Eat Drink Mississippi October November 2014

eat. drink.

MISSISSIPPI OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

S'more(s) Give Me page 20

FARM TO SCHOOL MONTH GREENVILLE'S DELTA HOT TAMALE FESTIVAL HUNGER GAINS: THE REVOLUTIONARY ACT OF EATING LOCAL eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI 1

BIKE MS: BIKE TO THE BATTLEFIELD OCTOBER 11-12, 2014 » 2 DAYS » 45 OR 75 MILE ROUTES

Clinton - Vicksburg, Mississippi Register Today:BIKEMS.ORG OR 601.856.5831 Official Media Sponsor: 2 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

The Official Bicycle Partner of Bike MS:

•

VOLUME 3 • NUMBER 6

73

2014

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

30 “If man be sensible and one fine morning, while he is lying in bed, counts at the tips of his fingers how many things in this life truly will give him enjoyment, invariably he will find food is the first one.”

• Lin Yutang •

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 3

HAVE A MERRY

Cookie CHUCKLET CHRISTMAS Monsters Were Here

SOUTHERN BORN. SOUTHERN BAKED. 320 BELLE MEADE POINT, SUITE D FLOWOOD, MS 39232 601-398-9827 | CHUCKLETANDHONEY.COM SPECIAL PRICING FOR MULTIPLE ORDERS CORPORATE ORDERS WELCOME | CALL OR VISIT US TODAY!

4 • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

CONTENTS 34

11 WHAT'S HOT

Make it Better with Bacon

16 CHEF'S CORNER

Chef Jeremy Enfinger Shares His Passion for Food

26 MISSISSIPPI MADE

Beck's Confections

30 SOUTHERN SOIRÉE

Harvest Supper on the Grounds of Rowan Oak Features Farm Fresh Feast

34 FARM TO SCHOOL

October is a Time to Celebrate the Connection Between Local Food and Local Schools

38 THE CORN PATCH

Memories from Using Left Behind Corn for Cornmeal and Hominy

39 THANKSGIVING DINNER

Simplify Thanksgiving with Classic Menu and Recipes

42 HUNGER GAINS

The Revolutionary Act of Eating Local

39

46 IN THE BLOGLIGHT

Grandbaby Cakes Jocelyn Delk Adams

48 FROM MISSISSIPPI TO BEYOND

47

74

Chef Brandon Stevens Serves Swanky Food at Cleveland's Ritz-Carlton

51 FROM THE BOOKSHELF

Smokin' in the Boys' Room

52 RAISE YOUR GLASS Midnight Potions

54 THE HILLS

SideStreet Burgers in Olive Branch

58 THE DELTA

Alison's in Belzoni

62 THE PINES

The Biscuit Shop in Starkville

66 CAPITAL/RIVER

IN EVERY ISSUE 6 From the Editor 8 From Our Readers 12 Fabulous Foodie Finds 18 Deep South Dish 25 Coming to Terms 78 Events 80 Recipe/Ad Index 82 Till We Eat Again

Topisaw General Store in McComb

70 COASTAL

Patio 44 in Hattiesburg

74 FEATURED FESTIVAL

Delta Hot Tamale Festival

ON THE COVER: S'mores go from traditional to gourmet in recipes by Lisa LaFontaine Bynum. See page 20. Styling and photography by Lisa LaFontaine Bynum. eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI 5

{ from the editor }

N

eighbors...we all have them. If you have a good one, life is great. If you have a bad one...not so much.

J.J. and John Carney at Oak Alley Plantation

Alzina Toups and J.J. Carney PHOTO BY RENEA RAYBORN

Friends enjoyed a Cajun lunch at Alzina's.

When it comes to food, Louisiana is the best neighbor Mississippi could ask for. The Creole and Cajun influences that permeate Louisiana's dishes have spread northeast as evidenced on many a Mississippi restaurant menu.

Last fall, I had the pleasure of meeting Alzina Toups, 86, in Oxford when she was awarded the Ruth Fertel Keeper of the Flame Award at the annual Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium. Toups, along with her granddaughters, operates a one-of-a-kind restaurant in an old welding shop in Galliano, La. When I heard her story at the symposium, plans began immediately to take a trip down to the bayou to see her in action firsthand. Dining at Alzina's is by reservation only, which must be made months in advance, (no walk-ins) and she only serves one party per mealtime.

This summer, my family of four was joined by several friends who enjoy culinary adventures as much as we do.

Ashamedly, even though I live only 2-1/2 hours from the Louisiana bayou, I had never ventured further than Baton Rouge and New Orleans. So, we spent an entire weekend exploring as much as we could of the area.

We kicked off the weekend in Houma by feasting at Boudreau & Thibodeau's Cajun Cookin' on Friday night, where we enjoyed Red Snapper Robichaux, boiled seafood, and a Turtle on da Half-Shell (a huge hot beignet topped with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate, caramel, and pecans). We were entertained while we waited for a table by reading various Cajun jokes posted on the walls inside and out. Houma has numerous local restaurants and gourmet shops, making it a culinary destination in its own right. To Houma I say, "I will be back!"

After a scenic drive through the bayou on Saturday morning, we met our friends for lunch at Alzina's where we supped on some of the best gumbo in those parts. We enjoyed a Cajun family-style meal of Cajun Shrimp over Rice, Amaretto Yams, Chicken Breast Stuffed with Rice, Walnut Tart, and more. It was an experience we will never forget.

On Sunday, my family ventured to Oak Alley Plantation in Vacherie, La. After a delicious lunch of Red Beans, Crawfish ÉtouffÊe, and rice at the onsite restaurant, we toured the beautiful home and grounds of the plantation.

The majestic oaks lining the walkway to the front of the home are breathtaking and my two teenagers enjoyed the day as much as their parents did. A little history never hurt anyone, especially when it's preceded by tasty Cajun and Creole cuisine.

No trip down or up I-55 in Louisiana would be complete for us if we didn't stop at Middendorf 's Seafood Restaurant near Manchac, La. They are famous for their thin fried catfish (from Mississippi, of course) and they do it well. We left there stuffed as usual and headed home with smiles on our faces.

Well...we may have stopped for ice cream on the way home. I don't put much stock in that old saying about not eating ice cream after eating fish.

Our Louisiana neighbors fed us well and showed us a great time. We left so much territory untouched and are looking forward to our next adventure down to the bayou.

"Laissez les bon temps rouler" and let's eat!

J.J. Carney

q

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31

6 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

r

Why advertise with us?

Reach over 35,000 readers with each issue.

Distributed throughout Mississippi and more than 35 states.

Mississippi’s only magazine dedicated to the food and hospitality it’s famous for. kt_le_creuset_4.5x4.625.pdf

rSIPinPI k. eat. eatM.ISd drin SIS MIS

3/7/13

12:31 PM

Discover the taste of healthy cooking.

For more information, call 601.756.1584 or email: info@ eatdrinkmississippi.com.

EMBER

1

2013

T/SEPT

AUGUS

VOLUME 2, NUMBER 5

Smal

e

rn Favorit

hrimp S & Grti s A Southe

eat. drink.

MISSISSIP

page 18

PI

drink. eat.

MISSISSIPPI ANUARY 2014 DECEMBER/J

IPPI

hes, B

page

Easy Holiday A ppetizers

k.

SISS

l Touc

C OCT OBE

R/NO VEM

BER

2013

M

ig Fl

46

Y

avor

CM

MY

A M IN IUK MUSEU D APRON D TO HEA ’S ONLY GO HEA -OFF WORLD OK LADIES ROOM FETERIA CO page 26 BAKE 'S CA N LUNCH D AN CLINTO RACHAEL RAY KE ISSIPPI 1 D FR CA CH 2014 . MISS RO IN www ND RY/MAR IED PU BERT .eatd FEBRUA eat. drink POU rinkm ’Sississ ST. JO MA MPKIN ippi.c AND om GR TO CR HN AN CAKE D WY EATE AN ITA ATT WA TER LIAN DELTA PALA S TEAM TE HOT TAMA LES

eat. drink.

August/S

rinI k. MISSISSIPPI eatM.ISd Spring SISSIPP eptembe

r 2013

Luncheon

APRIL/MAY

2014

CY

CMY

DUTCH OVEN

COOKING SWEET & SAVO RY JAMS CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDD CHIP ING

L OYSTER FESTIVA PASS CHRISTIAN AYS S FOR THE HOLID GREAT RECIPE page 44 MORE THAN 30 DAY GRUB SUPER GAME

The Emile Henry Plancha is a multipurpose grill for cooking vegetables, meats, eggs, etc. at the same time.

It can be used without fat and will caramelize the food without burning.

K

ea

R5

E 3, NUMBE

VOLUM

t. d of drink.

Loveeat.

MISS rink.

ISSIP MISSISSIPPI te la co PI Cho for the

JUNE/JULY 2014

page 34

ANGEL FOOD CAKE WAFFLE S WING DANG DOO FESTIVA DLE L DRIN FRUITS KING YOU TSVEG R AND PLAN EGG ETABLE S

eat. drink.

SEXY BO DELICIOUSLY AGE GUM OUILLE SAUS CE AND AND EXPERIEN CHICKEN UE LEARNING OFFERS UNIQ PIZZA FARM

AUGU

ST/SE

PTEM

BER 2014

West Co

IPPI

MISSISS

Gulf

ast Mee

Coast

ts

page 74

3720 Hardy Street, Suite 3 | Hattiesburg, MS | 601-261-2224 www.KitchenTableNow.com

the delicious legacy of

ber 2014

/Septem

August

Heirloom Tomatoes page 32

SOUTHERN-STYLE CRAWFISH BOIL

PIG PICKIN' CAKE FOODIE FORAY ON 49 eat. drink

. MISS

ISSIP

PI

1

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI 7

{ from our readers } I love, love, love your magazine!

Ronda Schiefer Kilmichael ••• Love your magazine. Thanks y’all.

Gloria Byrd Southaven ••• I just want you to know how much we appreciate being included in your magazine. The word, the layout...it was absolutely a wonderful article and we are so grateful to you and Susan Marquez. We love being able to sell Eat Drink Missis-

sippi in The Crown, too...a great magazine EVERY issue!

Evelyn Roughton Indianola ••• I love your magazine and 'pour' over each issue as soon as it comes in the mail.

Wilda Pounds Booneville ••• Great magazine!

Mary Carraway Brandon

eat. drink.

MISSISSIPPI J.J. Carney Publisher/Editor John Carney Executive Editor Anne Morgan Carney Executive Assistant Ann Nichols Wendi O'Neill Amelia Perdomo Advertising Executives Joe Luca Newsstand Sales Consultant

b

We Like To Be Followed

www.eatdrinkmississippi.com

b eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI is published six times a year by Carney Publications LLC

b

www.facebook.com/eatdrinkmississippi www.pinterest.com/eatdrinkms www.twitter.com/eatdrinkms www.linkedin.com/company/eat-drink-mississippi www.instagram.com/eatdrinkmississippi www.foodspotting.com/eatdrinkms

4500 I-55 N, Ste. 253 Jackson, MS 39211

b

P.O. Box 1051 Monticello, MS 39654

b

DROP US A LINE

Thank you for your interest in this magazine. We would love to hear from you. Please understand that letters submitted become the property of eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI and may be edited for length and clarity. E-mail us at info@ eatdrinkmississippi.com, leave a comment on our Facebook page, or write to P.O. Box 1051, Monticello, MS 39654.

NEW ADDRESS? If you're a subscriber and your address has changed, please let us know. The post office doesn't provide forwarding service for the magazine and we don't want you to miss an issue. Send your change of address to us at P.O. Box 1051, Monticello, MS 39654 or e-mail us at info@eatdrinkmississippi.com.

8 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

601.756.1584

b

info@eatdrinkmississippi.com

b © eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or reprinted without written consent from the Publisher.

Advertising rates and more information are available upon request.

Subscriptions are $24 for one year and $36 for two years.

Subscribe online or make checks payable to: eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI P.O. Box 1051 Monticello, MS 39654

Landscaping • Irrigation Waterfalls • Lighting Outdoor Kitchens & Patios Iron & Brick Work

601.270.8512 Thurman’s Landscaping

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI 9

{contributors} LIZ BARRETT is an Oxford-based journalist who has been working with trade magazines and online publications for 10 years.

She runs the award-winning website EatingOxford.com, which provides Oxonians with local restaurant news and information, and is the editor-at-large for the nation’s No. 1 pizza trade publication, PMQ Pizza Magazine. Her first book, Pizza: A Slice of American History, just hit bookstores.

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 KIM HENDERSON is a freelance writer living in Copiah County. While at Mississippi College, she was named their most outstanding journalism student and has since been published by sources ranging from the Associated Press to LifeWay Christian Resources. She currently writes a weekly slice-of-life column for Brookhaven’s Daily Leader.

SUSAN MARQUEZ lives and writes in Madison.

She has a degree in Radio-TV-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.

ANNE MARTIN is a freelance writer, columnist and journalist. She has spent the better part of the past 28 years covering the Mississippi Delta as a broadcast journalist. Her passion is writing about anything related to Mississippi and the South. Her work has appeared in several local and regional magazines. She is a graduate of Mississippi Delta Junior College and attended the University of Southern Mississippi. She lives on a farm in Rosedale.

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.

10 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

JULIAN RANKIN is a writer and photographer living in Jackson whose subjects include the culture, food, and stories of Southern folks.

He is Director of Media and Public Relations at the Mississippi Museum of Art.

GENNIE TAYLOR, a Forest native, is the publications coordinator at East Central Community College in Decatur and a freelance writer, photographer, and graphic designer.

She is the former editor of The Demopolis Times, a five-day daily newspaper in Demopolis, Ala., and managing editor of The Scott County Times, a weekly newspaper in her hometown. A graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi with a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, she has received numerous awards from the Associated Press and the Mississippi and Alabama Press Associations. She is married to Steven Taylor and they have a daughter, Mallory Grace. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, reading, and cooking.

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.

KELSEY WELLS 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 currently resides in the Divide community where she is active in her church and community.

KATIE HUTSON WEST 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 in Starkville.

{ what's hot }

Make it Better with Bacon

T

he rich smell and crisp, smoky flavor of fresh sizzling bacon is a temptation few diners can resist. This love for bacon is fueling a culinary craze for bacon-infused and -inspired foods - everything from the tame (sauces) to the outrageous (ice cream).

But perhaps this trend should come as no surprise.

After all, most everyone will agree that bacon makes everything better.

Whether you’re pairing your morning eggs with strips

of their most perfect protein sidekick, loading up a BLT with an extra layer of bacon-y crunch, or following the lead of the nation’s top chefs and experimenting with new flavor combinations, you’re likely to achieve a crowd-pleaser.

Quirky products and recipes aside, the simple versatility of bacon makes it a winning addition to most meals.

Even a classic pork chop takes on a new personality when paired with the distinctly savory flavor of bacon, as in this recipe for Bacon Pork Chops with BBQ Glaze. edm

BACON PORK CHOPS WITH BBQ GLAZE 4 (6-7 ounce) Smithfield Boneless Pork Loin Chops (1-1/4-inch thick) 1 teaspoon coarse salt 4 slices thick-cut Smithfield Bacon 4 tablespoons barbecue sauce 1/2 cup lager beer 1 teaspoon canola oil 1/2 cup chicken broth, reduced-sodium Season pork with salt. Wrap bacon around edges of pork and secure with wooden toothpick.

Mix together barbecue sauce and beer.

Heat oil in oven-proof large skillet over medium-high heat.

Stand chops with bacon-wrapped edges down in skillet, leaning against side of pan if needed. Using tongs, rotate chops along

edges to lightly brown bacon (allow about 45 seconds to brown each section).

Place chops flat side down in skillet and cook until underside is lightly browned, about one minute. Turn chops over. Spread equal amount of barbecue sauce mixture over each chop, letting excess run into skillet.

Place skillet with chops in oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Transfer each chop to dinner plate and let stand.

Pour fat from skillet, leaving browned bits. Heat skillet over high heat until hot. Add broth and bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits with wooden spoon, and boil until reduced by half, about two minutes. Top each chop with spoonful of sauce and serve hot.

Serves 4. eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI 11

{ fabulous foodie finds }

SOUP'S ON! The arrival of fall puts us in the mood for homemade soup. We've found several great items that will make soup preparation a breeze, plus others that will serve it in style.

Le Creuset 10 quart Stock Pot, Reg. $100.00, for a limited time - $79.99 The Kitchen Table, Hattiesburg

Glazed Square Bowl Etta B Pottery

12 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

Aladdin Tortoiseshell Antique Soup Ladle, $57.00 Vietri

Soup Mug To Go, $7.99 Kitchen Collection

Soup and Sandwich Set, set of 2 bowls and 2 trays, $29.95 Chef's Catalog

Alligator Gumbo Spoons, set of 4, $40.00 The Kitchen Table Hattiesburg Cuisinart Soup Maker & Blender, $149.95 Williams-Sonoma, Ridgeland see page 80 for store information

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 13

eat. drink.

MISSISSIPPI

Vendors wanted...

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

LET PRIMOS CAFE COOK

Thanksgiving FOR YOU

* T U RK E Y & D R E S S I NG * S Q UA S H C A S S E R O L E * C A R A M E L C A K E * * CL A S S I C H O L I D AY S I D E S * S W E E T H O L I D AY T R A D I T I O NS *

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

VO

LUM

ea drink. Mt. d E 2,

Dair

BER

NUM

y F arm

4

s

2013

EMBER

T/SEPT

AUGUS

Awa

rd-W

VOLUME 2, NUMBER 5

eatM.ISSISSIPPI . drin IPPI

SISS

eat. drink.

PI

MISSISSIP

P

Collin

k.

s T uo

hy

JU

NE

Jun

Y 201 AR NU

/JA

uly

e/J

ER

MB

CE

3

201

DE

i .ISdSISrSIPPI t a e M ay

/JU

LY

201

3

Prim

e Tim

e fo

ra

page

4

28

OCT OBE

R/NO VEM

BER

2013

IUKA SEUM IN

ouches

eat.

r 2013

eptembe

August/S

MU D APRON D TO HEA ’S ONLY GO HEA -OFF WORLD OK LADIES ROOM FETERIA CO 'S CA N LUNCH CLINTO RACHAEL RAY PI 1 CA.KE MISSISSIP IN ND drink page MA’S POU eat.

46 GRAND

, Big

drink

. MI

SSIS

olid s sy H izer Ea ppet A ge

becue

eat. dicnic MISS rin nkS.mall T ISSIPPI k.

page 18

pa

Bar

IPP

k. MIS

hrimp S & Grti s

ng

I

eat

e

rn Favorit

A Southe

inni

r ISS in

ISS

SIPP

I

Flav

or

1

VISIT P R I M O S C A F E . C O M TO VIEW OUR HOLID AY MENU

Simmons Catfish; Delta Magazine; 1/3 pg; 4.625 x 4.75; created 07-22-13

CLASSIC AMERICAN QUALITY

26

e k. aMt. d rIPin eatM.ISd I P I SISS Lu Sprin SSISSIrPink nche g PI . on BAKE D AN D FR IED PU RT ST. MPKIN JO TO CR HN AN CAKE EATE IVADL WYAT AYS AN ITA LID T WA ST TER LIA O R FE DE TELTA E H N PALA S TEAM YS TE HO O R TH FO T TAMALE IAN S RIST IPES H B C C RU RE AT YG PASS DA GRE E AM N 30 RG THA SUPE ORE CH 2014

RY/MAR

FEBRUA

www .eatd

rinkm

ississ

ippi.c

ROBE

om

M

page

44

DU TC HO SW VE EE NC T& OO SA CH KIN VO G RY BR OCO EA JA D P LATE MS UD CH DIN IP G

for the of

Love te Chocola

AP

RIL

/M

AY

20

14

R5

E 3, NUMBE

VOLUM

iIPnPIke.aMtI.SSdrink r d . .

ISSIP PI eat ISSISS page 34

LY 2014

E/JU

JUN

TS

M

PLAN SEXY EGG BO DELICIOUSLY AGE GUM SAUS OUILLEANG EL FOO D CAKE AND AND RIENCE WAF FLES EXPE NING WIN UE GLEAR DANG DOO OFFERS UNIQ FES TIVA DLE PIZZA FARM CHICKEN

eat. drink.

L DRIN FRUITS KING YOU AND VEG R ETABLE S

AUGU

ST/SE

PTEM

BER 2014

West Co

IPPI

MISSISS

Gulf

ast Mee

Coast

ts

page 74

atoes m Tom Heirloo acy

s leg

liciou

the de

of

ber 2014

August /Septem

page 32

IL H BO AWFIS E CR KE -STYL ' CA HERN PICKIN Y ON 49 PIG RA IE FO FOOD

SOUT

eat. drink

. MISS

ISSIP

PI

1

14 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

www.simmonscatfish.com

HUNT THE DELTA Walk with your duck hunting guide across a Mississippi grain field beneath a grey winter sky (with one of MS Delta Dogs water-drenched Labs at your side) on land that is maintained to prime conservation standards. Enjoy a morning in the blind with a skilled guide whose Southern manners and the warm friendliness that resides beneath will put you at ease.

Hunt in venues including wetland areas full of wildlife or harvested grain fields which are part of land-management programs and located in waterfowl areas that we believe in.

It’ll make you glad that you’ve left the stresses of everyday life behind and feeling privileged to have been a part of the Delta-waterfowl experience. Come hunt with us!

662.455.6556

www.msdeltaducks.com

info@msdeltaducks.com

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI 15

{ chef's corner }

Share Your Passion for Food

BY JEREMY ENFINGER

W

e always walked in the back of my food. I was telling a story... door. The only time we After church, it was a race to my ever used the front door grandparents' house. You never knew was to sit on the front porch. It was how many were showing up. You just a beautiful scene either way. The knew that there was banana pudding front was covered with roses as big hiding in one of the refrigerators and if as your head, kumquat trees that you didn't get there early to hide your rivaled some live oaks, and fig trees own bowl, you would miss out. My named after each grandkid. On a hot grandmother made it because she knew summer day, I would fall asleep on I loved it so much and wouldn't tell the swing that spanned the entire anyone else that but me. Most Sundays porch. The patio out back was away she would make a small little dish just from the house, and with good intenfor me and hide it, but it was still fun to tion. It was a huge outdoor kitchen get the last little scoop and hide it from complete with an eight foot charcoal my Uncle Dan. He would get so mad cinder block grill pit, several deep when he got there and opened up the fryers, and a huge table for cleaning fridge to find the empty dish. Ha Ha! fish or whatever else ended up there.

That made my day.

Surrounding that was the garden, and Holidays were a little like a church man oh man was it a garden. potluck and every dish was better than You see, back when it was still the next; all made by my tiny little safe, my grandfather, James Enfinamazing grandmother. To this day I Chef Jeremy Enfinger ger, was a vegetable peddler. He don't know how she made all that food, went door to door by mule-drawn went to church, kept the house spotless, cart selling his wares that he grew and made time to spoil all of us grandright there in that very yard where kids, but she did and she did it with we played. Needless to say, the man the biggest smile you have ever seen. knew how to grow some good food.

There was food on every counter, a pot He could also tell a story like no one of gumbo on the stove, and even more else and I could listen to them over food stuffed in the oven because we and over with eagerness even knowwere out of counter space. It was ending the ending. Back to the garden... less! Lord help you if you didn't clear tomatoes, okra, squash, zucchini, your plate and come back for seconds. eggplant, muscadines, watermelon, I am so thankful for my roots. Most bell peppers, anything you could chefs want to tell you how they cook possibly want and it all had the most things or how they think their recipes amazing flavor. I guess I don't have to are better. No one makes it better than explain where my passion for good my grandmother did. I'll bet you feel food came from, do I? the same way about yours, so I'm not I am thankful for my roots and going to try to change your paradigm, what was instilled in me growing up. but rather just share my passion with My name is Jeremy Enfinger. Those you instead. who have worked with me call me I don't think food is about food.

"Chef." Although that might be my Food is the tool. It is about people; title, I consider myself more of a cook. Sometimes "mad food about the conversations, the smiles and laughs you share scientist" seems more fitting. I get paid to play with food; it's over that food. It's very rare to share a meal with someone okay to be jealous. My new playhouse will be called County you don't love or at least care greatly about. It's about time Seat; a 150-seat restaurant currently under construction in the and slowing down life long enough to absorb what and who Town of Livingston in Madison County. If all goes right and is around you. Take that time. Share the passion we as chefs I don't have any mad scientist explosions between now and put into food and enjoy it for exactly what it is, where it came early December, I would love to have you all out to try some from, and the energy that went into its creation. edm 16 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

DUCK AND LEMONGRASS SAUSAGE PATTIES 2 pounds duck breast 10 ounces pork fat back 1 tablespoon fine sea salt 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper 1 teaspoon sugar 2 teaspoons fish/oyster sauce 1 tablespoon shallot 1 tablespoon lemongrass 1-1/2 teaspoons fresh ginger root 1-1/2 teaspoons fresh garlic

Cut duck and fat back into 3/4 inch cubes and place in stainless steel bowl.

Add seasonings to cut meat. Mince shallot, center stalk of lemongrass, peeled ginger, and peeled garlic. Add to bowl.

Mix thoroughly with hands to fully incorporate all ingredients. Place under refrigeration for at least 12 hours. Using a meat grinder, grind once using the 10mm plate. Bag and freeze or use in the next few days fresh.

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI 17

{ deep south dish }

Food. Family. Memories.

Crisp, Cool Days Call For Homemade Soup

S

BY MARY FOREMAN

unday dinner at Grandma Mac’s was always a special event for me. First, it meant waiting out dinnertime playing with the little closet stash of special toys that only Grandma had, the contents of which were spilled out underneath the glow of an unusual purple and blue hanging grape lamp. Sometimes we’d gather in her den to listen to records… yes, as in those large vinyl discs that you played on a record player that was housed in the upper part of a console television.

From as young as I can remember, dinner at Grandma’s house meant eating on the good china, with real silverware and fragile crystal glassware. I don’t recall a single time that a paper plate came to the table. While there might be a minor mishap, like a glass of iced tea spilling over on her lace tablecloth by the hands of a clumsy child, it never seemed to bother her one bit.

My memories of Grandma Mac are all from her retirement years, though she was a full-time working mother of five boys, raising them virtually all on her own at a time when young women just did not do that. I had enough knowledge to know that things could not have been easy for her, but she never spoke of what surely must have been very difficult struggles. She lived to be 97, an age where the memory fails you about what happened yesterday, but you nostalgically wander back to days past and old friends now long gone with clarity of a recent memory.

Though she did indulge in the occasional menthol cigarette, I never saw her drink, never heard her utter a curse word, or even say anything negative about anybody, and I never knew a soul who met her who didn’t love “Miss Mac.” At each visit, Grandma would put on a pot of coffee and, even as children, we were allowed a serving of what essentially was milk coffee, a drink containing mostly milk, a little bit of sugar from the sugar bowl, and a splash of freshly brewed coffee - just enough to give some color and flavor. I am certain that is

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.

18 • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

surely where my love of coffee began. Those precious moments continued on into my adult years as we’d sit at that same dining room table, sharing conversation over much more adult coffee, something that we often did together even when she was well into her late 90s. It was during one of those conversations that I asked her what she attributed her long life to. “I just don’t let things bother me,” she responded. That simple. I remember chuckling and saying to her, “I would strive to that goal Grandma, but I’m not sure I know how just yet.”

I still can’t make a pot of this beef vegetable soup without the aroma taking me right back to Grandma’s kitchen. Soup is one of my favorite things about cooler weather and fall, and in my house is served with crusty French bread and plenty of butter.

It’s considered a meal. After a hot, hazy and humid summer, that first crisp cool day will guarantee a pot of soup shows up in my kitchen and it’s just as likely to be this one as any other. It’s homage to my Grandma Mac in a way because I can remember consuming many a bowl of this soup at her dining room table and nearly every time she was bound to say “you just can’t find a good soup bone anymore.” Long gone were the days when a soup bone could be had from the butcher for pennies, bursting with plenty of meat left hanging on the bone. I suppose that my Grandma used those meaty soup bones to stretch out a big pot of soup to feed all those hungry boys. You’ll still find soup bones today of course, but Grandma Mac was right, as now they are bare bones, sheared of even the most negligible traces of meat.

Most vegetable soups in the South were born out of those meaty soup bones of days past and usually whatever leftover vegetables that happened to be in the refrigerator. In my house, it seems like there is always a spoon of corn, peas, field peas, carrots or green beans leftover at dinner, so I started a frugal practice years ago where I keep a freezer container with bits and pieces of leftover veggies piled one on top of the other from different meals. Once the container is filled, it’s time to put on a pot of soup!

Soup bones today require the supplement of a cut of meat, and, by its frugal nature, usually from whatever is on sale. For vegetable soup, it can range from a quick cooking cut of meat such as sirloin tip roast, to a tougher chuck, the only difference being how you start the pot and how long it has to cook, the determination of which is solely dependent on the cook’s time.

Buy a larger cut when it’s on sale and reserve about a pound and a half of it for soup, using the rest for your Sunday dinner. I wrote this recipe using a quicker cooking cut of beef sirloin, but I have included the variation for a stewing beef, such as chuck, in the recipe notes. edm

Southern Vegetable Beef Soup ©From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

1 pound of beef soup bones 2 quarts of water 2 tablespoons of cooking oil 1-1/2 pounds of beef sirloin or other lean beef 1 cup chopped onion 1 cup chopped celery 1 cup chopped carrots 1 cup chopped potato 2 teaspoons of chopped garlic 4 cups of beef broth or stock 2 teaspoons of beef base or bouillon 1 (14.5 ounce) can of diced tomatoes 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of Creole or Cajun seasoning , or to taste, optional 1/4 teaspoon of dried thyme 1/2 cup of frozen corn 2 cup mixture of leftover, frozen or canned vegetables (green beans, field peas, lima beans, etc.)

2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste 2 cups of dried egg noodles Place bones into a tall stock pot and add the two quarts of water. Bring to a boil; reduce and simmer for one hour or until liquid has reduced by half. Discard bones, but reserve

liquid.

Add oil to a large skillet and bring to medium high temperature. Cut sirloin into bite-size pieces and cook in hot oil until nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Add the onion, celery, carrots and potatoes and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook about an additional minute; transfer all to the soup pot. Add the beef broth, beef base, tomatoes, Creole or Cajun seasoning, if using, and thyme; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to a low simmer and cook for about 20 minutes. Add the corn, cook an additional 5 minutes, then add other vegetables, leftover, frozen or canned and drained, for a total of two cups and heat until warmed through. Stir in parsley, taste and add salt and pepper only as needed. Reduce and hold over low heat.

Cook the egg noodles separately, according to package directions and drain. Spoon cooked noodles into serving bowls, and ladle the soup on top.

Cook's Notes: Alternatively you may cook the noodles in the soup. They tend to absorb a great deal of the liquid however, so I prefer cooking and serving them separately.

Variation: You may substitute any kind of stew meat or braising beef roasts, such as rump or chuck. Brown the beef in oil then add to the pot with the bones and allow to slow simmer for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, or until the meat is tender. Remove meat and let rest until cool enough to handle, then shred or cut up, returning to the soup pot and proceeding with the recipe. eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 19

S'more(s) Give Me

RECIPES, STYLING, AND PHOTOGRAPHY

BY LISA LAFONTAINE BYNUM

20 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

T

hese gourmet treats are not your average campfire variety.

S’mores are a childhood treat as classically American as apple pie a la mode.

Who doesn’t have fond memories of carefully roasting a marshmallow over an open campfire, a wedge of chocolate bar, and graham crackers at the ready to receive that gooey goodness?

There is no right or wrong way to make a s’more. In fact, when it comes to flavor combinations, the sky is the limit. These gourmet s’mores are definitely a step up from the traditional version you grew up with as a kid, but that doesn’t make them any less decadent.

Who says s’mores have to be sweet? Try a savory version using large snack crackers, soft cheese, sliced meat, and thinly sliced vegetables.

Don’t have access to a campfire? Don’t let that stop you from enjoying this tasty treat. Marshmallows can be toasted easily in the oven. Preheat your broiler.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread marshmallows out in a single, even layer. Place the pan under the broiler a few inches from the element. Leave the oven door slightly ajar and check the marshmallows every 30 seconds until they are golden brown and toasted. edm

SAMOA S’MORES Graham crackers Marshmallows Dulce de Leche Toasted Coconut 1 ounce semi-sweet chocolate

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI 21

Caramel Apple Dip

Apples Graham Crackers

Bacon

Peanut Butter Cookies

Marshmallows Coconut

Chocolate 22 • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

Caramel Apple Cinnamon S’mores Cinnamon graham crackers Marshmallows Caramel apple dip Thinly sliced Granny Smith apples

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 23

OTHER FLAVOR COMBINATIONS PEANUT BUTTER, BACON, AND MAPLE SYRUP S’MORES Peanut butter cookies Cooked bacon Marshmallows Maple Syrup

24 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

Sliced fresh fruit Fruit preserves Cream cheese

Pretzels Peppermint patties Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

Missing an issue?

coming to terms

E TH Kitchen

IN

WITH JULIAN BRUNT

Confit

Back issues are available on our website!

Save by purchasing a collector's bundle of every issue we've printed.

www.eatdrinkmississippi.com

Confit is a cooking technique wherein a piece of meat, most often duck, but also including pork, goose, or turkey, is cooked in its own fat. It was originally a method of preserving food, and after simmering in fat until done, the meat would be placed in a jar, covered with fat and sealed. The procedure also produces delicious results. The technique most likely Duck Confit served on a bed of originated in France, where it is Mississippi grits still popular, but was also used in the South of the United States to preserve pork in the fall.

In modern fine dining restaurants, duck is often cooked this way, but just before serving it is seared, so that the skin is crispy, while the meat remains very tender and delicious.

rSIPinPI k. eatM.ISd IS S 2014 /JANUARY

DECEMBER

oliday Easy H ers A ppetiz page 26

eat.

drin S

MIS

ISSI

PPI

k.

FEB

OLD-TIME SERVICE COMPETITIVE PRICES

RUA

RY/M

ARC

H 201

4

L FESTIVA OYSTER RISTIAN HOLIDAYS PASS CH S FOR THE RECIPE GREAT UB THAN 30 DAY GR GAME ER SUP

Lo for the Chovceolaof MORE

rSIPinPteI k. eatM.ISd SIS Springn eat . cheo page 34

• Commercial and Residential Metal Roofing • Pre-Engineered Steel Buildings • Mini-Storage Facilities • Steel Components

/MAY 2014

APRIL

COOKING

Lun

page 44

OVEN DUTCH DELIC S IOUS ORY JAM CHIC EET & SAV LY SE KEN SW XY AND CHIP EGGPL PIZZA ANATE ANTS FARM CHOCOL DOUI G LLE SA PUDDIN OFFER BREAD USAG S UN E GUM IQUE LEAR BO NING EXPE RIEN CE

drin

MIS

SISS

IPPI

k.

JUN

E/JU

LY 201

4

iIPnPIk. r d . eat ISSISS MBER

4

201

/SEPTE

UST

AUG

UME

VOL BER

3, NUM 5

M

OD L FO S ANGE WAFFLE LE CAKE DOOD DANG L WING FESTIVA YOUR BLES KING TA DRIN D VEGE S AN FRUIT

f Gul

He st Coairpalogeo74m T page 32 oma

ast

t Co

Wes

s Meet th

e delic

ious

legac

y of

SOUT

HERN

-STYL E PIG PIC CRAWFIS H BO KIN' FOOD IL CAKE IE FO RAY ON 49

toes

eat.

PI ISSIP . MISS

drink

I

SSIPP

eat.

drink.

1

MISSI

r 2014 mbe

epte

ust/S Aug

eat. drink.

MISSISSIPPI

632 N. Bierdeman Rd., Pearl, MS 39208

METAL BUILDERS SUPPLY A Relationship That Will Last A Lifetime

601.932.0202 • 800.257.7178 • www.metalbuilderssupply.com eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI 25

{ mississippi made }

Sweet Success Beck's Confections Finds Success With Sweet Potato Pies story by susan marquez photos provided

26 • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

L

ike most Southern girls, Annie Beck learned to cook in her grandmother’s kitchen. “I’ve been cooking since I was nine years old.” Beck grew up in the small town of Brooksville in Noxubee County. After four children and a divorce, she began exploring options outside of Brooksville. “I wanted a fresh start. I started exploring the idea of owning my own business around 2005.” She was awarded a Subway franchise, which she opened in Columbia.

“I made my first million in sales in the first two years,” Beck says proudly.

Wanting to start her own restaurant, Beck moved to the Oak Grove area near Hattiesburg and built Café Bayou from the ground up in 2007. “I served lunch specials and all sorts of desserts. But people kept coming back for my sweet potato pie. It’s just a good ol’ Southern staple, and my pies were really delicious.”

But Annie had aspirations beyond her restaurant. Knowing she didn’t want to keep selling pies in a retail setting, she began to explore the concept of manufacturing. She started Beck’s Confections in March 2013, using the kitchen and coolers in the Coca-Cola facility in Hattiesburg to make her pies. “They offered me that space for six months at no charge, because they believed in what I was doing.” During that time, Beck gained the groundwork she needed to get her products into stores in the area. “I worked hard to get clients like Kroger, McDade’s, Ramey’s, and Silver Star Casinos.”

The pies are all made by hand using fresh Vardaman sweet potatoes. “We boil and peel the potatoes by hand. That really sets the taste apart from other pies out there. Because we are small, we can control the ingredients. We don’t have additives or preservatives. Our pies are frozen, so they keep longer without anything added. I simply won’t compromise the taste of my pies, nor the health aspects.”

Beck has moved her operations to Jackson, partly because it was easier to find a facility there that was within her budget, and because most of her clients are in the Jackson area.

“There are 30+ Kroger stores plus all the others I’m in.” Beck is currently in talks with two other major grocery chains. She’s in the process of setting up a commercial kitchen in an office park off Highland Colony Parkway and will resume production there with five employees.

The facility will also produce key lime pies and a lemon pineapple cream cheese pie will be coming soon. eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 27

Annie Beck packages her popular sweet potato pies.

Also in Beck’s Confections line is the Final Touch Seasoning Blend, developed by Beck after she couldn’t find just the taste she was looking for. “Paula Deen has her butter, but we have our sugar! I like sweet and savory when I’m barbequing and grilling. I always gravitated to barbeque sauce with honey. I am always playing with marinades and such, and I developed a seasoning blend using brown sugar, nuts and fruits. But don’t let the sugar throw you! Using my seasoning blend actually encourages healthier cooking. It’s great on bacon, but you bake the bacon instead of frying it. It’s better to grill or bake something with the seasoning.” Beck even adds it to her green beans and brussels sprouts.

Beck’s Confections will also produce seasonal items, available only when the ingredients are in season. One of those will be the strawberry purée, coming in Spring 2015 when the strawberries start coming in. “It will be made of nothing but pure strawberries,” says Beck. “It will be delicious on pancakes, waffles, ice cream, smoothies and even right out of the jar!”

Beck wants her company to be around for years to come and to become a household name. "I’m already in talks with Kroger about going nationwide. They have contracted with me to produce a seasoning blend especially for their chicken and ribs. They have over 4,000 stores nationwide, so I’m well on my way!” edm

28 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH BECK’S CONFECTIONS FINAL TOUCH SEASONING 1 pound fresh small Brussels sprouts, cut in half Olive oil Chopped garlic Sea salt 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar 2-1/2 tablespoons Beck’s Confections Final Touch Seasoning Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cover a rimmed baking sheet in non-stick aluminum foil. Spread brussels sprouts out evenly on pan. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle on chopped garlic and sea salt, to taste.

Place baking sheet in oven and roast, stirring once or twice until deep golden brown, crisp outside and tender inside, 30 to 35 minutes. The leaves that are loose will be especially brown and crispy.

While Brussels sprouts are roasting, mix balsamic vinegar with seasoning in a small saucepan. Heat on stovetop to boiling, reduce heat and simmer until sprouts are ready, stirring frequently.

Remove Brussels sprouts from oven and drizzle with balsamic mixture. Enjoy!

Digital Subscriptions Now Available!

VOLUME 3, NUMBER 5

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

eat. drink MISSISSI

ANGEL FOOD CAKE WAFF LES WING DANG DOODLE FESTIVAL DRINKING YOUR FRUITS AN D VEGETABL ES

ISSIPPI

. MISS

eat. drink

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

PPI

.

AUGUST/S

EPTEMBER

2014

West Coas

Gulf Coa st t Meets page 74

eptembe r 2014

August/S

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

eat. drink

. MISSISS

IPPI 1

Getting a taste of Mississippi has never been easier! eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI 29

30 • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

Harvest Supper on the Grounds of Rowan Oak Features Farm Fresh Feast

story by susan marquez | photography by kevin bain/ole miss communications

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 31

ack in its heyday, author William Faulkner would entertain guests on the lawn of his beloved Rowan Oak in Oxford. Cocktails and dinner would be served under the branches of the massive oak trees, with twinkling stars providing the lights for the evening.

Those dinners are remembered now with the annual “Harvest Supper on the Grounds of Rowan Oak,” a fundraiser for the University of Mississippi Museum and Historic Houses. “This will be our third year to do the supper,” said Rebecca Phillips, Membership, Events and Communications Coordinator for the University of Mississippi Museum.

The idea for the event came from the Museum’s Board of Directors, who coordinate the event each year. The dinner is presented by the Friends of the University of Mississippi Museum. “The Harvest Supper offers a rare way for supporters to enjoy the beauty of Rowan Oak,” Phillips said.

The event is catered by Elizabeth Heiskell Catering with fresh produce from Woodson Ridge Farms, the farm Heiskell owns with her husband, Luke. The farm, once a cattle farm, is located on one of the oldest ridges named in Lafayette County. It was originally farmed by a man named Mr. Woodson, who was one of the first settlers in Oxford.

32 • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

It’s only fitting that a Harvest Supper served on the grounds of William Faulkner’s home would come from a place he found so fascinating. He wrote about it in a letter to his mother on March 8, 1925: “The weather is still like spring, clear and warm, and young silver leaves in all the trees. Golly, I miss the hills and fruit trees and things now.

Think of all that grand country to walk and ride through, and yet folks will make their homes in a city! I feel like now I'd like to build me a log cabin out on Woodson Ridge and just set."

The Heiskells moved to Oxford four years ago to start the farm. Elizabeth has been catering for several years, and cowrote a cookbook with Susanne Young Reed called Somebody Stole the Cornbread from My Dressing: A Hilarious Comparison Between the North and South Through Recipes and Recollections. She enjoys catering this particular event because her favorite season is fall. “The Harvest Supper really is one of the most special events we do all year,” she said. “The setting is beautiful and people are just happy to be there.”

Guests at the supper are seated at long farm tables with

festive café lights strung overhead and in the trees while they feast from a melange of freshly picked vegetables and herbs as well as a selection of local meats and homemade breads.

Heiskell said that they bring in the freshest, most flavorful fall favorites for the dinner. “We use just about everything we have. Everything on the menu, except for the protein served, is picked fresh that morning or the day before. We don’t do much to the vegetables–we handle them very lightly. They are so fresh and flavorful that they don’t require elaborate preparation.” The tables are adorned with late summer and early fall cut garden flowers.

Guests at the event can bid on the many auction items on display, which helps to raise more money for the Museum.

“The Harvest Supper has become a much-anticipated event,” said Phillips. “This is something we look forward to presenting for years to come.”

This year’s Harvest Supper is October 16 at 7:00pm. For more information, contact Rebecca Phillips at 662-915-7028. edm

Bacon Bites From Somebody Stole the Cornbread from my Dressing: A Hilarious Comparison Between the North and South through Recipes and Recollections by Elizabeth Gourlay Heiskell and Susanne Young Reed

1 box very think breadsticks 1 package Oscar Mayer bacon 2 cups brown sugar Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the brown sugar onto a plate. Wrap the bacon starting at one end of the breadstick, barely overlapping, and then roll the baconcovered breadstick in the brown sugar, pressing it to adhere. (At this point, you can refrigerate overnight.) Place the breadsticks on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until bacon is cooked and almost crisp, about 45 minutes. Once done, remove sticks from baking sheet while warm or they will stick like glue. Place on wax paper to come to room temperature. eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 33

{ community }

Farm to School October is a Time to Celebrate the Connection Between Local Food and Local Schools

T

is n a tour of h ckie Henry o Ja e d n se a s to n a le ab cker, Fran Ev women are kes Wendy Tu se, the three u o h g n ki c Tom Giles ta a p reenhouse to ill eat. farm. From g ir students w e th s ie rr e b e th f o the origin 34 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

om Giles sits at a table with three women. Each woman is representing a different school district within thirty miles of Giles’ farm.

There is Wendy Tucker, BS RDLD from Quitman School District; Fran Evans, Food Service Director at Enterprise School District; and Jackie Henry, Director of Child Nutrition at Wayne County School District. It is a business meeting set in the middle of eighty acres of blueberries, a farm Giles and his brother started back in 1991 when Mississippi declared the blueberry to be an emerging crop.

Over two decades later, Giles Blueberry Farms is picking from approximately 50,000 plants, selling both fresh and frozen blueberries, and playing a role in getting Mississippi farm fresh fruits onto the trays of the state’s schoolchildren through a farm to school network.

According to www. farmtoschool.org , “Farm to School is broadly defined as a program that connects schools (K-12) and local farms with the objectives

of serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving student nutrition, providing agriculture, health and nutrition education opportunities, and supporting local and regional farmers.” One reason this is important is that the Food Policy Council in Mississippi recently reported that 90% of our food in Mississippi is coming from outside the state even though Mississippi’s number one export is agriculture. What Giles, these three women, and the Mississippi Food to School Network are doing is changing what could be described as a bad habit.

Wendy Tucker says, “I was stunned one day when a student asked me, ‘What is this on my tray?’ I looked down, saw what he was pointing at and realized he was asking me what a green bean was.” Tucker’s Quitman School District is located in Clarke County where a red clay soil has provided a long history of family farms, and prides itself on the peaches and strawberries grown by locals Randy and Lisa Mathis of Mathis Peaches and Produce. Tucker continues,“ More and more we are getting in touch with our local farmers and finding ways to get their food to our chil-

story and photography by shea goff

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 35

According to Faye Taylor, Quitman Upper Elementary Café Manager, “The students love the food. Our teachers do, too.” The Café prepares for approximately seven hundred meals a day, which includes both breakfast and lunch. dren, but we have to go further than that.

Now serving good food means educating our students to its value and source as well.” Wendy Tucker says she knows the value. She saw it in a hospital setting where she worked for five years before obtaining her current position, “I’ve seen the results of not eating right and not exercising. We don’t want that for our children.”

Three years ago Tucker got rid of all the fryers in the cafeterias without much complaint. One month after the business meeting with Tom Giles, she is serving his farm’s blueberries in a cup to her students.

During the month of October she will feature those blueberries in a fruit crisp.

Tucker, along with school nutrition directors across the nation, will be celebrating Farm to School Month during October. Signs will be placed in school cafeterias highlighting the local foods being served on the trays. Social media will be used. Articles just like this one will be in local newspapers because serving Mississippi produce to Mississippi schoolchildren seems like a “no brainer,” but it’s not.

It requires us to think about the foods we are consuming. Farm to school network is not just about our farmers or our schools.

It is about our homes and communities as well. edm

36 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

Wendy Tucker inspects the berries while Giles explains, “One of the most satisfying parts of owning and working this farm is to walk out in the morning with my cereal and place these berries directly from the plant into my bowl.”

Students may choose one entrée, 1-2 vegetables/1-2 fruit servings, 1-2 breads, 1 milk and one dessert when offered. No more than three servings can come from fruits/vegetables combined, a rule required when they taste so good.

Blueberries cannot be picked with any moisture on them. Giles’ wind machine is there to dry the plants from a morning dew.

The Café line offers fresh salads along with the two featured Mississippi items of the day: blueberries and sweet potatoes.

Not only do the students of QUE appreciate their farm fresh food, they are also known for inspiring a recycling program, which boasted recycling over 56,000 foam trays during the 2013-2014 school year.

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI 37

The

Corn Patch

BY JANETTE TIBBETTS

or as long as I'm able to recall, it seems as if I've known that the Native Americans introduced corn to the pilgrims.

While very young, I observed before I fully understood what I was seeing that Papa's corn patch helped sustain us.

From Mother cooking fresh creamed corn in late spring to her using new corn meal to bake hot cornbread in the fall, we depended on our corn similar to the way generations of Mississippians had before us.

In early winter, Papa hitched Old Red, our mule, to the disk and broke up the barren patch still littered with stalks. A few weeks later, Papa walked behind Old Red as he pulled the turning-plow through the corn patch to turn the decaying stalks deeper into the soil.

My sister and I watched our parents as they smiled when admiring the neatly plowed field. Although they did not brag about the neat furrows in the rich soil, I knew they were proud of the dark soil and that the land was special. However, I do not recall being impressed by the men folks’ untiring toil all spring when planting, thinning, plowing between the rows with the middle buster and fertilizing the corn before finally laying-by the crop.

My sister and I enjoyed seeing the corn grow from tiny single blades to towering green stalks waving in the breeze. When ears formed along the side of the stalks, soft white silks grew beyond the end of the shucks. At the same time, tassels at the top of the stalk were also blooming and were where many bees buzzed about.

Mother explained to my sister and me that each grain of corn had its own silk which must receive pollen from the tassel in order to develop.

I was extremely impressed in the fall when the stalks and ears turned brown and my sister and I were allowed to accompany our mother to the field. We watched as she pointed out to Papa the ears worthy enough for our cornmeal and hominy. If the fully formed ones in the middle of the stalks were not infested with weevils, they were deemed good enough for us to eat.

I was amazed at how Papa, who seldom did things

F

38 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

exactly like Mother asked, only gathered the ears she pointed to and placed them in the wagon.

Papa also pulled and gave my sister and me a few nubbins for Sunflower, our donkey. We carried Sunflower's nubbins to the corn crib, but Father hauled the best of the crop to the house and set three large hampers of corn beside the work table on the back porch.

Hazie helped Mother shuck, silk, and shell the corn.

Mother set aside the shucks for Hazie to carry home.

She rolled her hot tamales in the shucks before cooking them and sometimes Hazie also made her daughter, Lanorie, and me shuck dolls.

When Hazie had shelled a pan of corn, Mother asked my sister and me to take it down to our grandmother.

Grandmother started the process of soaking the corn in lye water until the husk fell away and the grains swelled into hominy.

When Papa came in from the field that evening, he loaded the shelled corn into the truck and drove Mother down to Mr. Legg and Miss Mary Grayson's grist mill.

My sister and I rode with them and Mother carried several large freshly laundered flour sacks.

We watched as each kernel of corn seemed to jump into the jaws of the noisy grinder. Mother and Miss Mary scooped the meal into the sacks while Papa visited with Mr. Legg and paid him for his trouble.

On the way home I sat near the meal in the front seat of the truck and knew from its aroma that our cornbread was going to be delicious. For supper, Mother baked hot cornbread with our new meal, cooked Dixie Lee peas with boiled okra, and served it with baked pork loin and sliced tomatoes.

After eating supper, I was suddenly so very tired and sleepy that I could hardly hold my head up and when Mother told me to go to bed I didn't even beg to stay up longer. Although Mother helped me with my bath, dressed me in my gown, turned down my cover and kissed me good night, when I laid my head on the pillow and closed my eyes, I could still see the little corn kernels hopping into the jaws of the noisy grinder. edm

Thanksgiving Dinner by janette tibbetts

T

hrough the years while striving to maintain many of the traditional flavors of past Thanksgivings, I have learned to start preparing a week in advance and limit the sides.

Because the turkey, dressing and pecan pie are the stars, I let them shine and use my energy to enjoy my family and friends.

CountDown Purchase a frozen turkey (and/or breast) at least one week prior to serving date.

With the bird safely in freezer, relax, decide on sides, and shop for additional ingredients. Pressing the linens and

polishing the silver a few days ahead leaves time to enjoy designing floral arrangements and setting the table.

Smoking the turkey is the method I choose to cook a turkey. Not only does smoke enhance its flavors, outside cooking involves my husband more and me less. It also frees up the oven for baking the dressing and biscuits. Too, when properly handled and refrigerated,smoked turkey holds longer than baked.

Smoking two turkeys instead of one, or a turkey and a breast, only slightly increases the time invested and the cost of fuel. A zip lock bag of sliced turkey breast is a nice take home gift for family and friends. edm eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 39

SMOKED TURKEY 12-14 pound turkey breast 20 pound turkey Cajun smoker 15 pounds charcoal briquets 1 pint lighter fluid 3 pounds hickory chips 2 cups Kosher salt 2 Granny Smith apples 3-4 celery stalks 4 clove garlic buds 3 tablespoons garlic salt 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 gallon apple cider Thaw turkey and breast in refrigerator (two days). Remove plastic wrap. Remove giblets and discard liver. Clean bird and wash with cold water.

FIRST MARINADE Place turkey in large container or 6-gallon ziplock bag.

(If also smoking a breast, both may be marinated in the same bag.) Dissolve 1 cup of salt in 2 quarts water and add to bag. Increase water level enough to completely immerse meat. Marinate 12 hours/overnight in refrigerator. Remove drain and rinse.

40 • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

SECOND MARINADE 2 quarts water 1 pint apple cider 1 cup Kosher salt 4 minced garlic cloves Return meat to 6-gallon size ziplock bag, add marinade and refrigerate 24 hours.

Soak 3 pounds of Hickory chips in 1 gallon of warm water over night. Drain and set aside (reserve water).

Remove meat from refrigerator and rinse. Before smoking, allow turkey to rest at room temperature 45 minutes.

Place minced garlic and 2 tablespoons garlic salt in cavity.

Place 1 whole Granny Smith Apple in turkey cavity. Wedge 4 celery stalks around apple. Push stalks deep inside turkey.

Rub surface skin with olive oil and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon garlic salt.

To Prepare Fire in Cooker Place 15 pounds charcoal in fire pan.

Wet charcoal thoroughly with 12 ounces of starter fluid.

Wait 2 minutes before igniting. Allow coals to become 1/3 white with ash. Place soaked hickory chips on top of charcoal. Heat 3 quarts of apple cider. Place water pan over coals and pour in apple cider. Quarter apple and place in water pan. Pour water drained from the hickory chips in pan. Fill within 1 inch of top of pan with kettle of boiling water. Place bottom rack over pan. Fold turkey's neck skin

under back and turn tail inside body cavity (prevents loss of juice).

Load top rack similarly.(Because the breast smokes in 6 hours or less depending on weight, place the turkey breast on top rack where it may be more easily retrieved.) Place top on cooker.

Smoke whole turkey 8 hours. Check water level in 4 hours. If level is more than 2/3 low, add boiling water.

Turkey is done when legs move easily in thigh joint.

How to Carve Turkey Allow bird to rest 30 minutes before carving.

Meat will continue to cook for 15 to 20 minutes or longer after it has been removed from smoker.

(This time frame allows turkey to absorb flavorful liquids which will drain away if carved while still cooking.)

1. Remove wings,leave whole and set aside.

2. Remove legs and thighs at thigh joint.

3. Remove 1/2 breast whole. Cut against ridge of breast bone. When loose, lift breast and place on cutting board.

Starting at the top of the breast, cut wedge slices at an angle across the grain(35-degree angle cuts are extremely tender).

4. Bone may be removed from thigh and meat sliced.

5. Legs and wings may be left whole and placed at end of serving platter.

6. Garnish with parsley and serve warm.

2 tablespoons onion salt 6 large eggs Place onion, celery and pepper in 2 quart boiler. Cover with broth and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer 15 minutes. Place crumbled cornbread in large mixing pan.

Mix eggs with 2 cups of broth. Pour onion, celery and pepper mixture over bread and fold together. Add egg mixture. (If making extra dressing to freeze, divide, place in containers and freeze before adding eggs. Eggs may be added when mixture is thawed.) Allow 2 eggs per quart of bread mixture.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter baker. Place mixture in baker. Bake 45 minutes or until edges are brown.

BOILING WATER CORN BREAD 2 cups Sunflower self-rising cornmeal mix 1/2 cup plain yellow meal 1/2 cup Sunflower self-rising flour 1/2 teaspoon baking power 1/2 cup Canola oil 4 cups boiling water Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Boil water. Pour oil in 12" cast iron baker. Place over high heat on stove top.

Sift together yellow meal and baking powder. Sift again with flour and meal mix. Mix a thin batter with 3 to 4 cups boiling water. Place mixture in hot oil and allow it to fry 2-3 minutes or until air pockets began to bubble to the surface in several places. Place in oven and bake 15 to 20 minutes or until brown.

BROTH Either 1 hen, 2 fryers, or 1 boiler 2 tablespoons onion salt Bouquet of fresh thyme, rosemary, and sage

CORNBREAD DRESSING This crispy cornbread recipe absorbs the distinct flavors of chicken broth, celery, bell pepper and green onions as it bakes into a more gourmet dressing/stuffing than storebought mixes or homemade combinations of white-bread and crackers.

1-1/2 gallons crumbled cornbread (recipe below) 2 quarts broth (recipe below) 2 cups chopped green onions 2 cups chopped celery 2 cups chopped green bell pepper

Although many prepared broths are available on the market, for special occasions I choose to control the ingredients and limit the sodium in our broth.

Clean bird and remove lights, kidneys and rinse. Tie herbs in cheese cloth. Immerse whole bird in large stainless steel pot. Simmer bone-in fowl, onion salt, and bouquet 2 hours. Remove bouquet, strain. Set aside meat for salad.

GIBLET GRAVY Boil neck and gizzard until tender.

In 2 tablespoons of butter brown 2 tablespoons of flour. Thin with broth from giblets and cook until thickens.

Season with onion salt.

continued on page 81

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 41

Hunger Gains The Revolutionary Act of Eating Local story and photography by julian rankin

n a humid summer evening, Chef Nick Wallace stokes the embers of a supper-time fire. He wears, in place of his chef coat, a black shirt emblazoned with the characters and iconography of The Hunger Games franchise. "Every Revolution Begins with a Spark," it reads. Katniss Everdeen, the heroine toxophilite of the books and films, is front and center across Wallace’s chest. He calls her his future wife. The Southern chef ’s fixation on The Hunger Games is partly in jest, an adopted idiosyncrasy, but it is also an entry point into Wallace’s culinary psyche - “farm to table” and “locally sourced” personified.

The pull of the wild and the connection to the forest are themes of Wallace’s upbringing as sure as they are of the characters from Appalachia-inspired District 12. His cooking style, Modern Mississippian, elevates the humble fare of his home state to the fine dining main stage (his forthcoming high-end restaurant, Lunette, is set to open in 2015 in the refurbished James Eastland Federal Building in downtown Jackson) much as Wallace’s muse, Katniss, changes during her cinematic trajectory from rural forager to well-tailored cultural icon in the bright lights of the Capitol.

“I get harassed about this shirt,” he laughs. “It turns heads. People look and they say, ‘is that a good fit?’ Yeah, it’s a good fit. You have to have your own style. And I’m pretty sure someone down the line in your family, your grandfather or you mother or even you, has lived off the land. A lot of my uncles, they live just 30 miles from Jackson in Bolton and Edwards, but they kill and cook animals to feed their families. And a lot of times they’re out there doing it in the woods. That’s the part I like.”

Wallace tells me he wants a flock of animals that feed on nothing but kudzu. The chef ’s vision for Southern food is holistic, about interacting with the land as well as eating from it.

Through his cooking he hopes to advocate for more available education and information so that all people in the state can better access the ingredients in their own backyards.

“It’s why Katniss is my favorite,” he says. “She knows what she has to do and she’s going to get it done. In the movie, a lot of the other tributes trained in hand-to-hand combat indoors, but her skills came from her instincts in the forest. And those experiences empowered her to do anything she wanted to. That makes her stronger. It’s like she is a part of the earth. Part of something that is completely natural.”

Mississippi is a state with rich natural resources. The fertile land of the Delta (a carbon copy of which appears in the film out of the window of the bullet train as cotton-covered District 11); the dense, venison-populated woods; the abundant waters of the Gulf Coast. But getting those ingredients raised on Mississippi land by Mississippi purveyors into the hands of

O

42 • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

Chef Nick Wallace

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 43

Mississippi consumers isn’t always easy or affordable. There is a corporatized and industrialized system of food in this country whose distribution is anything but farm-to-table.

Vast warehouses are stocked with vegetables and proteins shipped in from afar and genetically engineered to all look the same - approved for cookie cutter consumption.

“Folks are driven into this system and they don’t see any other choice.” Wallace says. “Busy caterers and restaurants don’t always check the labels, they just need the same steak at their door by Tuesday so they can feed all these people. You have mass producers out there that use chemicals to fatten up animals quickly. Some of these animals are being slaughtered within six months.”

These games of comestible sleight of hand come at the expense of the middle and lower classes who make up the vast portion of the populace. It’s not like the movies where there is an evil figurehead with a futuristic shave keeping everyone down; farmers aren’t punished for eating from their own harvests as they are in the poor agricultural districts of fictional Panem. But there is a framework, of profit and loss and bottom lines, that doesn’t necessarily have the nutritional interests of the buying public at heart.

Wallace’s late grandfather ran a logging business in Edwards. When he would travel to surrounding areas of the state to work with clients, he made a point to embrace the neighborhoods. “He hated to see people who couldn’t plant

44 • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

a garden to feed themselves,” says Wallace. “If people needed education on chicken coops or raising pigs, he’d give them that information. Most of the hogs that we eat now are raised on concrete. My grandfather always did them free range - on dirt. I heard about those things growing up and they stuck with me. It was an enterprise, a wealth of knowledge.”

Though you can certainly scoff at the fact that Wallace covets a shirt that he bought from the Hot Topic (“I’m not into all the Pokemon, but they have some stuff I like.”), food for him is serious business. It’s imbued with all the gristle and connective tissue of human sustenance. The ingredients in his kitchen are tied to the earth from whence they came, part of an symbiosis that supports the livelihoods of small farmers and local producers in the state and region. Even more than that, it’s true to the essence and history of food preparation in the South; a recognition that the process of growing and gathering is as vital as the cooking.

“What I really want is for somebody to draw Katniss on the entrance to my walk-in freezer,” says Wallace. “With that bow and arrow in her hand. That would be really cool.” He pauses, then continues. “You know, they have Hunger Games hunting knives, too. If I can find one of those for this hunting season I’m going to use it.”

He’ll be the only one at the deer camp with a Mockingjay on his buck knife. One of a kind. Mississippi grown. edm

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 45

{ in the bloglight }

"Grandbaby Cakes" Brings Back Sweet, Savory Memories STORY BY KELSEY WELLS | PHOTOS PROVIDED

J

ocelyn Delk Adams never knew that her love for cooking would turn into a career. As a child, she began to develop kitchen skills by watching her “Big Mama,” her grandmother, cook at home in Mississippi. Though Adams now lives in Chicago, she has never forgotten her Mississippi roots and has many family members who still live in the state.

In addition to her grandmother, Adams developed her passion for cooking because of her mother and aunt's influences. She found cooking techniques to be instinctive and exciting, and she shared baking recipes on Facebook. Her following began to build, and her blog “Grandbaby Cakes” was officially launched in 2012.

A blog has become a brand, and Adams continues to reach new heights in the food world. She has connections with Pillsbury, Parade Magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, Safest Choice Eggs, Nielsen Massey Fine Vanillas, and Dixie Crystals, plus many more companies. She has regular television segments and events, and a cookbook featuring many of her recipes is planned for publication in 2015.

Though she is on her way to fame, she still feels a strong connection to her Southern roots and expresses those connections in her blog posts.

“Through family anecdotes and memories, I love tying a new recipe to the recollection I have with my family,” she said.

She credits the blog’s success to its ability to touch people’s hearts with its family connection and appreciation.

A visit to her website automatically makes the mouth water with its confections and savory offerings, complete with photos of the finished products of her treats. One recent post, which details the recipe for Blackberry Pineapple Floats, speaks of family trips to an ice cream parlor which helped drive her passion for making the floats.

“I am always thinking about new flavors that would jazz up the ones [floats] I grew up adoring,” she said. She explains that her love of blackberries comes from her dad’s stories of picking them from his grandmother’s trees in Mississippi.

Each blog post is personal, touching, and includes recipes 46 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

Jocelyn Delk Adams that beg to be tried.

Adams is also very appreciative of those who read her blog and continue to help contribute to her success in the food industry. Visitors to her site leave many encouraging comments, and Adams responds with hearty thanks.

She claims on her website, “I’m a dessert enthusiast and baker extraordinaire, and I hope to inspire a new generation of bakers the way my grandmother has inspired me.” She can’t wait to see what comes next for her brand.

“The sky is truly the limit for 'Grandbaby Cakes',” she said.

In addition to cooking and blogging, Adams gains inspiration from painting, dancing and traveling. edm www.grandbabycakes.com

Skinny Banana Pudding Milkshakes

2 ripe frozen bananas, cut in slices 1/2 cup cold low-fat whipped topping 3/4 - 1 cup milk 4 teaspoons powdered vanilla instant pudding 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract Whipped cream for garnish Vanilla wafers for garnish Add frozen banana slices, whipped topping, milk, instant pudding and vanilla extract to blender and blend until smooth milkshake consistency.

Pour milkshakes into glasses.

Top with whipped cream and vanilla wafers and enjoy.

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI 47

{ from mississippi to beyond }

Putting on the

Ritz story By Kathy K. Martin | photos provided

W

hat kind of food do you get when you move a Mississippi chef to Cleveland, Ohio? Chef Brandon Stevens says you get Swanky food, which blends his favorite Southern and Yankee ingredients into unique dishes.

From his potpourri smoked duck to pimento cheese pierogies and bratwurst meatballs, this Amory native says he enjoys making dishes into his own creations and mixing traditional regional foods as Chef de Cuisine at The Ritz-Carlton in Cleveland.

Stevens began his rise in the culinary ranks as a boy watching his grandfather, Tom Betts, cook in the kitchen of his Amory grocery store in the late 1970s. “My granddad was ahead of his time using quality ingredients in his cooking much like the emphasis on farm-to-table cooking at fine restaurants today.” His grandpa also created his own seasoning, Betts’ Seasoning, which he used during hunting season to flavor deer or wild boar.

After studying banking and finance at the University of Mississippi, his passion for cooking prevailed as he began to see it as more than a hobby. “I just fell in love with cooking and had to know if I could make it as a chef.”

He worked on his degree at Ole Miss during the day and delivered chicken wings at night for Oxford restaurant Coop DeVille. After that first taste of the restaurant business, he moved on to washing dishes at another restaurant/club, Proud Larry’s. He got a chance to test his culinary skills there as he made gourmet pizza and pasta dishes, led the kitchen team, and interacted with customers. “I met many actors and musicians and asked them how my food held up compared to food they had eaten as they traveled around the country and I received favorable reactions.” He experimented with cuts of meats, stone-ground grits, vinegar and sauces. “I made butter sauces, but just didn’t know yet that it was called a Blanc sauce or that the thickening stuff I was making was called a roux,” he chuckles.

In order to gain more of this textbook knowledge, he 48 • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

Chef Brandon Stevens Serves Up Swanky Food at Cleveland's Ritz-Carlton

Chef Brandon Stevens and wife, Lindsey

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 49

attended Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, South Carolina in 2000, where he received his culinary arts degree.

“I had heard that Charleston was like Oxford on steroids and I found out that was true.” He learned more about low country cuisine and began to see a world outside of his home state.

He also began to work at many high-volume restaurants that served over 700 people each evening, which he said quickly showed him the real side of the business.

He was executive banquet chef and beach club chef at The Cloister at Sea Island, Georgia, executive chef at Tramici Neighborhood Italian restaurant at St. Simons Island, Georgia, as well as banquet chef at The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in Kiawah Island , South Carolina and sous chef at The Ritz-Carlton Resorts in Naples, Florida. While cooking at Tramici, he was able to customize dishes to suit the specific tastes of his customers and he enjoyed the process. “The open kitchen was more personal and I could experience the guests’ satisfaction with my food.”

His natural curiosity and imagination also compelled him to try new foods and take on new challenges such as barbecue competitions. He was honored to be asked to join three-time world champion pit master Myron Mixon’s competition barbecue team, Jack’s Old South, around 2009. They competed against each other and they were also teammates in many competitions such as the World Championship BBQ competition for Memphis in May. Brandon says that participating in the barbecue competitions was one of the items on his bucket list, so he was thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Myron, who he considers one of the best pig cookers.

Brandon’s smoker can cook two 250-pound hogs, so now he can perfect his barbecuing skills that began when he lived on the beach in South Carolina. “Back then I could dig a hole in the yard and cook a whole hog easily because most of the yard was sand.”

50 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

While working in South Carolina, he also met his wife, Lindsey, an acclaimed pastry chef and Cleveland native. The couple married in Ohio and then later decided to live there to be closer to family as they raised their young son, Brayden.

Today Brandon finds inspiration as he cooks specialties of the area with his own Southern twists at The Ritz-Carlton in Cleveland. He creates the pimento cheese pierogies and bratwurst meatballs that bring a Southern edge to the dishes of his wife’s grandmother. “I like to play around with the favorite foods of my wife’s family and tie-in childhood memories.”

From potato pancakes and apple butter to his Midwestern version of collard greens, Brandon makes each dish uniquely his own. It’s his one-of-a-kind Swanky food. edm

NORTHERN COLLARD GREENS 8 bundles of collards, stemmed, cut and washed 1 pound smoked bacon, small diced 2 red onions, julienned 2 cups red wine vinegar 1 tablespoon Sriracha 1 cup Thai chili sauce 2 tablespoons honey 2 ounces Betts Seasoning 2 tablespoons pepper flakes 2 cups water 3 cloves of garlic, sliced Salt and pepper, to taste Render off bacon in stock pot on low heat. Add onions and garlic; cook until translucent. Add in vinegar and greens. Cook vinegar in half and add remaining ingredients. Cover with lid and cook on low heat for 1 hour.

Smokin' in the Boys' Room:

{ from the bookshelf }

Southern Recipes from the Winningest Woman in Barbecue Author: Melissa Cookston

Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing

BY KELSEY WELLS

Barbecue - it’s a man’s world. Hot coals, heavy smokers and grills, slabs of raw meat, and long hours on the road traveling to competitions. It’s not for the easily defeated or the weak, but Melissa Cookston has opposed all theories that barbecue belongs solely to the male gender and now boasts the title of the "Winningest Woman in Barbecue." She is a two-time overall world champion and is known for her ability to smoke a whole hog to perfection. Now she shares her story, cooking tips, and delicious recipes in her new cookbook, Smokin’ in the Boys’ Room.

Southern flavors run deep in Cookston’s recipes. Raised in the Delta, she gained an appreciation for simple ingredients turned into savory meals.

She learned to take tough cuts of meat and transform them into grilled and smoked masterpieces. Cookston has spent over 17 years on the barbecue contest circuit, where she has received both acclaim and ridicule. The contest circuit is still quite male-dominant, but these gentlemen are forced to take a bow as Cookston turns out championships and first place finishes at event after event.

“The looks on their faces make winning that much sweeter,” she says. As cooking on the competition circuit became increasingly harder to work around family life, Cookston branched out into new opportunities and now co-owns two restaurants, Memphis Barbecue Companies, in Horn Lake and also in Fayetteville, NC. Smokin’ features beautiful, color photography and begins with a section full of Cookston’s tips and tricks. She introduces must-have tools and ingredients, explains the effects of different woods and charcoals on flavor, and speaks of the culture and superstitions that surround the competition circuit. She gives recipes for rubs, injections, and seasonings to bring out meat’s best flavor. At least seven different barbecue sauce recipes are included, Memphis Style and Chipotle Bold among them.

Pork and lamb recipes follow, from Competition Pork Baby Back Ribs, Tamales, and Hams to a tantalizing Rack of Lamb. Bacon is honored with its own chapter, featuring Bacon Jams and Dressings. Beef recipes include her awardwinning Competition Brisket and even BBQ Meat Loaf. A poultry chapter contains not only smoked chicken recipes, but also Holiday Smoked Turkey and Grilled Quail.

A fish and seafood chapter, foods often shied from in the grilling world, includes Tsunami Shrimp, which won the One Bite Challenge at the Kingsford Invitational, and BBQ Oysters. Delicious sides only complement great meat, and Balsamic Grilled Vegetables and Grilled Corn in the Husk would only add enjoyment to a grilled meal. Think the grill is no place for desserts? Think again, as Grilled Pineapple Upside-Down Cake and Cayenne Grilled Peaches add the perfect end to good grilling and this volume of recipes.

Melissa Cookston’s determination has led her to great places where few women have dared to go. Now, grillers across the country can experiment with her dishes and add their own touches. Smokin’ in the Boys’ Room is both inspirational and mouthwatering. edm

PHOTO BY ANGIE MOSIER

BALSAMIC GRILLED VEGETABLES 1 pound asparagus 1 red onion 1 red bell pepper 2 large portobello mushrooms, stems removed 1 cup Balsamic Dressing (recipe follows) Trim the bottom, tough areas from the asparagus. Peel the onion, cut it in half, then cut it crosswise into narrow strips. Stem and seed the red bell pepper, then cut it into narrow strips as well. Cut the mushroom caps into 1/2-inch strips. Place all of the vegetables in a nonreactive container (I love resealable plastic bags for this) and add the dressing. Marinate for 2 hours, turning the bag after 1 hour.

Prepare a medium-hot grill.

Remove the vegetables from the bag and shake off excess dressing. Place on a grilling rack or screen on the grate and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, turning as needed. I like to get a little char on the asparagus while maintaining some crispness. continued on page 80

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI 51

{ raise your glass } This year, throw a fabulous Halloween party fit for little goblins or grown-up monsters with some devilishly good treats. Spice up the night with candy corn drinks served in containers guests can devour, making cleanup easy and delicious; or, toast the night with the Witch’s Brew Mocktail.

WITCH’S BREW MOCKTAIL 3cups ginger ale, chilled 1-1/2 cups pineapple juice, chilled 1/3 cup sweetened lime juice, chilled Green gel food color or green icing color (optional) Black Colored Sugar Gummy Eyeball Skewers In large pitcher, combine ginger ale, pineapple juice, sweetened lime juice and, if using, gel food color.

To prepare glasses, dip rims of martini glasses in water, then in black sugar. Fill with drink mixture; add eyeball skewers.

Servings: 6

CANDY CORN DRINKS 1 cup (half of 12-ounce package) Bright White Candy Melts Candy 1 cup (half of 12-ounce package) Orange Candy Melts Candy 1 package (12 ounces) Yellow Candy Melts Candy Orange flavored fruit drink, orange, peach or mango juice or other favorite drink Melt candy melts separately according to package directions. Fill disposable decorating bag with melted bright white candy. Divide evenly among cavities of 8-cavity silicone shot glass mold, taking care to not get any candy on sides of mold. Repeat process with orange and yellow candy. Refrigerate until candy is set, about 30 minutes. Carefully remove candy glasses from mold and set aside. Fill with orange drink.

Servings: 8 52 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

-

AlBelzoni ison's -

-

SideStreet Burgers Olive Branch

The Hills The Delta -

The Biscuit Shop Starkville

Topisaw General Store -

The Pines

McComb

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.

-

Patio 44 -

Hattiesburg

Coastal

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI 53

The Hills

Bacon Cheeseburger

More than Your Average Burger Story and Photography by Liz Barrett

54 • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

The Hills

D

riving down Highway 178 in Olive Branch, you can’t help but turn into SideStreet Burgers when that all-too-familiar-anddelicious smell of cheeseburgers beckons at your taste buds to stop in for a spell.

Step inside, and you’re greeted by SideStreet’s friendly chef and owner Jonathan Mah, the native Memphian who has sharpened his knives at fine dining restaurants such as Alchemy and Erling Jensen. Here at SideStreet, Mah plays host, chef, and social media director for the small-in-size but big-in-popularity burger hangout, which was voted one of the Best Burgers in Mississippi during its first year, and serves around a hundred customers per day.

Highlights of the SideStreet Burgers menu include the Angus ½ pound SideStreet Burger, seasoned to perfection and baked to your liking, with toppings ranging from a Street Cheese Blend to a fried egg, all atop a butter-toasted bun; The Fat Panda, featuring Koreanstyle marinated sirloin, Sriracha mayo and cilantro on a French roll; and an Irish Carbomb bread pudding, served with whiskey praline sauce.

In addition to Mah’s standard menu, he also offers a daily list of specials, where he enjoys experimenting and testing new dishes before adding them to the menu. “Some of my specials have been on the board for months,” admits Mah. “If my customers like them, I keep making them.” Mah says he likes to keep things simple, recalling that the original SideStreet menu consisted of two burgers, potato wedges and canned Coke. “I introduced new items only after I had the time to see what I

Irish Carbomb Bread Pudding

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 55

The Hills

Jonathan Mah

56 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

could do in this small space and with these ovens,” says Mah. It’s this desire to provide good food, at affordable prices, that keeps many SideStreet fans coming back multiple times per week, and others, such as military, firemen, police and teachers, receiving special SideStreet discounts for their service to the community. Customers agree that it’s Mah who makes the restaurant what it is, by sharing his excitement about food and being open to their ideas and suggestions. Mah’s personality partially stems from growing up in a restaurant family; his dad, Galvin Mah, owns Evan’s Country Buffet, right around the corner from SideStreet, and other family members are also in the industry. “I work 70 hours a week, but I’m happy,” says Mah. “I love what I do.”

After having cooked behind the scenes in several restaurant kitchens, Mah now enjoys meeting his customers face to face.

“Having a small restaurant and an open kitchen allows me to talk with everyone and help my customers with their orders,” he says. “I’m not used to serving so many people my own food; I’m always wondering if they liked it.” An active community on Sidestreet’s Facebook page helps Mah announce the day’s specials and survey customers about what they’re enjoying. “I’ve used Facebook since the restaurant opened,” says Mah. “Sometimes people will come in for a special I posted online that’s not even on the board yet.”

While some chefs might find the small kitchen at SideStreet claustrophobic, Mah finds it cozy and has made a place for everything,

The Hills

helping to keep himself organized and ready for the next customer. As for those who have been curious about expansion plans, adding more locations is not on Mah’s radar. He’s currently collecting donations, via a tip jar on the counter, for a covered outdoor patio, which will extend seven feet out from the existing space, making it possible to smell - and see - burgers from the highway. edm SideStreet Burgers 9199 Mississippi 178 Olive Branch 865.384.6623 sidestreetburgers.weebly.com

Fat Panda

Mahi Mahi eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 57

The Delta

Delta Delight

58 • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

The Delta

Alison's Restaurant in Belzoni Wows Diners from Delta and Afar story and photography by anne martin

T

he small Delta community of Belzoni is home to Wister Garden, the Catfish Festival, and blues greats Sonny Boy Williamson II and Pintop Perkins, giving folks near and far a reason to visit. Now you can add Alison’s Restaurant to the list.

Situated in a charming old building on Jackson Street downtown, Alison’s offers diners an array of dishes from seafood to steak to burgers and a great taste in between.

Anthony Wade, owner and head chef, has been at the helm of the eatery for two years, but the restaurant has been a part of his family for the better part of the past two decades.

His parents, Alison and Jerry, opened Alison’s in 1991 but sold it in 2004. While the restaurant was under at least two other owners, Wade was off honing his culinary skills.

“I’ve always liked food, liked to cook, but I didn’t go to culinary school,” Wade said. “I learned from hands-on experience.”

The 30-year-old Wade worked in Jackson and Memphis before landing in San Francisco cooking alongside his uncle Gains Dobbins, who had worked with famed New Orleans Chef Paul Prudhomme. He had been asked about returning to his hometown and taking over the restaurant, but he wasn’t ready. That is until May of 2012 when he felt the time was right to bring his talent back home.

“I always liked the restaurant. Guess I’m a glutton for punishment,” Wade said with a smile. “It does feel good to be back home and be giving something back to the community.”

Now Wade is serving New American cuisine with a Southern flair to customers from near and far. He says it’s hard to categorize the menu, but that it is more sophisticated than it has been in the past. House specialties include the steak, both an 8 ounce filet and a 16 ounce ribeye, Shrimp and Avocado salad and Catfish Enchiladas. A few house favorites from when his mother had the restaurant are also

A unique wine rack was crafted out of pallets by Wade to hold empty bottles. Guests are encouraged to bring their favorite wine or whiskey to enjoy with their meal.

back on the menu such as Shrimp Remoulade and John Grisham Catfish which is pan sautéed catfish topped with shrimp and a cream sauce.

Every Thursday, Wade brings in fresh fish, which can change from week to week. One week it could be Mahi Mahi, the next Redfish. And while in season, Fried Green Tomatoes are a big hit as an appetizer. They are served with lump crab

OPPOSITE PAGE Owner and chef Anthony Wade says one of the great things about the Delta is that people love to go out and eat and see other people, and linger for a while. He says it's a social experience.

Alison's is located in downtown Belzoni in an old building dating to the early 1900's that was once housed a grocery store.

It doesn't get more Delta than duck and grits. Just add a pomegranate balsamic reduction and sauteed spinach for a delicious meal. eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 59

The Delta

A true Southern delicacy, Fried Green Tomatoes paired with lump crab meat and shrimp are a consistent crowd pleaser.

meat and shrimp in a white wine cream sauce.

“I love to play around in the kitchen and come up with different recipes,” Wade said while sitting in the exposed brick dining room. “I’ll see something on TV or have a dish somewhere and think how I can make it better, make it my own.”

Several of Wade’s creations have a California influence such as the Shrimp and Avocado Salad. This light, refreshing appetizer features half of an avocado filled with shrimp and pico de gallo and blended with a lime vinaigrette. And then there is the Oysters on a Chip; an unexpected flavor combination of the fried-to-perfection oyster on a light tortilla chip topped with a special sauce and guacamole. If you like 60 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

oysters, you can’t eat just one.

The Delta meets the Southwest in the Catfish Enchiladas.

“I use my grandmother’s enchilada sauce,” Wade added. “It’s a great way to bring my Hispanic heritage into one of the dishes we offer. And our customers love it.”

Wade also offers duck almost year round. It is served with a pomegranate balsamic reduction and paired with grits and sautéed spinach.

A variety of gourmet tacos can also be found on the menu. Shrimp tacos are prepared with grilled shrimp, comeback sauce, pico de gallo, and topped with sliced avocado.

Steak tacos feature onions and cilantro while catfish tacos are made with fried catfish topped with comeback sauce, onions,

The Delta

Shrimp and Avocado Salad has a definite California feel. Wade says several of his dishes have a West Coast influence.

Fresh fish arrives every Thursday. Here Mahi Mahi is pan seared and served with a lemon vinaigrette.

and cilantro.

Lamb chops, crab cakes, grilled shrimp, and BBQ shrimp over grits also find a place on the menu alongside the hamburger steak served with grilled onions and smothered in gravy.

Wade and his mother both warn guests to leave room for dessert. Their homemade Chocolate Chess Pie is a big hit along with the Bananas Foster Bread Pudding.

“I like good food and I like to eat out,” said Wade. “In San Francisco I ate every place I could, especially the Mission District. I just want to bring a bit of that back to the Mississippi Delta.”

So what does this chef like to eat when he’s not doing the

cooking for hungry customers? “I like my mom’s round steak and mashed potatoes.” And you won’t find him standing over a hot stove away from work. At home, his wife does all the cooking.

The restaurant is only open for dinner Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Wade spends the rest of the week working as a food representative for Performance Food Service and coming up with new recipes for his popular restaurant in the quaint old building in his hometown. edm Alison’s 107 E. Jackson St., Belzoni 662.247.4487 eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI 61

The Pines

Courtney and Katie work The Biscuit Shop counter.

&

Rolling Baking 62 • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

The Pines

"The Biscuit Lady" Finds Niche in Starkville story and photography by katie hutson west

G

rowing up in Starkville, Michelle Tehan was taught the ways of the kitchen by her grandmother, Dot. Sunday mornings were spent mixing, kneading, and rolling dough; cutting each small round with an empty Vienna sausage can.

Cooking and eating those delicious biscuits back then, Dot’s granddaughter had no idea she would grow up to become "The Biscuit Lady" and proud owner of her own biscuit shop.

Michelle, married to Alan Tehan (also of Starkville), never dreamed of owning a small business.

The mother of four, including a set of triplets, was an employee of Mississippi State University (MSU) until 2013, when the journey towards The Biscuit Shop began. With summer break coming up for her young children, the Tehans had their thoughts on finances.

“The cost of babysitters and summer activities was so high it didn’t make since for me to stay at work,” Tehan says of leaving MSU to be home with her kids. But knowing they needed additional income, Tehan started brain-storming. She thought about what she was good at and didn't have to think very long before biscuits popped into her head. “Everyone always loved my biscuits,” Tehan said of the friends

Michelle Tehan, right, often receives help from her brother, Randle Prisock, when baking all night.

PHOTO PROVIDED

and family that requested them for nearly every get together and sometimes just because.

With an idea of what to supply, Tehan set out in search of demand. After a Facebook post letting her friends know she would be selling biscuits the following Saturday, Tehan was surprised to see a lot of people show up and purchase biscuits by the dozen. “I sold out the first day and I've pretty much been selling out ever since,” said Tehan. The next step was to set up a booth at the Starkville Farmer's Market.

“We sold out every morning by 8 a.m.; no matter how many I made,” said Tehan of the thousands of biscuits sold during market. And when people tasted her biscuits, she was told over and over she needed to open her own shop. With the help of Kickstarter.com in June 2014, she did just that.

Situated in a quaint cottage on Jackson Street in Starkville, The Biscuit Shop has a small town feel; with patrons talkeat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 63

The Pines

LEFT, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP Buttermilk biscuit, smoked sausage biscuit, blueberry biscuit, and cranberry orange biscuit

64 • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

The Pines

ing to each other like friends and asking “what kind today?” when they pass in the parking lot. Its shabby chic interior is comfortable, inviting, and smells heavenly. Posted on the wall is the Biscuit Lady’s “Biscuit Bucket List”; a list of all the biscuit-related goals she hopes to accomplish (Who doesn’t want to have a biscuit with Dolly Parton?). Though no seating is available inside, the front porch is a nice place to eat a biscuit or two and watch the town drift by.

The Biscuit Shop offers a tempting array of biscuits with flavors changing daily. Meaty biscuits include the delicious smoked sausage and cheddar or the thick sliced ham and cheddar. Sweet biscuits one can expect to see on a typical day are the ‘favorite since day one’ blueberry (topped with a lemon glaze), peach, chocolate chip, strawberry, cinnamon sugar, and sprinkles. Tehan says her ‘must-try’ pick is the cranberry orange. “It’s definitely my favorite.” Each biscuit is made daily from scratch by Tehan herself. “I still use my grandmother's buttermilk biscuit recipe and I just tweak it when I do my other biscuits,” Tehan says of the buttermilk biscuit base she starts with to create her sweet biscuits.

Tehan is so secretive about her recipe that she’s the only one who knows it. Not only does she make every biscuit, she knows exactly what’s going into every biscuit. “I’m very picky about what ingredients I use and where they come from,”

Tehan says of the products used. “We don't cut corners.”

Fresh biscuits range from $1 - $2.50 each and even come with a complimentary cup of coffee. Glass bottle Cokes from Grandmother Dot’s old timey Coke machine and tangy, fresh squeezed lemonade are also available to quench the thirst a good buttermilk biscuit leaves behind. The shop sells jellies and jams from Mississippi's own Mayhew Farms, too.

Winner of the Taste of Starkville's 'Best Festival Rookie' award, The Biscuit Shop is quickly becoming a Starkville favorite. Because of this, The Lady’s biscuits don’t stay on the shelf very long. “The early bird gets the biscuit,” Tehan says of her locally famous treat.

Since she bakes everything herself, The Biscuit Lady has no plans for The Biscuit Shop #2. “I would love for the shop I have to stay what it is, but to really have a name,” Tehan said of her hopes for the future. “I would also love for a biscuit shop, any biscuit shop, to be up there with donut and cupcake shops because it should be...Nothing’s better than a biscuit for breakfast.” edm The Biscuit Shop 600 S. Jackson St., Starkville 662.324.3118 www.thebiscuitlady.com eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 65

Capital/River

One-Woman

David, Edie, and Eleni Varnado stand outside their family-owned restaurant, Topisaw General Store, a McComb café/bakery they chose to renovate as part of downtown revitalization efforts. David says a customer recently remarked to him that the business had “accomplished what it set out to do.”

When asked what was meant by the comment, the customer responded that their establishment is building community. “And I guess he was right,” David agrees. “Patrons like to see the downtown area coming back.”

66 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

Capital/River

Kitchen McComb’s Edie Varnado Lends Her Creative Passion to an Up-and-coming Downtown Eatery

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 67

Capital/River STORY BY KIM HENDERSON | PHOTOS BY HANNAH HENDERSON

T

wo years after turning a vacant end of McComb’s Main Street into Topisaw General Store, owners David and Edie Varnado are turning a profit where naysayers predicted they couldn’t. For proof, look no further than the café/bakery’s lunch line, ten deep, waiting for a chance to order plates of blueberry vinaigrette-laced spinach salad and bowls of white bean, kale, and sausage soup.

Check out the spread of emptied baskets lining the counter where only crumbs remain from this morning’s batch of crusty focaccia.

Still not convinced? Head out back to the courtyard and talk to the couple finishing off their sweet tea slushies. Keep your conversation with the gentleman to a minimum, though. He’s not too happy about the “sold out” sign where the coconut macaroons should to be.

“When we first opened, people were skeptical. They said a menu without hamburgers and fries couldn’t make it here, but we’re

packed every day,” says Edie, the cook behind the concept that has construction workers as well as doctors bringing their lunch-hour business downtown. “Some come for healthy options, some to be quick. Some come just because our food has flavor and tastes good.”

Identifying a hole in the Pike County dining landscape came easy for Edie, a Vicksburg native whose resume includes kitchen stints at Jackson vegan hot spot High Noon Café and the legendary Hal and Mal’s. Here in McComb, she’s committed to a basic lunch menu of revolving soups, salads, pressed sandwiches (they call them toasties), and all-butter-crust quiche. Her favorite on the blackboard? Hands down, the café salad, with its pumpkin seed and feta cheese and shopmade olive-garlic dressing.

Edie is equally sure about what sets their café apart – making, baking, even cutting everything themselves – and adds that much of her direction is Mediterranean. “Humus

Sweet tea slushies – Edie’s brainchild – give a Southern edge to the eatery’s fare, which sports a strong Mediterranean influence.

68 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

Capital/River

Basil provides the accent to Edie’s completely-fromscratch cheese and veggie pizza. Sides of fruit are cut fresh every morning on site.

is what started us, a traditional Syrian recipe heavy on garlic and lemon juice. As members of the Orthodox Church, we know a lot of people from Syria and Lebanon, and they’ve taught us to cook. That’s who we are.”

Edie uses pronouns in the plural because the restaurant is a family-operated business, as are the Varnados’ other efforts - a thriving handmade soap business and a vacation rental property on the banks of Topisaw Creek. “David is sociable and makes a good front man. Our three daughters (all teenagers) have blossomed here and are so competent they can run the kitchen by themselves,” she says. Sixteenyear-old Eleni was, in fact, recently put to the test when her mother and older sister traveled to England for two weeks. By all reports, the eatery never skipped a beat.

That’s good, because the family’s culinary queen will soon be heading to Vermont for a week-long professional baking class sponsored by King Arthur Flour. “I love making bread.

Quarter Greek Chicken

That’s my gift and my love,” she says, and her wildly-popular artisan loaves back up the claim. Edie is pleased that the upcoming school will focus on traditional levain, her latest sourdough method of interest. “I know people struggle with carbs and gluten,” Edie admits, “but this place is us, and we eat a lot of bread.”

As do their customers, who make sure to come by on Tuesdays for loaves of three-seed whole grain and later for Thursdays’ signature cranberry-walnut. And if they’re smart, buyers will come early, because foodstuffs at Topisaw General Store – as the macaroon-loving diner in the courtyard learned - sell out quickly. edm Topisaw General Store 105 Main Street, McComb 601.551.8743 eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI 69

Coastal

Patio Perfection Patio 44 in Hattiesburg Racking Up Accolades with Patio-themed Restaurant

photos on this page provided

70 • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

Coastal

Shrimp and Grits

story and photography by juilian brunt

P

atio 44 has been around for just one year, but it has already racked up a bevy of accolades. Just in theme, it is a patio-driven restaurant, it gets outstanding marks, but there seems hardly a category that this place doesn’t make a serious statement.

The patio theme is big in other food towns like Chicago, Austin, and Denver, and it’s about time it took off in the Pine Belt. The patio is covered from the hot sun, fans keep things cool, and it seats 160 guests. Whether you sit in the way cool patio or the elegant inside dining area, there just isn’t a bad seat in the house.

All the interior design in the world won’t make a restaurant tick, but that’s the job of Executive Chef Joss Rogers. He is a ten year vet with heavy experience in the French Creole world, so you know the menu is going to be loaded with good things from the Gulf, rich sauces, and world famous pairings.

Chef Joss is also a Southern boy and grew up on a small farm, so you can be assured that he knows the value of fresh ingredients, best quality, and that homemade touch.

If you want to start with an appetizer, the first thing that is going to jump out at you is the Blue Crab Fondue. Crab is baked in a cream sauce with crispy baguettes for dipping; you

Chef Joss Rogers eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 71

Coastal

won’t find this any place else! All the starters look good, but the Fried Green Tomatoes with optional etoufée looks like a killer.

The seafood selection has some choices that look stunning; the shrimp and grits, of course Chef Joss uses the world famous Original Grit Girl grits from Oxford, has got to be at the top of the list. Another choice that should be given serious attention is the blackened Mississippi catfish, covered in a andouille and tasso cream sauce. This is borderline irresistible.

But the Low Country favorite of fried chicken and waffles on the entrée list maybe the show stopper. This is another recipe you don’t often see in Mississippi, but it is a stunningly good combination. The waffles are bacon infused, the crispy 72 • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

chicken is drizzled with hot pecan sauce, and there’s a side of Steen’s cane syrup for dipping. What could be better? Also check out the prime Black Angus ribeye.

A creative menu, executed with precision, and a passion for Southern foodways, a great theme, service, extensive wine list, and hand crafted cocktails make Patio 44 one of a kind.

If you are worth your foodie socks, you are going to have to visit this place and pronto. edm Patio 44 3288 West 4th Street, Hattiesburg 601.602.6907 www.patio44.com

Coastal

CLOCKWISE, FROM ABOVE Waffles and Fried Chicken, Blackened Catfish and Cream Sauce, Prime Certified Black Angus Ribeye, Praline Cheesecake

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 73

{ featured festival }

74 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

Hot Tamales Make Greenville a Hit

H

BY GENNIE TAYLOR | PHOTOS PROVIDED

“Hot tamale,” is a word one “just can’t say without Greenville event. smiling,” according to festival coordinator and Main Street “We are so pleased with the success of the festival and the Greenville executive director Betty Lynn Cameron. excitement it has brought to our area,” Cameron said. “It (the Hot tamales have become the “hot” topic of the Delta. The festival) is creating an atmosphere for the City of Greenville former mayor of city of Greenville, the late Chuck Jordan, we have needed for a long time. With the City being the Hot declared the city the “Hot Tamale Capital of the World” in Tamale Capitol of the World® it is creating a new positive fac2012 prior to the inaugural Delta Hot Tamale Festival. In tor for Greenville. And it is really gratifying to see the impact 2013, Greenville was officially declared the Hot Tamale Capi- the festival has had on the area.” tal of the World® when the city received the copyrights to the The third annual Delta Hot Tamale Festival will kick off slogan. The distinction of Hot Tamale Capital of the World® on October 16-18 hosting ticketed literary events prior to the is not without festival day evidence, on Saturday. though. AcCameron cording to said the the Southern event “just Foodways Alkeeps getliance, Greenting bigger ville has more and bigger” hot tamale with more restaurants than 10,000 and/or food expected in stations than attendance. any other city “Our in Missisinaugural sippi. year we had Although more than Greenville 5,000 in wasn’t origiattendance,” nally thought she said. of for their “Last year, hot tamawe expected Co-chairs of the Delta Hot Tamale Festival are, from left, Betty Lynn les and the around Cameron, Main Street Director; Valerie Lee, and Anne Martin. The trio is festival was 8,000 and better known as the "Hot Ta-Mamas." the first of its had more kind for the than 10,000.

Delta, Greenville is no stranger to food, music, and commuSo we are expected to definitely surpass last year’s attennity get-togethers. In fact, the idea for the tamale festival got dance.” started when friends, now affectionately known as the “HotWhile the festival has grown from one day to three since Ta-Mamas,” Cameron, Valerie Lee and Anne Martin gathered its inauguration, it now includes a Literary/Culinary Mashfor a backyard tamale taste off, pairing tamales from area up on Thursday evening and Friday, with lunch provided. restaurants with homemade versions. The trio now serves as In addition, the actual festival day on Saturday which has co-chairs of the annual event. The Delta Hot Tamale Festival expanded as well. hosts a similar tamale taste off with its tamale cooking conThe Opening Gala and Book Signing will be held at 6:30 test, while also infusing literature and music to the event to p.m. Thursday and will include cocktails, dining, and dancing give the full festival atmosphere. The Festival is a Main Street at the J.C. Burrus House, a nationally registered landmark on eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI 75

the outskirts of Benoit. The house is one of the last surviving high-style Greek Revival plantation houses in the entire Mississippi Delta and was the location of Elia Kazan’s movie, Baby Doll.

Cameron said they are very excited about a new addition to the Gala this year. “This year, we are excited to announce that an extravagant dinner will be prepared by some of the South’s top chefs,” Cameron said. “Not only will you enjoy a feast prepared by James Beard Award winners and nominees, you will taste the prize-winning tamales of Eddie Hernandez, last year’s festival winner in the Celebrity Chef category.”

The cocktail hour of the Gala will include a sample of a special Hot Tamale cocktail and the opportunity to visit with the noted authors and chefs in attendance. They will also be on hand to sell and sign their books. The Gala will also feature musical entertainment for the evening. Admission for this event is $150.

The Friday Delta Hot Tamale Festival events include the Panel Discussion and lunch from 10 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. held at the E. E. Bass Auditorium, Jake and Freda Stein Hall on Main Street in Greenville. The day offers five lively panel discussions with writers and chefs, a pre-lunch “blessing” interlude with Roy Blount, a Delta “shoebox” lunch, and book sales and signings. Tickets are $50. That evening from 6:30 until 8:30 p.m., a Sponsors Street Party will be held at the Greenville Inns and Suites Courtyard on South Walnut Street in Greenville. The Street Party will include hors d’oeuvres with libations. A band will play for entertainment. Attendees must be 21 years of age. Admission to this event is $40.

The Saturday Festival will be held in downtown Greenville. Cameron said the day event continues to expand each year. “Last year we had to add another city block for space,” she said. “We luckily have a large downtown area and have now covered about four city blocks. We will have something there for everyone. There will be activities for children and adults… A fun time for all.”

The festival will begin with the Chuck Jordan Hot Tamale Parade at 9:30 a.m., followed by a welcome by Greenville Mayor John Cox. At 10 a.m. the official Blessing of the Hot Tamale will be held followed by the presentation of the Hot 76 • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

Tamale Royalty and the Hot Tamale Cooking Competition.

The Hot Tamale Cooking Competition will be one of the day’s main events, Cameron said. “We had 34 contestants last year and expect that many if not more this year,” she said.

“We have contestants from all over the South this year including Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee and Arkansas.”

Cameron said the contestants are “sure to prepare a variety of tamales,” entered in one of two categories - Commercial and Home Hots (meat and non-meat). Some examples of last year’s entries include shrimp and grits, strawberry cheesecake, chocolate, pumpkin, fish, and vegetarian.

Contestants have a chance to earn one of four winner slots. The first place award includes a $200 prize and a trophy.

The second and third place winners receive $150 and $100, respectively, plus a trophy each. The grand champion winner will receive a $750 payout and a trophy as well as a trip to Charleston, South Carolina to prepare their award-winning hot tamales at the Jubilee during the Second Annual Made in the South Festival, December 5- 7, hosted

by Garden & Gun magazine.

Musical performances will also be held throughout the day featuring regional and local musicians on several stages throughout the festival area. The Miss Hot Tamale Contest will be held at noon and the Hot Tamale Eating Contest will be at 2 p.m. In addition, throughout the day and evening, “Tales of the Hot Tamale” will be spun on the front porch in Stein Mart Square.

Admission is free to all Saturday events.

Hot tamales can only be purchased from the Hot Tamale Cooking Contest participants - and only after the judging is done around lunchtime, Cameron said. There will be additional food vendors, but no vendor will be allowed to sell hot tamales during the festival other than cooking contestants, she added. In addition, arts and craft vendors will be set up with the food vendors in Stein Mart Square. edm Delta Hot Tamale Festival Main Street Greenville 503 Washington Avenue, Greenville 662.378.3121 www.hottamalefest.com

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 77

{ calendar }

Fill Your Plate

October/November 2014

Food Festivals & Events

October 2 Columbus Roast N Boast BBQ Festival & Competition The Roast N Boast BBQ Festival and BBQ Competition is a non-profit event benefiting children with cancer. Over $13,000 in prizes are awarded in several categories. Sample and vote for World Class BBQ at the people's choice tent, enjoy live bands Friday night, food vendors, golf tournament and auction. Visit www.roastnboast.com or call 662-5495054 for more information.

•••

October 10-11 Cleveland - Octoberfest Octoberfest is a Memphis in May juried barbecue festival including a backyard competition as well as professional, Southern-style cuisine, live blues music on Blues Blvd., a rock/country stage, large children’s area, Mississippi-made items, and a Friday night street dance. There will be over 100 arts and crafts vendors on Saturday. Two days of fun, food, dance and music will be enjoyed in beautiful historic downtown Cleveland. Visit www.octoberfestms. com or call 662-843-2712 for more information.

•••

October 16 Oxford Harvest Supper on the Grounds of Rowan Oak

October 4-5 Collins - Mississippi Peanut Festival Mitchell Farms hosts the annual Mississippi Peanut Festival on their farm in Collins. The festival will include Arts & Crafts Exhibitors, Antiques, Unique Childrens Clothes, Jewelry, Yard Art, and Lots of Food. The peanut festival kicks off the farm's Pumpkin Patch Fun Fall Festivities. Call 601-6060762 for details of scheduled events or visit www. mitchellfarms-ms.com.

78 • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

Gather on the grounds of historic Rowan Oak for a Harvest Supper catered by Woodson Ridge Farms. Enjoy a delicious meal along with live music. Proceeds benefit University of Mississippi Museum and Historic Houses. Tickets are $125 each and may be reserved by calling 662-915-7073 or email museum@olemiss. edu. For more information, see story beginning on page 30.

two entertainment stages to keep your toes tapping. For more information, call 228-215-0828 or visit www.gautiermulletfest.com.

October 31 - November 1 Taylorsville - Grillin' and Chillin' BBQ Festival

October 16-18 Greenville - Delta Hot Tamale Festival The Delta Hot Tamale Festival is celebrating its third year with more events, more music and more of those famous Delta Hot Tamales! The Delta Hot Tamale is perhaps the biggest culinary contribution to come from this area. Visitors from around the world will gather with local residents in Greenville to enjoy this delicious food. This three day celebration includes everything from the Frank Carlton Hot Tamale Cooking Contest, the crowning of Miss Hot Tamale, a hot tamale Eating Contest, book signings by a number of well-known writers, a celebrity chefs' Hot Tamale Cook-off, hot tamale storytelling, a parade, arts and crafts, food symposium, three stages featuring a variety of home-grown Delta musicians, and plenty of hot tamales to whet your appetite.

Bring your lawn chairs and the entire family to Stein Mart Square in Downtown Greenville for a one-of-akind experience.

The fifth annual Grillin’ and Chillin’ BBQ Festival will fire-up on November 1st in Taylorsville. The festival will feature a BBQ competition, food, arts & crafts, a 5K run, and a car, truck and motorcycle show. The festival begins with carnival rides on Friday, October 31st, at 6:00 p.m. On Saturday, the car show gates open at 8:00 a.m. at Taylorsville Town Park. Later in the morning, everyone is invited to cheer on the BBQ competition teams as they compete in four mouth-watering categories. The festival will close with an outdoor concert featuring country music recording artist, Sammy Kershaw. Admission is $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for children ages 3-10. For questions about any of the festival events, please visit taylorsvillechamber.com or call Newt Ishee at 601-785-4756 or Charlie Ware at 601-616-7326.

•••

•••

November 1-2 Ocean Springs 36th Annual Peter Anderson Arts & Crafts Festival October 18-19 Gautier 24th Annual Gautier Mullet & Music Fest For great shopping for unique hand-crafted items and delicious Gulf Coast food, head to the Gautier Mullet & Music Fest. Learn about the Gulf Coast in the "hands on" Heritage & Education Area, and kids will have a blast in the free kids area. Enter the famous Mullet Toss Contest - you've definitely gotta see how far you can throw a mullet! There's a Car & Motorcycle Show on Saturday. Bring your folding chairs and your dancing shoes - there are

This award winning, longstanding arts festival attracts nearly 350 vendors from around the continent that display everything from the finest pottery, paintings, jewelry, and sculptures to woodwork, metal work, and handmade tile pieces. Attendees will enjoy plenty of the best sounding Southern music and tastiest, Southern food around in this family-friendly outdoor event. For more information, call 228-8754424 or visit www.peterandersonfestival.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 Bacon Bites, 30 Bacon Pork Chops with Barbecue Glaze, 11 Balsamic Dressing, 80 Balsamic Grilled Vegetables, 51 Boiling Water Corn Bread, 41 Broth, 41 Brussels Sprouts, 81 Candied Yam, 81 Candy Corn Drinks, 52 Caramel Apple Cinnamon S'mores, 23 Cornbread Dressing, 41 Duck and Lemongrass Sausage Patties, 17 Giblet Gravy, 41 Northern Collard Greens, 50 Peanut Butter, Bacon, and Maple Syrup S'mores, 24 Pecan Pie, 81 Roasted Brussels Sprouts, 28 Samoa S'mores, 21 Skinny Banana Pudding Milkshakes, 47 Smoked Turkey, 40 Southern Vegetable Beef Soup, 19 Witch's Brew Mocktail, 52

continued from page 51 "Balsamic dressing is one of my favorites. I keep some in my refrigerator at all times. It's very versatile and works well both as a salad dressing and as a marinade."

- Melissa Cookston

balsamic dressing 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic 1-1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 1 tablespoon honey 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper 1/3 cup olive oil 1-1/2 cups canola oil Place the garlic, mustard, vinegars, honey, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl and stir to mix. Combine the oils in a large measuring cup. Insert an immersion blender into the mixing bowl and turn it on low. While mixing, slowly drizzle the oil blend into the mixing bowl to form an emulsion. If you don't have an immersion blender, you can use a whisk on a regular blender on low speed. The dressing will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You may need to leave it at room temperature for a little while and recombine the ingredients before using. Makes 2-1/2 cups.

STORE INFORMATION from pages 12-13

Advertisers Index Bike MS, 2 Chucklet & Honey, 4 Delta Hot Tamale Festival, 4 Etta B Pottery, 7 Madison Fireplace & Patio, 9 Mangia Bene, 9 Metal Builders Supply, 25 MS Delta Ducks, 15 Primos Cafe, 14 Sanderson Farms, back Simmons Catfish, 14 The Kitchen Table, 7 Thurman's Landscaping, 9 80 • OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

Chef 's Catalog 800.338.3232 www.chefscatalog.com Etta B Pottery Visit www.ettabpottery.com to find a retailer near you.

Kitchen Collection Batesville, Gulfport, Pearl, Robinsonville, Vicksburg Visit www.kitchencollection.com for store information.

The Kitchen Table 3720 Hardy St., Suite 3 Hattiesburg, MS 39402 601.261.2224 www.kitchentablenow.com Vietri 919.245.4180 Visit www.vietri.com to find a retailer near you.

Williams-Sonoma 1000 Highland Colony Pkwy.

Ridgeland, MS 39157 601.898.8882 www.williams-sonoma.com

continued from page 41

Brussels Sprouts 24 Brussels sprouts 1 stick butter 1 cup heavy cream Salt to taste

Hand Rolled Biscuits Recipe in April/May 2014 issue of Eat.Drink.Mississippi, p. 51

Pecan Pie

Rinse and trim ends of Brussels sprouts. Bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and drain. In sauce pan combine 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup cream. While stirring, heat butter and cream sauce on low.

Add Brussels sprouts and simmer. Turn heat off, cover with lid and leave on stove. Season. Serves 6.

CANDIED YAMS 6 sweet potatoes 1/2 cup orange juice 1/2 cup light brown sugar 1 stick butter 1/4 cup of orange peel strings Peel 6 sweet potatoes. Cut diagonally.

(Potatoes may be cut across into 1 1/2 inch circles. The way I decide between long and round is by considering the other sides with which they will be served.) Because brussels sprouts are round, utilizing the potatoes' length creates a more interesting plate presentation.

Cover sweet potatoes with water and simmer 10 minutes. Drain water. Add orange juice and orange peeling strings; simmer until potatoes are tender.

In separate sauce pan, cream brown sugar and butter.

Heat on low. Stir and cook 10-15 minutes or until it forms a candy glaze. (Test-when a dot dropped in a glass of cold water forms a ball.) Pour over potatoes and orange juice.

Cover and turn off heat.

Glaze continues to thicken as it cools.

Cranberry Sauce Chilled in the can and sliced.

2 cups plain flour 2 sticks (1/2 cup)salted butter 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream 1/2 cup light brown sugar 1/2 cup molasses 1/2 cup of light Karo 3 large brown eggs 1/2 stick soft butter 2 tablespoons bourbon 3 cups of pecan halves For pie crust: Sift flour and place in freezer overnight.

Mince (cut with knife) cold butter into flour and mix. Add cream and mix. Divide in half. Tear four sheets of wax paper larger than pie plates.

Place 1/2 of mixture on sheet and cover with wax paper.

Roll between wax paper to 4" larger than size of baking plates. Remove top wax paper. Center baker over crust.

Don't press down. Slide hands beneath wax paper elevate crust. Invert baker. Remove wax paper. Turn under edges and crimp. Line crust with parchment paper. (Allow paper to drape over sides.) Add pie weights. Bake 8 minutes in 350 degree oven. Remove crust from oven and cool before removing parchment paper and weights. Rest crust 10 minutes before filling.

While this crust grew out of all my years of handling biscuit and dumpling dough, I still use many of the traditional ingredients I grew up enjoying in my mother's pecan pies. None of the flavors are more important than plump pecans, molasses, brown eggs and bourbon.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In large bowl mix light brown sugar, molasses and light Karo. Add soft butter and eggs. Mix well. Add bourbon and mix. Arrange pecans (tops up) in bottom of pie crust. Pour mixture over pecans. Bake 45 to 60 minutes or until center is set. To protect pie and crust from over browning loosely cover with aluminum foil after baking 20 minutes. May be made the day before. Serve with whipped cream.

Iced Tea, Coffee and Wine Beaujolais-Villages and Vouvray eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI • 81

Every Buggy Has a Story

BILL DABNEY PHOTOGRAPHY

{ till we eat again }

BY JAY REED

A

s I was walking out of my local grocery store not too long ago, I saw a man pushing a buggy. That’s not so unusual, I know, but in this buggy was a case of Ranch beans and two trays of mini-Oreos, the kind that come in the cups with the yellow tops.

My thought was, “There’s a story in that buggy.” I regret now that I didn’t stop the stranger and ask him to tell his story. In that moment, I decided to make up my own. I figured there were some young boys involved, perhaps Cub Scouts, who were soon to camp out, eat beans, make jokes about beans, and eat the mini-Oreos for dessert. Or perhaps the man was going to use the Oreos as cereal, but couldn’t find them available by the box. (I’ve done that, by the way – maybe that’s why my mind went that direction. They get soggy quickly, but it’s kind of awesome.)

Every buggy has a story, I think.

Here in our town a buggy loaded with frozen pizza, peanut butter, and cases of Ramen noodles says, “Hey, I’m a college student.” Early in our marriage, we saw some friends with a buggy stacked with baby formula, tiny clothes, and an infant car seat. They were not pregnant.

Their buggy’s story was, “The adoption agency called!” That was a cool story.

On the night I saw Mini-Oreo Man, my buggy’s story was twofold. In one corner: the largest Nutella I could put my hands on. I originally went to the grocery for a big fat jar of the chocolaty-hazelnutty deliciousness because I

wanted to try to make ice cream with it. Meanwhile, since I was in the richand-sinful department anyway, I got a replacement jar of Biscoff spread, the crunchy kind. It’s kind of addictive. The remaining space was pizza-oriented.

Never mind that I had already eaten pizza for lunch. When I was single, I sometimes ate pizza five or six meals in a row. And by “in a row” I mean consecutive – breakfast, too. But I digress. My buggy had jarred pesto sauce, pre-cooked seasoned steak pieces, and fully-cooked Italian sausage crumbles.

At home I already had roasted tomatoes, fresh garlic, pizza flats from Milk and Honey Farms, and mozzarella from T&R Farms. My story was, “I want to have homemade pizza, but I don’t want to work too hard.”

Back in the summer at the giant discount supercenter, I stood in line next to a train of buggies. Between them, they must have been hauling six or eight gallons each of milk and orange juice, stacks of egg cartons, multiple loaves of bread, and eleventeen bags of buns. Somewhere buried under the buns there must have been some hot dogs, hamburger meat, or cold cuts.

Their story was, “We’re about to go to camp.”

Then there are the coupon clippers, and they come in two species. One is the serious coupon manager, who can’t be bothered with groceries in the child seat – that’s where her overstuffed three-ring binder sits as she stealthily

82 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014

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.

stalks each aisle, saving hundreds of dollars as she goes. Don’t get in the way of her buggy – her eye is on the prize, not the aisle in front of her. Then there’s me. I’m the couponer whose buggy is loaded with the new flavor of Triscuits, the Wonka banana popsicles you can peel, or the latest exotic fruits to be juiced and mixed with cranberries – all stuff I might not ordinarily buy, except for the fabulous discounts I am bound to receive with the coupons. Never mind that going from store to store trying to find these latest and greatest innovations may cost me more money than I save.

Recently I saw – or rather, heard – a story in song. A fourish-year-old girl was hanging on to the end of the buggy, singing exuberantly and with great volume. Dad was pushing patiently yet with some degree of speed. From one end of the buggy, the story was, “Daddy doesn’t take me to the grocery much – this is awesome!” And from the other, “I love her dearly and I’m getting out of here as fast as I can.”

Every buggy has a story. And if I ever see the Mini-Oreo Man again, I’m gonna’ ask. edm

eat. drink.

MISSISSIPPI Don’t miss a single bite!

VOLUME 3, NUMBER

. k eaMt.ISSIdSSrIPin PI . eat. d k n i r rin M . d PI oast 5

BER 2014

AUGUST/SEPTEM

eatMISSISSIP

DRINKING YOUR ABLES FRUITS AND VEGET KING

OO EN C H OV JAMS DUTC VORY T & SA E E SW CHIP TE LA G CO CHO D PUDDIN BREA

West Coast Meets

Gulf C

ISSIS

SIPP

page 74

I

eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI

Sprineogn Lunch

ANGEL FOOD CAKE WAFFLESRIL/MAY 2014 AP LE

WING DANG DOOD FESTIVAL

k.

JUNE

/JULY

2014

page 44

August/September

Only 24 for six issues!

2014

$

SIPPI 1

eat. drink. MISSIS

Heirloom Tomatoes the de

licious

SOUTH

legacy

of

page 32

ERN-S TYLE CRAW PIG PI FISH CKIN BOIL ' CAK FOOD E IE FO RAY O N 49

SUBSCRIBE TODAY! Subscribe online or mail payment to:

eat. drink.

MISSISSIPPI

P.O. Box 1051 Monticello, MS 39654

www.eatdrinkmississippi.com eat. drink. MISSISSIPPI 83

Since we started in 1947, our chicken has been free of extra salt, water and other additives. It’s not just 100% natural. It’s 100% chicken.

For recipes visit us at SandersonFarms.com or find us on Facebook.

84 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2014