’d remember,” he said. “It makes a jalapeño taste like candy. The deer eat everything else in the garden, even the jalapeño, but they won’t eat the ghost peppers.”

Supporting local producers and their products is important to the Picketts. Mississippi made seasonings such as the Ward’s brand, Anthony’s syrups from Philadelphia, and various Alabama products fill the shelves at Simmons-Wright.

As a Gideon, Gary gives Bibles to the children and takes them to the front of the store so they can ride the little train.

It’s sort of his ministry to strangers.

“We want everybody to feel comfortable, like they’re part of the family,” said Gary, “and to leave here happy that they came in.”

More than a century ago, people came to Simmons-Wright general store to play checkers on the benches out front and to sit around the pot-bellied stove inside to tell stories. They still do. But now they also gather around the long, wooden tables with friends and family to enjoy a home-cooked meal. edm

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 67

Capital/River

Grilled Redfish topped with sauteed lump crab meat in lemon butter 68 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

303 Jefferson

Capital/River

303 Jefferson St., Clinton • 601.924.1303 • www.303jefferson.com

I

story by susan marquez | photography by christina foto

n the mid-1800s, Clinton was a sleepy town with dirt roads and horses for transportation. A livery stable on Jefferson Street kept horses and wagons for hire. By the 1920s, motor vehicles were all the rage, and the little livery stable transitioned into a garage. In the 1940s, the building was the home of Neeley’s Hardware. Before its current incarnation, the building was used to store antiques.

While it’s had a long and interesting history, the building that began as a place to board horses is now a popular gathering place, where friends get together to share a meal and a laugh. Preston Grace and his business partner, Tim Parkman, had a vision for the building that Parkman now owns at 303 Jefferson Street in Clinton. Conveniently located across from the Clinton City Hall, and next door to the historic home recently restored by Clinton’s mayor, the building became the site of 303 Jefferson, the restaurant, on July 13, 2013.

“We are currently working with the city and will soon have a historical marker in front of our building,” said Grace, who manages the restaurant. “There is a lot of history in this place.

We wanted to honor that when we began building it out as a restaurant.” There are nods to the past, such as the cedar bar that is made of wood from a tree that was hundreds of years old. “The band saw that was worn out while cutting the board now graces the chandelier,” Grace laughed. There are also hand-made cedar tables and other special touches that add to the ambiance in the restaurant.

“When we first looked at this location, there wasn’t much going on in this area,” said Grace. After running Tico’s Steakhouse in Ridgeland for a few years, Grace said he was intrigued by Parkman’s desire to be a part of the rehabilitation effort in Old Town Clinton. “We set out to make this a destination, and business has steadily grown each year we’ve eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 69

Capital/River

been here.”

When it first opened, the restaurant served lunch only.

Gradually, the hours were expanded to include dinner on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.

Grace describes the restaurant as a “quality Southern eatery.” Plate lunches are served daily, mostly offering Southern-style dishes. “We serve wonderful fried chicken every Thursday and Sunday,” said Grace. “As a matter of fact, we serve fried chicken, roasted chicken, and prime rib every Sunday.” The lunch menu also includes burgers, salads, and sandwiches. At night, they step it up a bit with “casual fine dining” options, including prime aged beef steaks, as well as other dinner entrées such as Chicken Piccata, Bourbon and Citrus Teriyaki Pork Chops, pork shanks, shrimp prepared fried, grilled, or barbequed; and Mahi Mahi. “We can also prepare anything that’s on the lunch menu if we have the ingredients,” Grace stated. “We make at least 90% of all we serve in-house. That includes all of our salad dressings and sauces.”

The restaurant seats up to 90 people inside, with an additional 20 or more on the outside patio area. A private dining room upstairs can accommodate 10 to 12 guests, with reservations required in advance. There is also a full bar serving wine, beer and cocktails.

“Our goal is to serve great quality food to our guests and to provide great service so they’ll always feel welcomed here,” said Grace. “We want to serve Clinton for many years to come.” edm

70 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

Capital/River

Fried Chicken

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 71

Coastal

Hay Maker, one of the specialty drinks at Sully’s 72 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

Coastal

Sully’s 213 Sullivan Kilrain Rd., Hattiesburg • 601.336.5358 • www.ilovesullys.com

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY JULIAN BRUNT

T

he last bare-knuckle prize fight in this country might not seem like a restaurant theme, but it is at Sully’s Tavern in Hattiesburg. In fact, the fight took place just down Sullivan Kilrain road, named for the two now famous fighters, from Sully’s.

So, what’s a restaurant that is named after a boxing match all about? Make no mistake, Sully’s is about amazing steaks, but there are plenty of other interesting things to choose from if you are not in the mood for a beef.

If you want to start with a small plate or two (maybe three!), try the Shrimp and Grits. It is a lovely pairing of Parmesan cheese grits, jumbo shrimp, onion, and bell pepper in a cream sauce. This recipe may have had its origins in the Carolina Low Country, but Mississippi has taken it to new and exciting levels. The nachos are also legendary. They are served in a to-go tray, just because the pile is so high, no plate could hold a full order. Sully’s “Knock Out” Nachos are made with fresh chips covered with queso, diced tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, sour cream, chili and black olives, and you have the

choice of chicken or beef.

If you’re in the mood for a great burger, all ground daily with fresh chuck, filet mignon, and ribeye, there are eight to choose from. The most popular is the Sullivan Burger, made with bacon, fried jalapeños, fried pickles, and pepper jack

One of Sully’s famous ribeye steaks

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 73

Coastal Knockout Nachos

74 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

Coastal Shrimp & Grits

Sullivan Burger

Housemade Cheesecake

cheese. It is served with a double patty, as most of the burgers are, and is delicious and almost enough for two. Sully’s makes hundreds of burger patties a day, so you know they are doing it right.

If you want the real Sully’s experience, order one of the steaks. All the steaks are 21-day wet aged Certified Angus Beef. And that is an important distinction to make: beef that is labeled Black Angus, but not Certified Black Angus, is not held to the same standard. The steaks are hand-trimmed and cut to order, then char grilled just the way you want them to be.

You have the choice of 12 and 16-ounce ribeyes, and six and eight ounce fillets. There are almost a dozen toppings you can add, including bleu cheese crumbles, grilled or fried jumbo gulf shrimp, grilled andouille sausage, jumbo lump crab meat, Gorgonzola and Jumbo shrimp cream sauce, and Tabasco and

jumbo lump crabmeat cream sauce.

If you are in the mood for Gulf fresh seafood, you are also in luck. The selection may be small, but all are delicious and as fresh as can be. Sully’s takes part in the My Gulf Wild program, which provides gill tag numbers with each dish served. That means you can track online where your fish was caught, when, and by whom, so you know the fish you are eating at Sully’s is absolutely fresh.

There is a lot to recommend at Sully’s, from food that is prepared with a serious passion for getting it right to snappy service, and music six nights a week, always provided by Pine Belt bands. Catering is available and they have a killer line of mixed drinks as well. Next time you are going north or south on Interstate 59, make plans to stop at Sully’s, it’s just minutes off the highway. edm eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 75

{ featured festival }

76 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

Barbecue and Steak Cook-offs Highlight The Great Ruleville Roast

T

by kelsey wells lambert

he small city of Ruleville in Sunflower County will soon fill with the sights and smells of The Great Ruleville Roast & Run, to be held September 29-30th at Rule Park. For these two days, barbecue will be serious business for those participating in the contest, but the festival will offer a weekend filled with activities for local residents and guests.

The Great Ruleville Roast barbecue contest began in 2005, with a 5K Walk/Run added in 2010. This year, the festival’s theme will be “Luau.” The two-day barbecue competition will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday. The Championship and Patio Divisions are sanctioned by the Memphis Barbecue Network, and the event serves as a qualifier for the Delta BBQ Battle.

While the barbecue experts begin their masterful work, the Trailer Park Disco Band will perform from 6:30-9:30 p.m., and a fireworks display will thrill young and old alike beginning at 9:45 p.m.

The park opens at 9 a.m. Saturday, but those hungry for a good breakfast are encouraged to support the traditional Ruleville-Drew Rotary Pancake Breakfast, which will be held inside the historic Depot from 6:30-9 a.m. The festival fun continues with the 5K Walk/Run, where participants can win awards for their efforts. A Classic Car, Truck, and Tractor Show is also planned, with registration beginning at 9 a.m. and the show beginning at 10 a.m.

In conjunction with the barbecue competition, the Ruleville Chamber of Commerce and Two Brooks Rice Farm are sponsoring a Steak Cook-off with a One Bite Rice

Competition beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Awards will be given to those who excel in this Steak Cook-off Association event.

While barbecue and steak competition participants are not allowed to sell their products, there will be plenty of food and fun available at the festival. Entertainment from Boundless Love Gospel Group, Ruleville Central High Band, Delta Blaze Cheerleaders, and Marshall Hopper is scheduled. Children’s activities, food trucks, and the sale of arts and crafts, pottery, woodwork, homemade goods, and more complete The Great Ruleville Roast. In addition, EMA Director for Sunflower County, Benny Grant, will present a fire safety demonstration for families. The event will end with the highly-anticipated Barbecue Awards at approximately 5 p.m., with cash prizes, trophies, and plaques for those who have excelled in their culinary quests.

More information about competition rules is available on the festival’s Facebook page, “The Great Ruleville Roast & Run.” Barbecue Competition and Steak Cook-off entries need to be received no later than September 16th. Space is limited, so early application is encouraged. edm The Great Ruleville Roast September 29-30th 662.719.6655 www.facebook.com/thegreatrulevilleroast

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 77

Food Festivals & Events

August 4th-5th

Water Valley 48th Annual Watermelon Carnival The 48th annual Water Valley Watermelon Carnival will be held on August 4th and 5th at Water Valley’s City Park. This year’s carnival includes melon eating and throwing contests, seedspitting, vendor booths, a car show, street dancing, live music, fireworks, biggest melon contest, a pet parade, games, and free watermelon slices. The festival also features a barbecue contest with categories such as best side, best dessert, best sauce, and bester watermelon dish. For more information, call 662-4731122, or visit www.watervalleychamber.info/watermeloncarnival-2/.

September 9th

Pelahatchie – Muscadine Jubilee Pay homage to the muscadine grape by joining the city of Pelahatchie for the 37th annual Muscadine Jubilee. Activities include food, fun, arts and crafts, live music, and a grape stomp. Musical guests include country artists Marty Stewart and Neal McCoy. Gates will open at 10 a.m. For more information, call 601-854-5224 or visit www.facebook.com/ pelahatchiemuscadinejubilee/.

August 19th

Starkville - Forks and Corks A dozen of the Golden Triangle’s top chefs compete for prizes and bragging rights during this year’s Forks and Corks Chef ’s Competition. Each chef prepares their best dish for competition, while attendees have the opportunity to try each one and vote for their favorite. The winning chef will take home the Best of Forks & Corks award as well as bragging rights for the next year. A panel of judges will be judging the dishes on taste, originality, and presentation. Each ticket includes wine and tastings from Mississippi’s craft breweries.

The event will be held at the The Mill Conference Center on Saturday, August 19th. For more information, visit www. starkvillearts.net/forks-and-corks-2017.html.

78 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

September 9th & 10th

Biloxi Seafood Festival The Biloxi Seafood Festival will take place at the Biloxi Town Green on September 9th and 10th. This event offers seafood and food vendors, arts and craft vendors, live entertainment, children’s activities, gumbo contest, and much more. Crowds at the Biloxi Seafood Festival feast on a vast spectrum of seafood ranging from the common to the exotic, along with many other types of food. Visit www.biloxi.org or call 228-604-0014 for more information.

September 15th

Cleveland 27th Annual Rice Tasting Luncheon The Mississippi Delta Rice Industry celebrates National Rice Month with its 27th Annual Rice Tasting Luncheon on September 15th from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. at Delta State University’s Walter Sillers Coliseum in Cleveland. The event features over 300 rice dishes prepared by local rice growing families and Delta restaurants. Delta Rice Promotions, Inc. is the host. For additional information, call 662-843-8362.

September 24th

Biloxi - Chefs of the Coast Celebrate culinary excellence on the Mississippi Gulf Coast at the annual Chefs of the Coast event. The Coast’s best restaurants serve food amid wine and beer, live music, fabulous entertainment, and a silent auction. This year’s event will be held on September 24th at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum & Convention Center. Visit www.chefsofthecoast.org or call 228324-0032 for more information.

Don’t Miss This Great Event.

FOOD

MUSIC

DRINKS

TUESDAY OCTOBER 3, 2017 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm September 23rd

Jackson – Gumbo Festival

Town of Livingston at the October corner of Highway 3rd 463 and Highway 22 Tickets: $50.00 per person and may be purchased online at www.madcaap.org Musical Entertainment by Rhythm Masters Food and wine by 28 fine restaurant at the Town of Auction Livingstonheld for ainnight of food, Chapel. and Our Join “NotMadCAAP To Be Missed” Silent Livingston

Madison - Food for Thought

drinks, and live music. Food and wine will be provided by 28 andarea, Restaurants fine restaurants Sponsors from the metro and will also feature our Benefitting the Harold T. and Hal White Memorial Scholarship, “Not To Be Missed” silent auction held in Livingston Chapel. this year’s Gumbo Fest will include live music and a gumbo For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www. cook-off to name the International Gumbo Festival Champion. madcaap.org Dianne23rd, Anderson Gary Anderson Jim and Amy Streetman Town of Livin The Gumbo Festival will be held on Saturday, September at Smith Park in downtown Jackson. Gates open at 11 a.m. with music starting at noon. For tickets and more information, visit www.jacksongumbo.com.

To have your food festival or culinary event included in future issues, please contact us at info@eatdrinkmississippi.com. All submissions are subject to editor’s approval. eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 79

Recipe Index

Advertisers Index

Avocado Mayo, 53 Broccoli Salad, 47 Brown Butter Sabayon, 51 Brunch Bruschetta Bar, 28 Chocolate Peanut Butter and Banana Ice Cream, 45 Classic Southern Tomato Pie, 20 Crunchy Grilled Snapper Burritos, 53 Finger-Lickin' Shrimp, 24 Fried Leeks, 51 Grilled Green Tomato “Sandwiches” with Herbed Cream Cheese, 15 Jailhouse Rock Cake, 45 Onion Soup Gratinée, 19 Oysters in Cheese Sauce, 25 Peanut Butter Burgers with Bacon and Fried Plantains, 45 Quickie Pie, 35 Seasoning Salt, 15 Stuffed Blue Crab, 51 Swiss Chard, 51

Anjou, 9 Bin 612, 29 Christina Foto, 13 Etta B Pottery, 6 MadCAAP’s Food for Thought, 3 McEwen’s, 29 Mississippi Children’s Museum, 11 Mississippi Food Network, 13 Mistletoe Marketplace, 83 Sanderson Farms, Back Cover The Kitchen Table, 6 Thurman’s Landscaping, 81 Tupelo, 4 Visit Jackson, 2

STORE INFORMATION from pages 16-17

Dillard’s Mississippi locations - Biloxi, Hattiesburg, Meridian, Ridgeland, Southaven, Vicksburg 800.345.5273 www.dillards.com

Pier 1 Imports Mississippi locations - Flowood, Gulfport, Hattiesburg, Ridgeland, Southaven, Tupelo 1.800.245.4595 www.pier1.com

Kendra Scott 4500 I 55 N, Ste. 118 Jackson, MS 39211 601.812.6131 www.kendrascott.com

The Gift Home 347.652.2495 www.thegifthome.com The Kitchen Table 3720 Hardy St. Ste. 3 Hattiesburg, MS 39402 601.261.2224 www.kitchentablenow.com

Mikasa 1.866.645.2721 www.mikasa.com Newport Style 401.236.7885 www.newportstyle.net

Follow us on Instagram to see some of the tasty, local bites we’ve discovered!

80 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

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601.270.8512 eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 81

Till We Eat Again

BILL DABNEY PHOTOGRAPHY

Jay Reed, a graduate of Ole Miss, lives in Starkville where he is a pharmacist by day and a freelance food writer by day off. He is a member of the Southern Foodways Alliance and writes "Eats One Ate," a weekly column in the Starkville Daily News.

82 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017

Mama’s Cookbook is Full of Recipes and Memories

I

BY JAY REED

’ve been thinking about cookbooks lately. The space my wife has allotted me on the kitchen counter has reached maximum capacity, and they now appear on bookshelves next to novels and such. Given that so many of them are as much stories as they are recipes, such placement almost makes sense. That brings up another point: is there a difference between a recipe book and a cookbook?

I gave significant thought to this as I took a closer look at my mother’s personal recipe book, a three-ring binder with a Kappa Delta decal on the cover. It was a sorority notebook of some sort before she flipped the tab dividers and filled it with recipes collected over the years.

What used to be the “Phi Gamma Nu” section is now “Cakes.” Not all of these recipes have been professionally tested like the cookbook of a celebrity chef, but they earned a place in this collection because they’ve passed a test along the way. Some may have even started out in a cookbook, but later became Bo Haynes’ Grilled Chicken or Aunt Sybil’s Meatloaf. But that’s not everything that makes Mama’s recipe book special.

The front side of her tabs say “Main Dishes. Pies. Cakes. Cookies-Candy-Salads-etc” (Not sure how salads got in that group). The final tab is untitled, after which is a Christmas card list with names both added and crossed out (hopefully due to loss of contact, and nothing nefarious). I bet Paula Deen’s books don’t have that!

The first page of the Main Dishes section is not a recipe, but a list of ideas. Some are expected: cornbread, hamburger, chicken, pork chops, tuna casserole, thousand island dressing.

Others need a bit more explanation and might be considered odd to someone who is not Mama: banana and pineapple salad, snap beans with onion rings, fondue, Fiesta.

At some point she has gone through the book and added comments. She’s all about passing things down, so this is probably more for me and my brother than for herself. One recipe is simply titled “Meatloaf,” but out to the side she wrote “Aunt Sybil, good” and in another color ink, “FAMILY FAVORITE.” And she’s right - Aunt Sybil’s meatloaf has spoiled me for all other meatloaves. Asparagus casserole says, “I grew up eating this.” (I grew up avoiding it, but we had it a lot because Daddy likes it.) A different kind of note is penciled in next to the Danish Meat Balls (Mrs. Smith) recipe - apparently she was “the meatman’s wife” in Oxford.

Many are in her handwriting, but not all. Some are printed and taped to the notebook pages. Several say “Teller Recipes,” gifts from Bank of Mississippi. I also recognized the looping cursive of my English-teaching Granny; the note there says: “Mama’s writing.”

Some of the ingredients - particularly the measurements - are left to the imagination, as good passed-down recipes often do. My great-grandmother Mama Manie’s Flitters recipe had ingredients only, with no measurements at all: buttermilk, pinch of soda, pinch of salt, self-rising flour. That’s all we know, aside from a hot skillet. There’s a longer story written underneath this one, involving Mama Manie using flitters as bribes. Ditto with Mommaw’s Dressing: eight ingredients, and only one really has a quantity, unless a “little bit” of loaf bread counts.

In the Pie section you learn right away that it’s really about the fundamentals. Page 1, in enormous capital letters: ALWAYS SIFT POWDERED SUGAR. PUT BUTTER OR MARGARINE IN CAKES - SHORTENING IN PIE CRUSTS. Page 2: COOK PIE INGREDIENTS IN DOUBLE BOILER - ADD VANILLA AFTER YOU LET IT COOL A LITTLE. The personal notes continue beside the Cherry Cream Pie : “One of Husband’s favorites & Jacob’s.” A lot of the pies seem to have personal names: Mommaw’s Egg Custard, Mammy Reed’s Transparent Pie, Helen Yarber’s Chocolate Pie, Aunt Hallie’s Huguenot Torte, Mama’s Chess Pie. Now on to the cake section. Sheath Cake has a note: “Mama would send this to me in a shirt box when I was at Ole Miss. By mail.” There was another from the summer they spent at Florida State, a pound cake recipe written by a friend named Norma. The last line of her instructions reads “Jenny, sometimes it will get done in an hour, sometimes an hour, 15 minutes. (It may be just our FSU stoves!)”

Proudly, my own cryptic handwriting made it into the Candy-Cookie-Salad section. This one is just labeled, “Candy,” but you probably know it as Haystacks. And about those oddlyplaced salads - most seem to be of the congealed variety, which must have been all the rage in the late 60s and 70s. My favorite find is the candle salad: “Slice of pineapple on lettuce. Half of a banana in center. Top with mayonnaise and a cherry.” She never made that one for us. But now I know what I’m taking to my next potluck. edm

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 83

Sanderson Farms chicken has always been 100% natural with nothing added. That’s why folks across the nation have been making it part of their family meals for decades. We’re proud to say our chicken is just as fresh and delicious today as it was the first time you tasted it. And we hope that’s something you’re proud to pass down from generation to generation.

84 • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017