Southern Gems Cookbook ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Harper Battle Pace Norton Family
“Beautiful gems can emerge from dirt.
Struggle can teach you self-discipline and resilience.” — Dipa Santani, The Little Light
Reunion Committee The Harper Battle Pace Norton Reunion Committees would like to thank and express our sincere appreciation to the many people in the community who gave generously of their time and energy in collecting and submitting recipes and assisting with the sale of this cookbook. Without their help, this book would not have been possible. The Harper Battle Pace Norton Reunion Committees John Doe Jane Doe John Doe Jane Doe
Acknowledgements & - Dedication We dedicate this cookbook to all cooks. In our homes today, as always, life is centered around the kitchen. It is with this thought in mind that we have compiled these recipes. Some of these recipes are treasured family keepsakes and some are new; however they all reflect the love of good cooking. Our thanks to all those who generously contribute their favorite recipes. Without their help, this book would have never been possible. We hope you will enjoy the many outstanding and treasured recipes on the pages that follow.
Forward
Preface Some of my most cherished memories growing up in Chicago, centered around my parents, and siblings and I getting in a car or on a train and heading south to Louisiana. There would be no heading back home until we had visited with most of our family there, especially our most senior members. Those treasured memories were amplified not only by the greeting we received from family down home, but also from the warm welcome we felt as the old familiar homes came into view during the final leg of our journey. Those homes contained a wealth of our family history and tradition. Upon our arrival we would usually be immediately escorted by our own sense of smell and maybe our growling stomachs far beyond the front door and to the kitchen in the back portion of the house. The kitchen served as the hearth and heart of the home. That is where I hoped to discover treasured gems of delectables that lie in wait for sampling on the stove or countertop after our long car ride. The kitchen for me is one of the most visibly sacred spaces where the warmth of family is stirred, shaped and nurtured. It is a place that reveals the genius of a great cook and the gemstones of their superb dishes comprising a home cooked meal. It was there that I discovered the wealth of my mother’s gift for cooking. Perhaps that’s what I also enjoyed most about my mother’s children stories in her book, Bird’s Eye View. In it she vividly describes scenes of delicious food and gives it center stage in at least three of her short stories. Though her stories are conveyed as fiction we can be sure a good portion of them were also cast from her own vivid memories as a child. In the short children story, “Grandma’s Paradise”, she shares with her young-at-heart readers, “The kitchen and dining room were in the rear of the house. In the center of the kitchen was a black, wood- burning stove, with metal pipes running through the roof to carry out the smoke. A large wooden table stood on the right side of the room. This is where Grandma cooked all of her favorite desserts. It always smelled like ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and fresh fruit. The table always contained delicious fresh apple, peach, and blueberry pies. Sometimes Grandma would bake little gingerbread men just for me. The big cupboard in the left-hand corner of the room was filled with jars of fruit.” In her story, “Erica’s Vacation”, she evokes a similar narrative where she adds, “It contained jars of peaches, tomatoes, berries, and other fruits. It looks like a grocery store shelf.” I hope that the current book of recipes you are reading has a similar appeal. I hope it evokes in you, your own memories of a favorite journey, story and down home, home cooked, treasured meal.
Table of Contents I
Appetizers
II
Main Dishes
III
Sides
Table Of Contents
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