Mud & Magnolias June/July 2021 by Journal Inc

Mud&Magnolias October. November June/July 2021 2013

FOOD + DRINK

THE GEMSTONE SUPER SMOOTHIES THE B.T.C. GROCERY Q&A WITH KITCHEN PROS

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It’s easy to sell the communities you love. When you’re passionate about a place you call home, that tends to show. You want other people to enjoythe great communities where we live and serve. TM Realtors Agents are passionate about North Mississippi.

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We are active in our communities. We love our towns. It’s why we sell this region like no one else.

210 East Main Street, Tupelo • 662.842.3844 2092 Old Taylor Road, Oxford • 662.234.5344 550 Russell St. at the Mill, Starkville • 662.765.3733

CONTENTS

62 29

RECIPES

49 Q&A WITH KITCHEN PROS

HERBED SALTS

62 SIMPLE, CLEAN, CLASSIC

We crafted this issue’s recipes to be ideal sides and desserts for cookouts, barbecues and pool parties. Refreshing, nostalgic and just down right good.

Want to up your cooking game? Get creative with salts and rubs by throwing some herbs in there. We’ve got your guide.

ALSO:

SUPER SMOOTHIES

With fruit and vegetables pouring in throughout the summer, we wanted to do something fresh, healthy and cool. Enter: The smoothies.

After a long, hard year and a pandemic that isn’t over yet, we wanted to check in with some of the communities’ most-loved food personalities.

This couple came to Oxford just in time to help design their house and dream kitchen. In it, a giant island perfect for gathering.

June/July 2021 ON THE COVER

The Skywalker is one of the latest additions to the cocktail menu at Pizza vs Tacos in Tupelo.

69 B.T.C. CAFE & DIXIE GRIMES

In small town Mississippi, a grocery store and a cafe coexist – those two things, paired with their co-owners, practice the lesson in the name: Be The Change.

Make the Cookie Craze Cold Cake with us; visit mudandmag.com.

DIY: SIMPLE CAKE STAND

COLUMN: FOOD INSECURITY IN MISSISSIPPI

THE GEMSTONE IN AMORY

DIY: KITCHEN STORAGE CONTAINERS

RJ’S EATERY IN FULTON

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y daughter filled out one of those Mother's Day surveys at preschool this year. It was a cute, fill-in-theblank page that asked all sorts of questions about me. She did pretty good with most of her answers, and was even right about my age and favorite color. However, the question and answer that threw me for a loop was "My mom's favorite thing to eat is pasta." Pasta is something we have pretty regularly for dinner, because as I have previously admitted, I am not a great cook. Pasta's easy and quick, and everyone likes it. Though her answer got me thinking: What is my favorite dish? I am not sure I could pick just one. I associate food with happiness, memories and traditions. We head to Taylor Grocery any time we have a special occasion. My standard order includes the catfish, Rotel fries and you have to end with the peach cobbler. I have a standing weekly lunch date with one of my best friends at Ajax Diner. While I am slightly obsessed with the red bean rolls, I would consume just about anything on their menu with a smile. In college, poppy seed chicken is something my friends and I always hoped was on the menu at the sorority house. I think of my dad when I eat crawfish. We grew up going to a crawfish festival, and he always joked about entering me in the crawfish eating contest. Strawberry cake with cream cheese icing is my favorite dessert and brings back memories from my husband and I's wedding day. I could go on and on. I hold each of these places and dishes in memories near to my heart because they are reminders of all the joy in my life. While I'm not sure I could ever narrow it down to one favorite food, I have a lot of options to consider. However, I am not sure pasta is one of them.

1242 S Green St. Tupelo, MS 38804 662.842.2611

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Sarah Brooke Bishop

ASSOCIATE EDITORS Lindsay Pace Kristina Domitrovich Adam Armour

FEATURED SALES CONSULTANTS Leigh Knox June Phillips Nick Boone Teresa McDonald Darla Webb Angie Quarles Tyler Vuncannon Justine Hook Krystal Black

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ginna Parsona

subscriptions@mudandmag.com advertising@mudandmag.com info@mudandmag.com mudandmag.com This magazine is a monthly publication of Journal, Inc.

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RECIPES

SUMMER SHAREABLES

WITH THE HOT MONTHS APPROACHING, WE CAN’T HELP BUT THINK OF BACKYARD GET-TOGETHERS, BARBECUES AND POOL PARTIES. WE CRAFTED THIS ISSUE’S RECIPES WITH THOSE TREASURED, WARM, POT-LUCK TIMES IN MIND. GRAB YOUR TUPPERWARE, WE’RE BRINGING THE SIDES TO THIS PARTY. WE HOPE YOU FIND WAYS TO ENJOY THE SUMMER WITH FAMILY, FRIENDS AND GOOD FOOD.

Strawberry Crawfish Lemon Meringue Pie Chowder recipe on 22 pg. 31 recipe on pg.

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RECIPES

Tomato Tart recipe on pg. 30

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RECIPES

Guacamole recipe on page 29

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RECIPES

Better Baked Beans recipe on page 30

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Women’s The Roger White/Juniper

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RECIPES Soft Rolls with Sweet Cinnamon Butter and Garlicky Basil Butter recipe on page 29

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RECIPES

Deviled Eggs recipe on page 29

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RECIPES

Grilled Corn Salad recipe on page 29

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RECIPES

Summer Couscous Salad recipe on page 29

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RECIPES

Fried Okra with Chipotle Aioli recipe on page 30

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RECIPES

Cookie Craze Cold Cake recipe on page 30

Celebrate summer with this cold, creamy treat. Make it with us at mudandmag.com.

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RECIPES

Crawfish Peach & Pecan Chowder Cobbler recipe recipeononpg.pg.2231

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RECIPES SOFT ROLLS WITH SWEET CINNAMON BUTTER AND GARLICKY BASIL BUTTER Ingredients: 4 teaspoons active dry yeast 1/2 cup water, warm 1 tablespoon honey 2 cups milk, warm 1/2 cup sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoons kosher salt About 7 cups AP flour 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature 1/4 cup unsalted butter, for brushing Sweet cinnamon butter: 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 1/3 cup powdered sugar 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 tablespoon honey Pinch of salt Garlicky basil butter: 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 2 garlic cloves, minced 1/4 cup basil, finely chopped 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt Directions: In a tall bowl, add the warm water, honey and yeast, and stir until combined; cover, and let the yeast rise for about 10 minutes, or until foamy. In the meantime, in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the milk, sugar, eggs and salt, and mix on low speed with a dough hook until well combined. Then add the foamy yeast mixture, and three cups of flour, and mix on low to medium speed. Continue to add the dough 2 cups at a time, and keep mixing until the dough forms a ball. At that point, add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, and mix on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth. Grease a large bowl with olive oil. Work the dough into a ball, coat in olive oil and transfer to the bowl. Cover, and let rest in a warm dry place for about an hour and a half, or until doubled in size. In the meantime, make the butters: In separate bowls, combine each butter’s ingredients. Mix until well combined. Set aside. Bake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Punch down the dough, divide into two, and turn one half of the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out to 1/2 inch thickness, then use a floured knife or pizza cutter to cut the dough into roughly 1-by 2-inch rectangles. Place on the baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Bake for about 15-16 minutes, or until lightly golden. Immediately after removing from the oven, brush with remaining 1/4 cup butter. Serve warm with both flavored butters. Pro tip: Need the perfect place to raise your dough? Place a bowl of hot water in your cool oven; add the bowl of dough and let the heat from the water do all the work.

SUMMER COUSCOUS SALAD Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 cups water 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups couscous 1/4 cup olive oil 1 lemon, juiced 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano 3/4 cup red onion 1 English cucumber, peeled with seeds removed 3 Roma tomatoes, seeds removed 1 bunch Italian parsley 6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled Directions: Preheat a large pot over medium heat. When hot, add the olive oil, followed by the garlic. Sautée for 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant, but not browned. Add in the water and bring to a rolling boil, then add in the couscous. Cover, and cook for five minutes, or according to packaging. After five minutes, fluff with a fork, and transfer to a large bowl. Let it cool to room temperature. In the meantime, dice all the vegetables into roughly 1/4-inch cubes, and finely chop the parsley; transfer to the bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice and spices; pour over the bowl’s contents, and stir until well combined. Top with feta and chill until serving. Pro tip: Swapping water for low-sodium chicken broth (or using bouillon cubes) will add a lot of flavor in this recipe and any others that require boiling a grain.

DEVILED EGGS Ingredients: 12 eggs, hard boiled and peeled 1/4 cup mayonnaise 1 1/2 tablespoons yellow mustard 1/4 teaspoon chili powder 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper Hungarian-style paprika Directions: Cut each egg in half lengthwise, and remove the yolks. Over a bowl, use a fine grater to grate the egg yolks and 2 halves of eggs. To the bowl, add the remaining ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to combine until very smooth and evenly dispersed. Transfer to a piping bag with a fitted tip (optional), and pipe about 1 tablespoon of filling into each egg. Lightly dust with paprika, and refrigerate until serving. Pro tip: Try using a microplane zester to grate the yolks and egg. It will result in an incredibly smooth filling.

GRILLED CORN SALAD Ingredients: 4 ears of corn, husked

1 tablespoon olive oil 1 orange bell pepper 1 jalapeño, seeded (optional) 2 Roma tomatoes, seeded 1/4 cup yellow onion, diced 1 bunch cilantro 2 tablespoons mayonnaise 1/4 easpoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1 lime, juiced 10 ounces queso fresco, crumbled Directions: Preheat a grill or a cast iron skillet on the stove to medium-high heat. Brush the corn with olive oil, and char for about 3-5 minutes on each side, or until golden and blackened. Once charred as desired, let cool for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, finely dice the peppers, onion and cilantro. Transfer to a bowl, and add the mayonnaise, spices and lime juice; mix until well combined. Cut the corn off the cob, transfer to the bowl, and mix. Stir in half the queso fresco, and sprinkle the remaining half before serving. Refrigerate until serving. Pro tip: Do you usually cut a corn on the cob holding one end up, while the other rests on the cutting board? Lay it down flat on its side, and make lateral cuts that way. Rotate until the cob has been cut.

GUACAMOLE Ingredients: 7 ripe avocados 2 jalapeños, seeded and finely diced 3 tomatoes, seeded and diced 1 cup red onion, diced 1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped 2 1/2 limes, juiced 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon red chili flake 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/4 teaspoon cumin Tortilla chips for serving Directions: In a large bowl, combine all the jalapeños, tomatoes, onion and cilantro. Then, cut an avocado in half, remove the pit, and use a butter knife to cut each half while it’s still in the skin. Make about five to seven cuts diagonally, and then horizontally; then, use a spoon to scoop out the contents into the bowl. Repeat with the remaining avocados. To the bowl, add the lime and spices. Use a rubber spatula to mix until combined, and the avocado has broken up a little. Serve immediately. Pro tip: If making ahead of time or storing leftovers, use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to evenly smooth the guacamole’s surface. Then, carefully, pour water on top of the surface. Avocados are fat

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RECIPES

soluble, so the water will not be absorbed, but will create a barrier to air, so the guacamole does not brown. Before serving, pour off the water, and stir. Pro tip: Cilantro stems are edible, and carry a lot of flavor. Cut off the bottom inch of the bundle and dispose, but chop the rest to improve the flavor of the food.

FRIED OKRA WITH CHIPOTLE AIOLI Ingredients: 24 ounces okra, stems removed For the dredging: 3/4 cup AP flour 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt For the breading: 1 1/3 cups cornmeal 2/3 cup AP flour 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder 2 teaspoons garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 7 eggs, whisked About 2-3 cups vegetable oil, for frying Kosher salt, for finishing For the chipotle aioli: 1/2 cup mayonnaise 2 tablespoons adobo sauce 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/2 lime, juiced Directions: In a small bowl, combine all the chipotle aioli ingredients, and whisk. Transfer to the refrigerator until serving.

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In a large bowl, combine all the dredging ingredients. Slice the okra lengthwise, getting 3-5 slices out of each one. When done slicing all the okra, cover in the dredging, and mix with hands to make sure every side of each piece is coated in the mixture. In a shallow dish, whisk the egg whites; in a separate shallow dish, mix together the breading ingredients. Put a cast iron skillet on medium heat to begin warming. Line a plate with paper towels and set aside. In the meantime, bread the okra: Shake off excess dredging before transferring okra, a few slices at a time, to the egg wash. Wipe off excess liquid, then transfer to the breading mixture. Press the breading into the okra, to ensure adhesion. Place on a plate, and repeat with remaining okra. About halfway through breading the okra, add vegetable oil to the skillet, until about 1/2 inch covers the bottom. When all the okra is breaded, carefully put about a dozen slices into the oil, or however many will fit in the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side, then transfer to the paper-towel lined plate. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Repeat with remaining okra. Serve with chipotle aioli. Pro tip: Make the breading process easy by creating a breading station, and use one hand for wet ingredients, and the other for dry. Keep the dredged okra on the right-hand side, and use the right hand to touch wet ingredients, and keep the cornstarch and empty plate on the left.

BETTER BAKED BEANS Ingredients: 1 pound thick-cut bacon 4 16-ounce cans prepared original baked beans 1 yellow onion, diced 1/4 cup ketchup 3 tablespoons yellow mustard 1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup brown sugar For serving: Yellow onion, diced Plain potato chips Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Over medium heat, dry fry the bacon until deep in color. Transfer to a paper towel, and let cool completely. Use hands or a knife to crush up into 1-inch pieces. In a large dutch oven, pour in all the ingredients. Stir until combined. Cover, and transfer to the oven. Bake for an hour, and remove to stir. Return to the oven for another hour, covered; and remove to stir. Bake for another hour and a half, this time uncovered, stirring every 30 minutes. The beans should have thickened drastically once removed from the oven the final time. Serve with diced onions and potato chips.

Pro Tip: These better baked beans can be made up to two days in advance, and the cook time can be divvied up between those two days, as well. Once starting to cook uncovered, each time the beans are removed, there should be a “skin” formed on the surface. The goal is to break that skin, at least three times, but the more the merrier — whatever you have time for.

TOMATO TART Ingredients: 4 tomatoes, seeded and sliced 1/4 inch thick 1 tablespoon kosher salt, divided 2 1/2 cups pepper jack cheese, shredded and divided 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1/2 cup red onion, diced 1/2 cup basil leaves, chopped 1 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1 frozen puff pastry sheet AP flour, for dusting Directions: Pat the tomato slices dry with a paper towel, then lay them flat on a sheet of paper towels. Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt to draw out moisture, and let sit for an hour. After an hour, pat the slices dry, and replace the paper towel underneath, flipping the slices in the process. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt, and let sit for another hour. After the hour, pat down once more before adding to the tart. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and thaw the pastry sheet according to packaging. To a bowl, add 2 cups of cheese, mayonnaise, onions, basil, seasonings and vinegar. Stir until well combined. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry to roughly 12x16 inches. Transfer to a baking sheet. Spread the cheese filling onto the puff pastry, leaving about 1 inch on the sides. Onto the cheese spread, layer the dried tomato slices, overlapping as necessary. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove to top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Return to the oven for another 12-15 minutes, or until the cheese has melted, and the edges are golden brown. Let rest for five minutes, then use a pizza cutter to slice into about 12 pieces, and serve. COOKIE CRAZE COLD CAKE Ingredients: For the crust: 1 package single-stuffed Oreos, separated 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted For the cookie dough: 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup brown sugar

RECIPES 1/2 cup sugar 1 cup AP flour Pinch of salt 2 cups mini chocolate chips For the ice cream: 2 cups heavy cream, very cold 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the flour on a baking sheet for 5 minutes to pasteurize; let cool completely. Set 2-3 Oreos aside to top the cold cake later. Separate the remaining oreos, cookies from filling; set the filling aside. In a food processor, or using a rolling pin, pulse the Oreo cookies until a fine crumb; mix in the butter. Press the moistened crumbs into a 9-inch springform pan using the bottom of a glass. Once packed in evenly, transfer to the freezer. For the cookie dough: Cream together the butter, sugars and vanilla extract. Add in flour and salt, and mix until combined, then fold in the chocolate chips. Roll about 1/2 teaspoon of dough until a small, smooth dough ball forms; place on a baking sheet or plate, and repeat with remaining dough. Freeze in one layer for about 30 minutes. Whip the heavy cream, vanilla and salt until it is stiff peaks. While mixing on high, slowly pour in the sweetened condensed milk. Fold in the frozen cookie dough bites (reserving a small handful), and pour into the springform pan. Freeze for at least six hours, but preferably overnight. Top with crushed Oreos and remaining cookie dough bites before serving.

gredients, reserving 1/2 cup pecans. Set aside. In a bowl, mix together the cobbler’s dry ingredients. Then, add in the butter. Use hands or a fork to mash the butter cubes, until it’s a coarse crumb-like texture. Create a well in the center, and add 1/4 cup heavy cream and egg; stir with a spoon until just combined. Dollop onto the filling, until the pan is evenly covered. Brush the cobbler with remaining 1 tablespoon heavy cream, and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup pecans. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the cobbler is golden.

PEACH & PECAN COBBLER Ingredients: Filling: 2 pounds peaches, cored, sliced and chopped 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup AP flour 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon 1 1/2 cups halved pecans, divided Cobbler: 1 cup AP flour 3 tablespoons brown sugar 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cubed 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon heavy cream 1 egg, lightly beaten Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a 9x13 baking dish, mix together all the filling’s in-

Directions: For the crust: In a food processor, pulse together the dry ingredients for about 5 seconds. Add the butter, and pulse until slightly crumbly. Turn the food processor on low, and slowly drizzle in the water. Once all the water has been added, form the dough into a ball and tightly cover in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour, or overnight. If chilled for more than an hour, let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling it out. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to fit a deep, 9-inch pie plate. Transfer to a pie plate, crimp the overhang as desired and line it with parchment paper before adding pie weights. Bake for 15 minutes, remove pie weights and parchment; if the edges of the crust are already gold, cover with aluminum foil, and return to the oven for another 18-23 minutes, or until the whole crust is golden. Let cool completely before filling. For the filling: In a blender, purée the strawberries until completely smooth, then pass through a sieve, followed by the lemon juice. In a large, high-sided pan or pot over medium-low heat,

STRAWBERRY LEMON MERINGUE PIE Ingredients: For the crust: 2 cups AP flour 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 tablespoon sugar 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons ice water For the filling: 3 pounds fresh strawberries, washed and cored Juice of 10 lemons, the zest of 4 strips 1 1/2 cups sugar 2/3 cup cornstarch 8 egg yolks 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled For the meringue: 8 egg whites, room temperature 1 pinch salt 2/3 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

combine the juices, sugar and cornstarch. Stir regularly with a rubber spatula, until it comes to a heavy simmer. Remove from heat, and add about three tablespoons of the hot mixture, one at a time, to the egg yolks to temper them, whisking throughout the additions. Once tempered, slowly stir into the filling, and return the pot to heat. Stir until it comes to a heavy simmer again, remove from heat and whisk in the butter one tablespoon at a time. Once all the butter has been incorporated, sieve again if lumpy; transfer to a storage container, and refrigerate for at least two hours, or until chilled. The filling can be made up to two days in advance prior to putting in the pie crust. Once cooled, transfer to the pie crust, and use an off-set spatula to smooth over. For the meringue: Using a hand or stand mixer, whip the egg whites until just starting to foam, then sprinkle in the salt. Increase the mixer’s speed, and begin very, very slowly sprinkling in the sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time. Once all the sugar has been added and the peaks have formed, drizzle the vanilla extract down the side of the bowl, and whisk for another 5-10 seconds until incorporated. The egg whites should be stiff, but do not overmix. Scoop on top of the pie, and use a spatula to spread and design as desired. Place beneath the broiler (or use a hand torch) until golden as desired. Pro tip: Don’t feel like squeezing 10 lemons? Peel them, getting as much pith off as possible, then purée them in the blender. Just be sure to sieve the juice to get any seeds/excess pulp. M

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DIY:

SIMPLE CAKE STAND by KRISTINA DOMITROVICH photos by LINDSAY PACE

MATERIALS: 1 wood plank with bark, at least 12-inches diameter Food-safe butcher block wood conditioner Pencil 3 towel hooks in desired finish Drill DIRECTIONS: Treat the wood plank with the wood conditioner, to ensure it will last longer and be food safe. Decide what side will be the top; evenly space out the towel hooks on the opposite side. Use a pencil to mark the towel hooks’ holes for screws; set the towel hooks aside. Carefully use a drill to create holes where the pencil marks are, being sure to use a smaller drill bit than the screws, and not penetrating through the other side. Wipe off any sand dust, then screw in the towel hooks. M M &M

HERBED SALTS by KRISTINA DOMITROVICH photos by LINDSAY PACE

KOSHER SALT + ROSEMARY

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KOSHER SALT, BASIL + THYME

KOSHER SALT + DILL

KOSHER SALT, CILANTRO + LIME ZEST

create a custom combo ROSEMARY SALT 1/2 cup kosher salt 1/2 cup rosemary, stems removed FRESH ITALIAN BLEND SALT 1/2 cup kosher salt 1/2 cup basil leaves 2 sprigs thyme, stems removed DILL SALT 1/2 cup kosher salt 1/2 cup dill BRIGHT CILANTRO SALT 1/2 cup kosher salt 1/2 cup cilantro Zest of 2 limes

In a food processor, add the herbs first, followed by the salt. Pulse for 10 seconds, about 4-5 times, until desired consistency. Use immediately, or spread evenly on a flat surface to dry overnight before bottling. We used coarse kosher salt for all of our herbed salts, but feel free to experiment with other types of salts.

Suggested pairings: Try the rosemary salt as a poultry seasoning. Add some fresh Italian blend to a shallow dish of oil and pepper to pair with bread. Add dill salt and some lemon juice to Greek yogurt for a quick Tzatziki-like veggie dip. Season tortilla chips with the bright cilantro salt to pair with guacamole and salsa. M

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FOOD INSECURITY in mississippi by Dr. David Buys

M ississippi’s extraordinary legacy of culinary excellence

is well documented both in this magazine issue and in the experiences of many Mississippians and travelers who stop in and dine here. However, not all Mississippians are beneficiaries of our rich food history. Across Mississippi, nearly 16% of our residents live with food insecurity. Food insecurity is a state of having limited or uncertain access to food, and it may stem from any or all of the concept’s pillars — availability, access, use, or stability. In thinking about food insecurity or it’s corollary, food security, we often ask the following: • Is there enough food being produced and available to feed the population? • Is the food that’s available in reach — or accessible — to the population? How is the food that individuals choose being • used, and is it made up of adequate nutrients? Also, is there clean water to cook with? • Are the economy, climate and other forces in the population stable enough to ensure consistent availability of and access to food? Fortunately, at this point in history, there is plenty of food available to feed everyone. But in Mississippi, things start to break down when we talk about food accessibility. Not everyone here has access to food, and of those who do, many don’t have nutritious food within reach. More than 53% of Mississippians live in rural areas, and nearly one in five live in poverty; both of these complicate and exacerbate the challenges of food insecurity, sometimes due to limited opportunities for jobs that offer a living wage. For folks who have not experienced periods of food insecurity during their life — and for those who have and were able to overcome it — it is worth considering how to help tackle this challenge. Several key intervention strategies are working to address food insecurity, yet this patchwork approach does not provide solutions for everyone experiencing food-related challenges. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) offers direct government relief. To qualify for SNAP benefits, one must not exceed a low-income threshold; must be unemployed or work part-time; must receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or other assistance payments; or be elderly or disabled and have a small income. Additionally, local food pantries offer emergency food assistance with varying degrees of frequency — monthly, bi-weekly and, in other cases, more or less frequently. Many pantries receive food from the Mississippi Food Network (MFN), Mississippi’s regional food bank. MFN gets food directly from the United States Department of Agriculture through The Emergency Food Assistance

Program (TEFAP) to distribute to people needing this emergency assistance. Much of its food is from U.S. farmers who may have surplus products, creating a symbiotic relationship between the farmers who need to sell their food and people in need of it. Local food pantries sometimes lack options for fresh foods, meats and dairy. However, that’s changing as pantries increasingly add refrigerated space and pursue these items through the MFN or private donations. How can the average person make a difference in addressing food insecurity? First, check your assumptions about people who access benefits like SNAP. Unless we’ve walked in their shoes, we cannot understand what it must be like to seek out those services. Just changing our thinking about these things can help open our minds and hearts to other ways to help. Second, find a local food pantry in your community and identify ways you can assist. Is it giving your time to help pack food for distributions, donating food or contributing money so the pantry operators can fill in the gaps with what’s needed to provide a more nutritionally rich food package? Or maybe there’s not a pantry in your area, and you can work toward starting one. Third, think upstream. Remember, food insecurity doesn’t happen in a vacuum. People who are living with food insecurity are not able to buy food because they are not able to earn a living wage, which may be an economic development issue, or it could be an educational attainment issue. Other people may not have transportation to places to buy food. When we work on jobs, education, transportation and the economy in our communities, with an eye for creating positions that pay a living wage, we are indirectly addressing food insecurity. Whatever your approach, find a way to help fight food insecurity so that everyone in Mississippi can access our fantastic food heritage and enjoy the diverse flavors available across the state. M

To learn more, visit our website for helpful links to check SNAP income guidelines, and to find a food pantry near you.

Dr. David Buys is the State Health Specialist with Mississippi State University Extension. Based in Starkville, he works statewide with Extension agents and other partners. For more than 15 years, he has studied and implemented interventions on food insecurity at individual, local, state, national and international levels.

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SUMMERTIME SUPER SMOOTHIES by KRISTINA DOMITROVICH photo by LINDSAY PACE

Green Apple Dream 1 lemon, peeled 1 green apple, cored 2 tablespoons chia seeds 2 cups loosely packed spinach 1 cup frozen pineapple chunks 2 tablespoons agave syrup 1/2 cup water Berry Nutty 1 orange, peeled 1/4 cup cashews, raw and unsalted 1/2 cup frozen raspberries 1 cup frozen strawberries 2 tablespoons agave syrup 1/2 cup water Tropical Paradise 1 orange, peeled 1 frozen banana 1 cup frozen mango chunks 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds 2 tablespoons agave syrup 1/2 cup water In a blender, add in the citrus fruit, followed by any fresh fruit or vegetables, nuts or seeds. Then add the water, followed by agave syrup and frozen fruits. Purée until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. M

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THE GEMSTONE by GINNA PARSONS photos by LINDSAY PACE

WHEN CHAD HOUSTON WAS A BOY AND HE’D STAY WITH HIS GRANDMOTHER IN AMORY, THEY’D OFTEN GO WINDOW SHOPPING – AT MIDNIGHT. “WE’D WALK AROUND DOWNTOWN WHEN IT WAS DESERTED,” HE SAID. “I GOT TO SEE TO SEE AMORY AT NIGHT. AFTER THAT, I ALWAYS ENVISIONED HAVING A SMALL RESTAURANT IN DOWNTOWN AMORY. I KNEW HOW COOL IT COULD BE.”

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n February 2020, Chad’s dream came true. A friend of his, Michael Freed, was thinking about opening a restaurant in downtown Amory. Freed had the building, but no culinary experience. He pitched the idea of opening a restaurant to Chad. “I went home and talked to my wife,” Chad said. “Jamie is a fantastic cook, and I’m the only one who ever got to experience it. Whenever she’d make something fantastic at home, I’d say, ‘That’s going on the menu.’ I told her if we don’t do this now, we’ll never do it.” Freed, an attorney, took care of the paperwork and the legal side of things, and the Houstons started working on the building and the menu. A month later, COVID-19 had all but shut down Mississippi. The whole country was battling the coronavirus pandemic. “I thought maybe COVID-19 would just go away,” Chad said. “We were on spring break and thinking, next week we’ll go back to school,” said Jamie, a teacher. “So we forged ahead with the plan.” Chad said the couple didn’t really have a choice. At the time, he was a copier repairman, and his hours had been cut in half because no one was working in their offices. Plus, they’d made a commitment to Freed. So three months later, in June 2020, the couple opened The Gemstone, a restaurant and bar on Main Street. “We named it The Gemstone for two reasons,” Chad said. “First, for the majority of its existence, this building had been a jewelry store, dating back to 1918. But also in the 1950s and ‘60s, there was a theater across the street called The Gem. So the two kind of played off each other for a really cool name.”

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The first month the restaurant was open, all it offered was takeout food. “We beta-tested some of our dishes,” Chad said. “We did pre-sales on Facebook. The response was tremendous. We’d sell out in hours. That was actually a better business model than what we have now, but that’s not what we wanted. A dine-in restaurant and bar was always our business model.” When COVID-19 restrictions were loosened a bit and The Gemstone could have customers seated inside at half-capacity, the Houstons began taking reservations. “That half-capacity really helped us, too,” Chad said. “It allowed us time to grow and learn what we were doing. It was a blessing for us to have that happen. We opened a sit-down restaurant at a time when restaurants were closing right and left. I take pride in that.” The couple didn’t really have a menu in mind when they began their venture. They just knew they wanted to offer good food. “We have a lot of Louisiana dishes on the menu,” Jamie said. “Shrimp and grits is one of our bestsellers. We also have a shrimp po’boy, a crawfish po’boy, crawfish etouffee and grilled Mahi. Sometimes we’ll do carry-out gumbo as a special. The last time we did gumbo, people were lining up in the parking lot at 10 a.m. to get it before it was gone.” The restaurant also offers a cheeseburger, a yard bird BLT, a veggie burger, grilled chicken skewers, pork medallions and a big salad. Bestselling sides include smashed cheesy garlic cauliflower, mac and cheese, beer-battered fries, stuffed mushrooms, bacon-wrapped asparagus and grilled street corn when it’s in season. “One dish we recently added is called the Coastal Overload,”

Chad said. “It’s a grilled Mahi fillet on a bed of white rice with a crab cake on top and covered in crawfish etouffee. It is a mound of food, but it is fantastic.” Because they consider The Gemstone a different sort of gathering place, the Houstons wanted to have a different type of menu — actually two menus. One is for dinner, and the other is for happy hour and after dark. Dinner is served Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m. That’s where you’ll find shrimp and grits, chicken skewers, crawfish etouffee, pork medallions, grilled fish and the Coastal Overload. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the restaurant is open from 5 to 8 p.m. and only offers the happy hour menu. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the dinner menu stops at 8, and from 8 to 10 p.m., only the after-dark menu is available. The happy hour/after-dark menu features hand-breaded crab cakes, zucchini fries, Gemstone caviar, hot artichoke and spinach dip, fried mushrooms, fried crab Rangoon cheese sticks, Mississippi egg rolls and Southwest egg rolls, hot wings and buffalo cauliflower bites.

“I KNEW IT WOULD BE GOOD FOR AMORY. I KNEW THE PEOPLE OF AMORY WOULD EMBRACE IT. MY GOAL HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO SEE AMORY BECOME A BETTER PLACE.” “We wanted quality pub food,” Chad said. “The cheese sticks are the most popular — we’ve made thousands of those. When they’re in season, we do a fried green tomato stacker with smoky pimiento cheese and topped with pepper jelly.” Most of the recipes the restaurant uses are Jamie’s. “When someone comes in to help, I can’t write any of the recipes down,” she said. “They’re all in my head. They just have to watch and learn.”

Opening spread, left to right: The Gemstone was once a jewelry store in downtown Amory. The restaurant’s ceilings and tiled floors are 1918 originals; Above the bar hangs a chandelier, which is one of the couple’s favorite features. Jamie hopes to dye the glass soon. This spread, left to right: Jamie and Chad Houston; A pork tenderloin plate, complete with a house-made biscuit, bacon-wrapped asparagus and grilled corn on the cob; Jamie’s stuffed mushrooms; Bar lighting casts a green hue onto glass, adding to the Gatsby-esque vibe of the restaurant.

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“THIS PLACE WOULDN’T EXIST WITHOUT FAMILY.”

The happy hour/after-dark menu draws a lot of customers to the full-service bar, which offers cocktails, wine and beer on tap. “I wanted to set a standard,” Chad said. “I wanted to offer good craft cocktails. Rusty Crump is our mixologist, and he comes up with some good ones. Everything here is fresh. We have house cocktails, but if we have the ingredients, we’ll make whatever you want.” The Gemstone seats 50 to 60 patrons at tables and another dozen at the bar. A small lounge area is available for customers who are waiting on pick-up orders. Chad has about 12 playlists featuring different musical styles. One night you might hear jazz; another night it could be classic rock or blues. “But you might also hear the theme song to ‘The Muppet Show,’” Jamie said. “Occasionally, we have live music. We like to use area musicians from Northeast Mississippi. They’re acoustic acts. We don’t have room for more than that.” Chad said the response to The Gemstone has been incredible. “I knew it would be good for Amory,” he said. “I knew the people of Amory would embrace it. My goal has always been to see Amory become a better place.” The couple believes the restaurant’s success is rooted in family. “In the back of the house, it’s family,” Jamie said. “My mother works back there, my sister, my brother-in-law. Our niece and nephew help. Our two teenage boys. My school family.” “We’re owned by family and operated by family,” Chad said. “This place wouldn’t exist without family.” M This page, top to bottom: Much of the wall decor was painted by Mississippi artists; Jamie’s fried Crab Rangoon Cheeseticks.

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Mud

Q&A

WITH KITCHEN PROFESSIONALS

by KRISTINA DOMITROVICH photos by LINDSAY PACE

A Cheese & Meat Board offered at Conservatory by Vicari in Corinth.

After a hard year for everyone, but especially those in the restaurant industry, we wanted to check in with some figures in the region. From baking to cooking to bartending, check out these kitchen professionals, learn their insider tips and tricks, and check out their restaurants.

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Q&A

WITH KITCHEN PROFESSIONALS

| MARGARETE GARNER | SIMPLY SWEET BY MARGARETE | TUPELO

Background Throughout her 32 years in the U.S., Margarete Garner spent most of that working in the food industry. She’s never had formal training, but she loves reading cookbooks. “I always wanted a bakery, and I decided if I want to do it, I need to do it before I turn 50, and I did,” she said grinning. “Before I opened up, I had a little idea (for the menu), and I love to read cookbooks, so I thought, ‘This sounds good, that sounds good, this is what people ask for lunch.’” Simply Sweet by Margarete opened its doors in 2012. It offers several types of breads — asiago, bacon, sourdough, Bavarian rye and sweet breads like banana nut, blueberry lemon, apple pecan — along with several pastries, strudels, pies, gourmet chocolates and everyday cakes. “We don’t do decorative cakes; we do more traditional. I refer (customers) to other great bakers in town if they want something pretty,” she said laughing. Through the years, people began asking for soups during lunch, so Garner crafted a few options. Then her customers wanted breads and sandwiches to accompany the soups, so she created a few options there, too. Coming from Germany, she wanted to stick close to her roots. “My plan was to give it a little European touch, but you still have to kind of cater to the needs and demands from here,” she said. “Some of our schnitzel, for example, I brought some sauerkraut, kind of put that in. Something they don’t get everywhere. I want to be different.” And for nearly a decade, even through last year’s hardships, Garner has seen her customers return time and time again for the unique offerings. “The people in Tupelo, to me, have been amazing,” she said. “They have supported me, and they are still supporting me, and it’s just been a good experience.” 48

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Q: Can customers expect anything new coming to Simply Sweet? A: There’s all kinds of things in my mind. It’s very

hard to bring it out at the time, because you get so consumed. We are doing good. I’m happy with what we’re doing and how we’re doing it, and where we are right now. I am not expanding, I am not moving and I’m not getting bigger. (Because) I want to do it, I do not want people doing it for me. … There’s all kinds of options, but I’m very content. Garner said if anything changes, it will likely be with the amount of tables available, or maybe something out on the patio.

Q: Biggest tips for home bakers? A: Trial and error. Me, too, when I first started out, my baguettes were all crooked. My sourdough sometimes doesn’t rise the way it’s supposed to. The weather has something to do with it. The ovens have something to do with it. How long you knead the bread has something to do with it. Keep on trying. There is no secret to it. I mean, I have thrown enough away.

Top left: Classically southern mini pecan pies; Left: Yogurt-covered cookies in the chocolate counter. Above: Simply Sweet offers a slew of different freshly baked breads.

Q: What’s your favorite ingredient/flavor profile? A: Not really because the basics, what we use over and

over and over again, is yeast, salt, water, sourcream, cream cheese, sugar, powdered sugar – lot’s of that. So, do I like lavender or something like this? It’s not my thing. Simple. Simple, fast and good, that’s how it has to be.

Q: What’s your favorite thing on the menu? Q: What’s your least favorite? A: I do all the bread myself. … Our sourdough is a very good seller.

Q: When you're home, what do you bake? A: One of the few recipes I brought with me from home, I used to do at home, is our white grape juice cake. People really like it. It’s a bundt cake, and after you bake it, you pour boiling hot white grape juice over it and it soaks it in the cake. That’s what I made a lot at home. The chocolate chip pound cake we always liked; the apple praline that I brought from home.

A: I do not like to do meringue. It’s not that I don’t like it; I

don’t like to do it. I have not spent enough time with it; I am not comfortable with it. I’m sure I can do it, but I stay away from it.

Q: Do you have a favorite cookbook? A: I like simple things. My favorite one is a Betty Crocker

cookbook. I like the Daily Journal’s cookbooks they bring out every year, I have just about every one of them. I like simple things. I do not go online, I don’t do computers. M &M

Q&A

WITH KITCHEN PROFESSIONALS

| TY THAMES |

RESTAURANT TYLER | STARKVILLE

Background Chef Ty Thames graduated from University of Southern Mississippi before attending a culinary institute in Vermont, followed by an apprenticeship in Italy. When he was in Italy, he said he learned so much about himself, even though it was kind of a “lonely” time for him. He and the other interns didn’t speak Italian, but they didn’t speak each other’s native languages either. “It was charades all the time, so I’m really good at that game,” he said, laughing. When he came back stateside, he worked at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Georgetown, followed by a fine-dining Italian restaurant in Maryland, right outside of Washington D.C., before winding his way back down to Mississippi. “My college roommate at Southern was a lawyer here (in Starkville), and he convinced me that there’s this great little location in the Cotton District,” he said. “So, basically in two weeks, I packed up all my stuff and moved from D.C. back to Mississippi and opened up, now what everybody knows, Bin 612. From the Bin, I moved and opened up Restaurant Tyler (in 2008) and now have Humble Taco.” With a wide array of food across his three restaurants, Restaurant Tyler offers Starkville a fine-dining experience by serving southern food, with an Italian flare. “My goal for Restaurant Tyler was to use local and sourced ingredients,” he said. He works with local farmers like Bountiful Harvest Farms in Starkville to get local, in-season produce.

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Q: Can customers expect anything new coming to Restaurant Tyler? A: I am going to revamp (it) for kind of like our new grand re-

opening after COVID in the fall. We will have multiple menu items that are going to be new and just different. We will also have our weekly chef tasting menus – kind of whatever (Bountiful Harvest Farms) growing at the time or we can find at the time, whether it’s something that I’ll forage in the forest — some mushrooms or whatever it may be — that always winds up on that weekly chef tasting. And then we’ll do major menu upgrades and changes four times a year.

Q: Biggest tips for cooking at home? A: The first thing I would suggest is that when you get a recipe,

no matter what it may be, that you read the recipe all the way through ... twice. And then you get everything that you need for the recipe, whether it be a spoon or a pot or a pie pan, you have all that ready to go before you even start to put together ingredients. Have the right tools and everything in place – kind of the number one thing that kind of sets you up for success. And then when you’re working with ingredients of any kind, my suggestion would be, make sure you find it as fresh and in season as possible.

Bar-B-Q okra – fried okra dusted in house bar-b-q seasoning – served with remoulade sauce.

Q: What’s your favorite thing on the menu? A: The Bar-B-Q okra. We make and cure our own country ham,

but we make it more like an Italian-style prosciutto. So I have two/three-year-old hams hanging in my house, so we basically cut those and shave those like prosciutto for our very own style prosciutto. The (favorite) entree would be the cold-smoked pork chop. I usually get that with a sweet potato, just baked, and then seasonal vegetables. Also, we have a very unique cabbage salad that is served with candied pecans, roasted beets and bleu cheese.

Q: When you're home, what do you make? A: Pastas. Simple pastas. My favorite pasta, spaghetti alle vongole, which is like clams and spaghetti and a white-wine garlic broth. If I’m cooking something at home, it’s going to be something pretty quick and simple. I have a lot of venison, where I’ll make hamburger steaks with caramelized onion, white wine sauce, things of that nature.

Q: What’s your favorite ingredient or flavor profile? A: One of my secret ingredients — what I put on steak and even

season chicken and tomato sauces (with) — is going to be fennel, and more specific than that is fennel pollen. It’s the pollen of the fennel plant, and it has the anise flavor, but it’s more flowery and light, which I find to be really appealing with the aromatics. And I use a lot – (for) meat sauces and different things – nutmeg.

The side street view of the restaurant’s logo.

Q: What’s your least favorite? A: Shaved coconut, just because it’s just kind of waxy

shavings. I love coconut, and I can eat those today, but they’re not on the top of my list, the waxy shavings, but the coconut flavor is good. I really hate cooking salmon, just because I’ve cooked salmon for 30 years. Everybody loves salmon; it’s salmon this, salmon that, so I’ve done salmon so much I just kind of don’t want to. It’s kind of like flipping burgers, flipping salmon these days.

Q: Do you have a favorite cookbook or resource? A: Google and YouTube are pretty much a standard

go-to for that. “Food Lover’s Companion” was something I used a lot. (It’s) just kind of a resource, it’s more like a dictionary for food. Right now, I’m really into wild game, so that “MeatEater” show and some of his cookbooks.

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Q&A

WITH KITCHEN PROFESSIONALS

| SEAN SNYDER | BOURÉ | OXFORD

Background Sean Snyder has worked in the restaurant industry for the majority of his life, since he was 16. Originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he learned a few tricks of the trade bartending for two fine-dining bars. When he came down to Oxford and started mixing drinks at Bouré about seven years ago, the college town proved to be “a lot more high-volume” for cocktail and drink orders. Back then, it was mostly Bouré’s signature pickle martinis. “We finally just revitalized our cocktail menu last year, and then COVID hit,” he said. “So we didn’t really get to showcase it for like six months. Snyder’s full-time job is as a water mitigation specialist, and he works all day on Mondays at Bouré. “Just because I can’t let the whole lifestyle go,” he said with a laugh. The biggest industry change he’s seen is the attitude toward going out for drinks. He said, sure, depending upon what bar people are at, it can still be about just going out and getting hammered; but around Bouré, customers are looking for more. “A big thing now is people don’t just want to drink for the sake of drinking. Like now people actually want to have something that they can’t have at home,” he said. “(And) men aren’t afraid to drink cocktails anymore – it’s not just Jack and Cokes and vodka tonics and beer, anymore. Men aren’t afraid to drink something with a little bit of fruit juice in there, which is fantastic because that kind of opened up a bunch of avenues for us.”

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Q: Can customers expect any new cocktails coming to Bouré? A: A little more unique, a little more Mississippi, a little more local.

We’re going to look at a play on a margarita … Corpse reviver No. 2; it started in New Orleans, so we figured we’d just kind of follow suit and bring it into a Cajun-influence restaurant in Mississippi. Why not, right?

Q: Biggest tips for cocktails at home? A: Do your research into the technique. If you want to get kind of

that gold-standard bar cocktail at home, do a little bit of research into why it’s like that. I could go all day into salinity and the ice break-down in a cocktail. I would say if you’re going to make a drink at home, if it has fruit, if you’re making a cocktail that has any kind of citrus juice, shake the hell out of it. Taste it until it tastes good. Make sure that if it’s a cold cocktail, make sure everything’s cold. Buy an actual jigger. Measure your cocktails – don’t free pour. It looks cool behind a bar, but like cocktails (circa) 1980. It’s time to move forward. You’re not drinking just to get plastered anymore, you actually want to make something that tastes good.

Right: The Enzoni, inspired by the Dead Rabbit in New York City, has Campari, Wonderbird Gin, lemon juice and muddled grapes. Far right: Bouré’s Floral 75 has Cathead Honeysuckle Vodka, St. Germain, lemon, Creme de Violette and prosecco.

Q: What’s your favorite thing on the menu?

Q: What’s your least favorite?

A: I love the Lane Train, I think it’s simple, but I also think

A: Sweet and sour. If you make your own sweet

it’s fairly complex at the same time. The Bristow’s bee’s knees is really good as well. I just like classic cocktails.

Q: When you're home, what do you drink? A: If I’m not behind the bar, if I’m just at home, I’m just pouring a straight glass of bourbon.

Q: What’s your favorite ingredient or flavor profile? A: Citrus-forward. I think it works with everything. You can pretty much put any kind of citrus note into anything. I think bitter and sweet, it’s probably my close second though. Having bitter and sweet profiles going at the same time. It’s hard to beat that. If you can combine all three? Then it’s a homerun.

and sour, that’s fine, but I think sweet and sour that comes out of a jug is probably one of the nastiest things. Blue curacao, but blue curacao’s kind of making a comeback – not for me, though. Rose’s lime juice. Sweet and sour and Rose’s lime juice are neck and neck for my most hated ingredient.

Q: Do you have a favorite barbook or resource? A: ‘Drink’ is probably one of my favorite pub-

lications. They’re based off of ‘Punch.’ They are phenomenal, they have really fantastic writers that kind of keep up with the trends and everything (and) actually get into the science. I like speaking to other bartenders. ‘Cocktail Chemistry’ is a good book.

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Q&A

WITH KITCHEN PROFESSIONALS

| MARY JENNIFER RUSSELL | SUGAREE’S BAKERY | NEW ALBANY

Background “My background is just growing up and learning to bake from my mom,” Mary Jennifer Russell said. “She was that mom that did 30 kinds of Christmas candy each year.” Russell would trail behind her mom and stay up late in December helping her make the candies. “I loved working with her when I was a kid,” she said. When Russell went off to college, she majored in biology and got a job in pharmaceutical sales. She started baking and catering on the side back in ‘97, cooking from her kitchen. A little while afterward, she dropped the catering aspect and just focused on baking. “About a year into that, I got my first wholesale account, which was kind of a lightbulb moment, with a little deli in Tupelo that wanted 12 cakes at a time,” she said. “I realized then, if I get like 10 of those accounts, I could take it to a specialty food distributor and they would outsell them 100 cakes at a time and they would handle distribution, so that’s exactly what we did.” Sugaree’s Bakery offers delectable southern staple treats that can be shipped across the U.S., or found in local Mississippi grocers or its storefront.

Q: Can customers expect anything new coming to Sugaree’s menu? A: Right now, I’m trying to figure out going forward what it’s looking like

when mail orders settle down. Hopefully – end of the summer – we’ll have a better idea of what’s happening, what’s going to happen and be able to start bringing some things back. Last summer, Sugaree’s Bakery realized in order to survive COVID, it would have to limit the menu. Right now, Russell said Sugaree’s has the smallest menu it’s ever had, though it still offers several varieties of layered cakes, pies, cookies, brownies and gift baskets. Until then, Russell doesn’t “want to be wishy-washy,” like reopening the store front and then having to go back to curb-side pickups.

Q: Biggest tips for baking at home? A: It’s so much trial and error, because a lot of it comes down to your oven.

When it’s all said and done, like the temperature and the time in your oven and the placement in your oven and the hotspots in your oven, so take good notes and you might have to try a recipe 20 times before you feel like you’ve perfected it and know exactly what results you’re going to get out of your oven on any given day. She also suggests investing in baking projects by using good-quality ingredients, like some of the staples at Sugaree’s: White Lily Flour, pure vanilla extract and European butters.

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Q: What’s your favorite thing on the menu?

Mary Jennifer Russell portrait courtesy of Sugaree’s Bakery. Left: The exterior of Sugaree’s Bakery in downtown New Albany, which serves as a storefront and a factory for producing ready-to-ship freshley baked goods. Top: A layered red velvet cake being frosted. Above: Layered caramel cakes ready to go.

I like making the chocolate meringue pie, because meringue is really fun. To eat, the staff favorite is the red velvet cake. It’s just really rich and moist. When people ask for a favorite or our favorite, I’ll usually ask first if they like a sugar profile or a butter profile, cause I definitely like butter more, so anything that tastes sweet isn’t really my favorite.

Q: What’s your least favorite? A: Really sweet things, I do not like overly sweet things. I’d much rather it be rich and flavorful.

Q: Do you have a favorite cookbook? Q: When you’re home, what do you bake? A: I try to balance it with vegetables. Q: What’s your favorite ingredient/flavor profile? A: I think butter, just butter.

A: ‘The Cake Bible’ by Rose Levy Beranbaum. She’s a fantastic

educator in the field, the way her cookbooks are written in the same way ‘Cook’s Illustrated,’ if you like that magazine, they go into great detail about what to do, what not to do, why, what happens when they tried it that way and just really explain the chemistry behind it. I do like to source local cookbooks, church cookbooks and school’s, those community cookbooks, things that are from this area. Because we are a heritage bakery and just try to stay really true to the heirloom recipes from this area and from around here. M &M

Q&A

WITH KITCHEN PROFESSIONALS

| JOHN MABRY |

CONSERVATORY BY VICARI | CORINTH

Background Raised in Savannah, Tennessee, John Mabry attended the University of Tennessee Knoxville. After graduation he went to the Waldorf Astoria New York, where he decided he should get his culinary degree. He went to France for culinary school, and when he came back to the States, he worked with a slew of hotels, restaurants and special event companies. About 10 years ago, he moved to Corinth to take care of his mom. “I said, ‘Well, this is the only thing I know,’” Mabry said. He opened Vicari Italian Grill, and in October 2020, he opened Conservatory by Vicari kind of as an extension. “Conservatory is kind of paired with Gingers’ downstairs, if you’re shopping, come up and have lunch or brunch or whatever,” he said. “It’s open at night, it’s a wine bar with small plates.” Mabry crafted a menu to offer unique twists on staples: Like duck wings instead of chicken and fried fresh pasta instead of standard potato chips. Mabry said Conservatory also serves as an ideal special event venue, perfect for receptions and bridal luncheons.

Q: Can customers expect any seasonal or rotating changes to the menu? A: You know, it’s so new, I haven’t decided. In the big restaurant, in Vicari, we do a lot of seasonal items. The menu changes every six months. But here, I haven’t gotten the feel for it yet to know. I’m just going to let it play out and be what it is and do what it does.

Q: Biggest tips for cooking at home? A: Stay away from the cookbooks. I mean, let the cookbook be a

guide, but give in, just enjoy yourself, and don’t stress about it. Just enjoy – cooking should be enjoyable. If it’s not enjoyable, don’t do it. Go here. Cooking is not rocket science. Now, baking is rocket science – I don’t like to bake. But cooking, really, and grilling and sautéeing and sauces – just enjoy yourself.

Q: What’s your favorite thing on the menu? A: At lunchtime Créme Brûlée French toast. The beef tenderloin sliders are really good, too. At night, I like the duck wings and the crab dip – oh, and the tuna sashimi, too. You can’t ask me, I like everything. If I don’t like it, it’s not on the menu.

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Q: When you’re home, what do you make? A: I do southern, because I grew up in the South. So if I’m cooking

at home, it’s probably fried chicken and green beans and mashed potatoes and cream-style corn and biscuits and gravy. I mean, I go total southern on comfort food.

Q: What’s your favorite ingredient or flavor profile?

Bottom left: Top Floor Cobb with Fried Lobster. Left: Beef Tenderloin Sliders and house-made parmesan potato chips. Above: Cremé Brûlée French toast.

A: 90% of the time, garlic, salt and black pepper. Now, at the bigger

restaurant there are some seasonings that are house blends. Keep it simple. Let the asparagus taste like asparagus, let the tomatoes taste like tomatoes. They need to be seasoned – everything needs to be seasoned – but we get into so much over seasoning or over whatever, that you sometimes lose the beauty of whatever it is you’re having.

Q: What’s your least favorite? A: The two things on the planet I don’t eat: Rosemary and salmon.

Rosemary tastes like I’ve sprayed perfume in my mouth; and salmon, I can make you salmon anyway you want it. I can’t do it. That’s the only two things on the planet that I won’t eat. Salmon and rosemary. Everything else I eat, and I mean strange stuff – really strange stuff. But those two, I’m out.

Q: So, you don’t like cookbooks, but what’s your favorite resource? A: Some of the things on the Cooking Channel, just to see

what they’re doing that are fun. I eat at a lot of different restaurants in different cities to see what people are doing, what’s cutting edge. And then I have really great food brokers, so they’re coming to me going, ‘I’ve got pheasant right now, would you like some pheasant?’ or, ‘I have elk, have watermelon radishes – do you want to do something with them?’ M&M

Q&A

WITH KITCHEN PROFESSIONALS

| SAM ROBINSON | PIZZA VS TACOS | TUPELO

Background Sam Robinson has been bartending for about seven years — since she was a college student at the University of Mississippi, when she served drinks at Outback Steakhouse. After graduation, she joined the Pizza vs Tacos crew when they opened in 2019. Robinson said she didn’t have a hand in crafting the restaurant’s first drink menu, but has made the past three herself. “I like having some creative freedom,” she said. “We have a rotating menu for each season, so this is our fourth menu. The last three I’ve completely made myself.” Each menu has a theme: starting with the Beatles, then Marvel Comics, and now Star Wars. PVT has a garden with fresh herbs and flowers behind the building, so the crew makes everything in-house, from their syrups to some of their own mixers and flavored spirits, like what customers can see in their latest menu. “Our new menu (came) out May the Fourth, so it’s Star Wars themed, and I’m very excited about it … I’m also a huge nerd, so I appreciate being able to name my drinks after Star Wars stuff,” she said, laughing. “I just really like all the names for all my Star Wars drinks; like I’m definitely proud of Java the Hutt, I think that is just ingenious!”

Q: Can customers expect any new drinks coming to PVT? A: We’re going to have eight new drinks, and

they’re all extra special to me, but the Java the Hutt is probably my favorite. We make our own ice milk in house, which is basically like a caramel creamer. But it’s sweet and delicious, and it’s going to have a homemade Reese’s vodka in it. And we also make our own homemade Kahlúa in house, so everything that goes in the drink is made in-house. Our Kahlúa is killer – it’s so good!

Q: Biggest tips for cocktails at home? A: All of our stuff, just because it is made in house,

it is going to have a different flavor. So I always encourage people that want to do it, I just encourage people to look up recipes. Because it’s not hard to do it at home, it just takes an extra step and it lasts for so long. It’s worth the try.

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Q: What’s your favorite thing on the menu? A: I think my favorite off of (the old) menu is the Heart of Acanda. It

took me a minute to find something that pairs really well with mezcal, because mezcal’s just kind of a special thing that’s not really in a lot of drinks, especially around here. And every time I ever saw a mezcal drink on a menu, I felt I had to try it, “Just because.” It pairs really well with fresh fruit, because you don’t want something super sweet, and ours is just made with muddled fruit, it has no added sweetness at all.

Q: When you’re home, what do you drink?

New cocktails – like The Skywalker – are topped with flowers from PVT’s on-sight garden.

A: Bourbons. I’m not a huge drinker, which is probably why I’m suc-

cessful back here, but honestly I could probably just drink bourbon on the rocks for myself. But I like and appreciate other drinks. If I go out, I’m definitely not getting that, I’m going to try specialty drinks. But at home, especially because I do work at a bar, I’m too lazy to make anything else, sadly. I would probably just have an old-fashioned.

Q: What's your favorite ingredient or flavor profile? A: The edible flowers on top just make it so pretty, I just love it.

I’m super big on all of our flowers right now, I want to incorporate them in so many different ways.

Q: Do you have a favorite barbook or bar resource? A: I spend a lot of time googling. I don’t necessarily

have one specific place, but when I’m making recipes for stuff – especially for our Kahlúa – I just tried so many different ways until I found the one that I liked the best, because everybody has great ideas, but everybody does it just a little bit differently. So I just kind of play with it until I find something awesome. M

Q: Do you have a least favorite? A: Oh yeah, definitely mint. I’m actually putting mint in one of our (Star Wars) drinks, just because we have such a bountiful supply out there, I feel like we need to use it. We’re going to make a mint-cucumber drink, and I’m sure it’ll be delicious and refreshing, it’s just kind of a hassle to do. Nobody wants to sit there and pluck and muddle mints.

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by KRISTINA DOMITROVICH photos by LINDSAY PACE

Tired of those ugly packages taking up all your shelf space? Make these counter-worthy storage containers to declutter your pantry once and for all. The cutout lets you know what’s inside, while also letting you know when to restock.

MATERIALS:

DIRECTIONS:

3 glass canisters with lids, varying sizes Clear sticker sheets* Scissors Matte spray paint of choice, for the canisters Metallic spray paint of choice, for the lids Drop cloth

Wash and thoroughly dry all the canisters and lids, inside and out. Cut the stickers into varying shapes and sizes. We chose a square and two vertical rectangles – one very tall, the other a little shorter in proportion to the canister. Place the sticker where desired – if there’s a seam in the glass, be sure it’s opposite the sticker. Smooth over to ensure there are no air bubbles, and that the edges are fixed properly. On a drop cloth, place the canisters upside down, so the opening is covered. On the opposite side of the drop cloth, place the lids right-side up. Be sure to shake the spray paints as suggested. For the best finished product, spray about a foot and a half away, so there are no streaks or splotches in the paint. Make sure to spray all around the canisters and lids, evenly coating the entire thing. If done properly, it should only require one coat. Let dry completely for at least 10 hours. Once dry, carefully peel off the sticker from under the paint. Transfer desired dried goods into the canisters, and secure with the lids. M

Editor’s note: We opted for printable clear sticker sheets, which had a grid printed on the backing. This made it easier to cut out straight, even lines, and allowed us to easily customize different sizes and shapes. If you can’t find sheets with a grid, grab a ruler and a pencil for accurate cutouts. Alternatively, find large stickers of varying shapes, and use those instead.

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Simple, C lean , C lassic : The Smith Home by KRISTINA DOMITROVICH photos by LINDSAY PACE

Courtney and Thomas Smith met while they were both attending Mississippi College, and married right after graduation. Once Courtney finished nursing school, and Thomas completed med school and his residency in Jackson, they moved to Madison for a stint until Thomas took a job in Oxford as an ER physician. “I’ve come up here for games and everything ever since being in college,” he said. “So (Oxford) was not anything unusual for us.” When they started looking for a house, Courtney said, “We just kind of fell in love with this area.” The couple found their eventual home just in time, as a construction crew was tearing down the house that used to be on the lot the Smiths are on now, and had plans for a rebuild. “Before they started demolishing,” Thomas said, “We worked with plans and kind of figured out what's good for us, and started working from there.” The new build was finished in the summer of 2019, and the couple, along with their two sons, now seven and 11 years old, and beloved Great Bernese Mountain dog, Rebel, started making it their own. “One of my main things was I wanted it to be livable, with two wild boys and a furry animal,” Courtney said. “We’re just livable and comfy and homey.” With Thomas’ busy schedule in the ER –– usually four days on, four days off –– Courtney wanted to make sure their house was always welcoming. “It’s a very high intensity job,” she said. “So that was important, just kind of having a happy place to come home to.” Their home’s style is classic and clean, with interior archways serving as focal points, leading in and out of the kitchen and dining room, and a brick archway going into a seating area with a breakfast nook. “(With) the kitchen, I was pretty adamant about what I wanted. I just kind of knew,” Courtney said. “I just feel like everybody always ends up in the kitchen.”

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Knowing the kitchen would serve as the meeting grounds for family and guests alike, they wanted a very large kitchen island where everyone could congregate. “I just kind of pictured our friends and family all being around the island, which is exactly what happens,” she said. “Now, everybody just stands around the island and eats and chats.” The island goes beyond food, too; Courtney said it has served their family perfectly for “a lot of puzzles during quarantine” this past year. The couple said one of their favorite more-mundane activities together is sharing a morning coffee over the weekend, usually while the boys are still asleep, with all their calendars and schedules laid out before them, as they “figure out life together.” Thomas’ work schedule and a smattering of the boys’ football, soccer and baseball games, family hunting and fishing trips, friends visiting during football season, and anything in between. Aside from the island, the couple knew there were a few things that would be essential for the family’s kitchen: Plenty of storage space and well thought out functionality. The hidden trash-can drawer beside the oversized sink, the dishwasher on the other side, the refrigerator nearby and a pot filler above the range, which is across the island, opposite the kitchen sink. “The pot filler is my friend,” Courtney added with a laugh. “My pantry, that was a huge deal for me. I needed a big walk-in pantry with plenty of room for snacks,” Courntey said. “When I’m stressed, I like to pull everything out and start from fresh, and Thomas just comes in and is like, ‘Oh my.’ But it just makes me feel better to have everything in its place.” In their pantry, they store all their smaller appliances, from the coffee maker and blender, to the toaster and slow cooker, “It all stays in there,” she added.

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Opening page: The majority of the Smiths’ kitchen is occupied by a large island. Finding a large enough piece of marble proved difficult for the couple – especially when their retailer called with news that their slab had fallen off the forklift and broken. This spread, clockwise from top left: A framed family recipe sits atop a stack of cookbooks; The Smiths’ kitchen sink is oversized, sitting below a window that opens outward into the backyard. Courtney laughed that her boys like to pretend they’re coming up to a concession stand for a snack while they’re playing in the backyard; The family’s beloved dog, Rebel; A Pimm’s Cup Thomas whipped up next to a plate of charcuterie and fruit. Thomas often makes cocktails when the couple entertains, and his jalapeño margarita mix is a big hit among friends.

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Left: Thomas and Courtney Smith in their living room. Below: The breakfast nook right off the kitchen.

“A well organized pantry just seems to make life easier,” she said, laughing. The kitchen’s countertops are kept bare, too; keeping everything simple and clean, save for a few cookbooks. For the most part, the couple just throws things together when they cook, or they revert to hand-written notes and recipes from their family. Courtney said they both come from families where the cooks would use “a dash of this and that, and it just somehow turns out wonderfully.” The couple tends to tackle cooking together: Thomas will make the mains, and Courtney covers the sides. They tend to do a lot of grilling, vegetables, casseroles and southern classics. They grew up a few hours from New Orleans, and said they both usually took a few family trips each year, so they love Cajun food. “We’ve done crawfish etouffee a few times,” Thomas said. “Crawfish enchiladas.” “We just kind of wing it. (We) get a little creative, and of course our boys love just tacos, chicken nuggets,” she said laughing. The couple agreed they make family dinner a priority, and usually sit down and eat together each night. “We usually sit outside a lot and eat,” he added. “Up here’s more of an open time frame of eating outside in the fall, spring and early summer, as opposed to further down South it’s only a very limited window for eating outside, it’s too hot.” They’ll also prepare any wild game they get from their time spent outdoors. From venison to turkey and fish. When they have quiet weekends, they love to do a family “typical, big” breakfast on Saturdays, with pancakes, and both bacon and sausage, because one of the boys doesn’t like bacon. “It’s just a good reset,” Courtney said. M

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HOW TO BE THE CHANGE:

DIXIE GRIMES AND THE B.T.C. CAFE by KRISTINA DOMITROVICH photos by LINDSAY PACE

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Opening page: The Luncheonette: A classic club sandwich. For certain classics, Dixie Grimes is transparent that there’s no “Dixie twist” on the item, though this is served with her house-made honey mustard. This page: Grimes likes to make her food colorful, like seen on this Turstrami Ruebenator, which has turkey, salami, pastrami, Swiss cheese, crispy kraut, tomatoes, lettuce, sweet red cabbage crunch slaw and Donna June fry sauce served on buttered rye and with a dill pickle.

Above: Grimes in Water Valley attire, a daily staple for her. “I come here every day, I’m pretty consistent,” she said. “They know I’m going to have my ball hat on, and I’m going to have on some type of Water Valley something.”

n a typical Mississippi smalltown, in downtown Water Valley, there stands a building that’s two stories high. Nobody’s quite sure how old it is, but they know it dates back at least 130 years. Across its lifetime, the structure has served different purposes. It once housed the town’s utility company. It’s been a drugstore and, as local lore goes, it may have even been a mortuary during the Civil War. “It’s weird, it’s funky, it’s quirky,” said Dixie Grimes, co-owner and chef. Whatever the building was in its past lives, it’s now home to The B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery and the B.T.C. Cafe — Be the Change. The building is unassuming and old-school. Coca-Cola decor gives it that inexplicable old southern feeling only those redand-white coolers can lend. Crazy-colored, scratched pleather diner booths sit on either side of a table — the kind of table that seems like it would wobble after years of use if not for a stack of napkins stuffed under a shorter leg. Ketchup cans, salt and pepper shakers and a few other condiments are arranged around a napkin dispenser. Tina Turner teaches the most important letters in the alphabet over the speaker, one “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” at a time. “We have this quirky furniture that we decided to keep because it was the original furniture,” she said. “Even though it’s raggedy

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and doesn’t really go together, it’s part of what made the B.T.C the B.T.C.” But there’s something comforting about the building’s predictability. “I do think people walk into this building and have like this funny-little-sort-of-almost an exhale,” said Alexe van Beuren, co-owner on the Grocery side. “People just want to be inside the building.” Grimes attributes it to the building, which she says has a spirit of its own. “I can promise you that there is a rhythm and a spirit here,” Grimes said. “I can promise you the building, as odd as it would sound, was not happy during the pandemic — no happier than the rest of us were. This is a structure that, for the last 11 years, has been packed and filled with life. This is the one place in the community where everybody, from all different walks of life, can come together here and share a meal and there’s no hatred. There’s no judgment. It is a space for everybody, and there are very few spaces left that can do that.” Dixie Grimes grew up in Oxford, where she was raised by her grandparents on her mother’s side. Her grandmother taught her to cook.

“My grandmother cooked three meals a day, all from scratch, and I was on her apron strings a lot, and it’s really what motivated me to want to cook at all in the first place,” she said. “It is very much a part of who I am.” Grimes’ grandmother taught her to make an egg custard pie by the time she was 8 years old. “I’ll never forget that experience,” she said. “She also taught me to make chicken and dumplings, which I kind of think is what you’re supposed to do as a southern woman.” Obviously, Grimes learned how to make cornbread from her grandmother, too; in fact, she still uses her grandmother’s skillet at her own home whenever she makes cornbread. She learned a lot about food and taking care of others through her grandmother. “God bless her,” Grimes said, “I don’t remember her ever having a hot meal.” Right before Grimes turned 16, both of her grandparents died, “pretty much within a year of each other.” “I kind of got thrown into the world,” she said. “It was a rocky ride for a minute.” Eventually, she found herself working as a line cook in downtown Oxford’s then-Downtown Grill. When the executive chef left, Grimes “was basically the line cook with the most heart,” and was asked to step in.

“I worked a long time to build a reputation in Oxford as one of the top chefs,” she said. Eventually, she would do what a lot of Mississippi-raised people do: She left. “I felt like I was in a rut and I needed to try something, I needed to get out of small-town Mississippi,” she said. She moved to Houston for a while. “It was honestly too big for me there, and I hated it,” she said. “I hated it.” She came back to Oxford during football season, and with all the hustle and bustle of game weekends, she found it was too busy. She went to Water Valley to assimilate back to small-town life and to wait out the rest of the season. It was supposed to be temporary. While she was there, she figured she might as well find work. Her friends in the area had heard the B.T.C. Grocery owner, Alexe van Beuren, was looking for someone to start serving breakfasts on Saturdays. Grimes walked through the back door of the B.T.C. At the time, she already had a be-the-change keychain on her keys — “very unusual, as these things go,” she reflected. “It was a Saturday, it was super, super crazy,” Grimes said. “And she was like, ‘Do you know how to use a meat slicer?’”

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This page clockwise: Pickles and a few other pickled vegetables are brought in from Virginia, where van Beuren is from. Grimes serves the pickles with her sandwiches, but anything else — like a pickled onion — she makes herself in the kitchen; The restaurant’s interior design feels welcoming and southern in nature, with retro diner-style furniture. Framed magazines and retro artwork decorate the dining area. Grimes and van Beuren have been featured in many notable publications, like “Food & Wine” and the “New York Times.” “That was probably my proudest,” she said, “To have my name mentioned in the ‘New York Times.’” After the NYT covered the B.T.C. Random House publishers approached Grimes and van Beuren, and signed a cookbook deal with the duo. Their book, “The B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from a Southern Revival,” can be purchased at the B.T.C., in-person or online.

On the spot, Grimes, an executive chef, got to work, slicing deli meat. “I don’t even think she knew my last name for probably two weeks,” Grimes said. It would be a little while longer, but eventually, the jig was up and van Bueren finally discovered she had a chef in her cafe, but the plan was never for Grimes to stay. Grimes was in a place where nobody knew who she was, there were no expectations and she fell in love with getting to know her customers, while taking their orders on a pad of paper, standing by a barn-like door to the kitchen. “They didn’t know me. I didn’t know them,” Grimes said. “It allowed me this freedom to just cook really good food with zero pressure, and then we kind of started building a relationship with each other as a community. They just thought I was this girl at the B.T.C. that made really good soup.” So, Grimes decided to stay on at the B.T.C. Cafe. She started creating menus. They change every couple of months, but there’s usually a theme. One time, she dedicated the menu to Water Valley, where every option was named after a person or a business and had “a lot of small-town pride.” One year, for a whole year, she offered three neverbefore-seen, never-to-be-seen-again specials every day.

“It was way harder than I thought it would be, to be honest. At the end of it, that year was probably the most beautiful food that I’ve ever created, but it took a lot out of me mentally,” she said. “It was probably my shining star in my culinary career.” She crafted the Lola Burger, a B.T.C. staple with a very secret sauce recipe she only shares with her sous chef. “That Lola sauce recipe is top secret,” she said. “I have it in a lockbox at my house.” In fact, whether she’s whipping up something new, or just making a standard classic like a club sandwich, she always tries to serve big portions (“I am the opposite of ‘small food,’” she proudly claims) with a “sexy sauce.” All the dressings and sauces are “scratch-made.” It’s not uncommon for customers to ask Grimes to just make them something that tastes good. The small town’s residents put a lot of trust in Grimes and let her get creative. Being a town staple, she finds she rarely gets bored, and gets to make things all over the map. “It’s not uncommon for me to cook lobster on Valentine’s Day,” she said, “And then the next day have a good bacon cheeseburger.” She admits that while there may be a lot of burger eaters, she has just as many experimental eaters, too. Because of that, she’s able to take base

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Above: The Woodworker (for Ryan), as it appears on the menu is Grimes’ riff off the classic French Dip. This sandwich, like quite a few menu items, is named after a Water Valley resident. To get their name on the board, Grimes looks for “people that inspire me, or I feel like are good members of the community. That’s who I do a sandwich for.”

recipes, like her grandmother’s chicken and dumplings, and put crazy twists on them to create something like red curry chicken and dumplings, for instance. “I don’t get bored, but it’s very hard to find anything new these days because we have all these cooking channels, we always (have) cookbooks, we have all these social media. (It) allows you to have access to 90 restaurants in Thailand if you want it right now, so it’s hard to figure out something to do that no one has done before,” she said. “I like a challenge, and I also like to be original. I try really hard.” Every aspect of The B.T.C. is a labor of love, from the Grocery to the Cafe. “I try to stay true to my roots, where I came from, things that got me here. I work very hard,” she said. “My grandmother taught me you should always give more than you take in the world, and I feel like I’m in a really good position to do that now.” Grimes, whose wife owns Mississippi’s only feminist queer bookstore right next door to the B.T.C., wants to create an environment that accepts everybody, and she has Pride and “Together We Stand” flags to make everyone feel welcomed. “I think in Mississippi, it’s very hard to be a gay kid,” she said. “The suicide rate with young gay kids in Mississippi is staggering, and that is why they feel like they’re not welcome by the churches that they grew up in; for the most part, everybody goes to church. When they come in here and they see that, everything’s okay.” Grimes knows that not everyone in Water Valley shares these feelings; but while they may differ, and while Grimes admits she’s “probably tested them over the years,” they have mutual respect. “It’s mutual respect and trust,” she said. “While they probably didn’t like it, they’re also like, ‘That’s just Dixie.’” There’s a lot about the B.T.C. that doesn’t quite make sense for a small town in the deep south, but that’s exactly what Grimes and van Beuren have worked so hard for. “None of these things should exist here in Water Valley. It’s not because (Alexe) and I have planned it that way, it’s just the way that it’s been,” she said. There’s just a lot. We shouldn’t have organic food

here. The baptist minister shouldn’t sit at the next table to the pinkhaired transgendered individual, but that is the kind of thing that happens. Both Alexe and myself, for whatever reason, the universe has entrusted us.” So, when the pandemic hit, the B.T.C. Cafe put the booths away and transitioned to carry-out only after shutting down entirely for about a month. Slowly, little by little, the B.T.C. came back. Grimes and van Beuren admit that every day felt like, “Is this it? We’re tired. Broken.” For the past year, as van Beuren was hustling to bring groceries to the community, and as Grimes was doing whatever she could in the kitchen, neither knowing if the B.T.C. would make it, they worked with the goal to one day reopen its doors. “Step by step, we were trying to do that, because this is our community that we live in, and people needed that hope,” Grimes said. “And for whatever reason, they seem to think that the B.T.C. being closed would have taken that little bit of hope away.” The B.T.C. Cafe started back with carry-out comfort foods. “This is not the time for sea urchin,” Grimes said. “This is the time for club sandwiches.” While trying to get their feet back under them, the business partners decided it was time to welcome back their dine-in customers around April 2021. Bringing the B.T.C. back to life is still a work in progress. They both admit they’re unsure if it can ever be back to its fullest glory and business-as-usual pre-pandemic. Grimes said “we’re rebuilding step by step.” When it opened its doors again and brought out those old, worn booths, the B.T.C. brought back hope to Water Valley. And in turn, Water Valley brought back life to the building. But maybe most importantly, it brought life back to the women who put their lives and souls into making the building what it is today. “One day last week, I had enough people out here that I could hear the chatter,” Grimes said. “And I could hear people out here just cackling. I can’t tell you how good it made me feel.” M

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RJ’s Eatery by KRISTINA DOMITROVICH photos by LINDSAY PACE

J’s Eatery in Fulton is a mom-and-pop shop with old-school vibes. Framed posters of classic cars line the walls; there’s a concessionstyle menu board; the floors are checkered tile, the kind of thing you might find in a 50s diner. And then there’s Jim Wright, singing and dancing to classic rock while throwing and flipping things on the flat top grill. RJ’s is a family shop, too; Wright’s grandkids are usually milling about after school, his wife Robin is often there — the couple’s names make up the “r” and “j” in the restaurant’s name — and his mother-in-law, too. “She’s 80 years old,” Wright said, “And she outruns everybody.” Wright grew up in Chicago and “used to get shipped here when I was a kid” for the summers, but his menu is all Chicago-inspired. “Everything that’s on a menu up North’s basically on the menu here,” he said. Chicago hotdogs, polish hot dogs, hand-thrown deep dish

Above: RJ’s classic cheesburger. Right: The mom-and-pop eatery, located in Fulton, offers “good eats” and “tasty treats.”

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Left: Owner and operator Jim Wright. Above: The concession-style counter is reminscent of eateries from the “good old days.”

pizzas, and Chicago colloquials like pizza puffs — or, as Wright describes them, “Hot Pocket(s) on steroids” — are all on the menu. This item was inspired by one of his childhood staples. As a kid in Chicago, his family would frequently travel to the beach, and they would grab pizza puffs on the way. Think of it as a calzone, but not quite. “You just ate it before we got there because all your friend’s want a bite,” Wright said. Along with Chicago staples, Wright also whips up a few local favorites: Gumbo, chicken and dumplings, ribs. But he doesn’t charge for those; in fact, these aren’t even on the menu. He just throws a little in his customers’ baskets or to-go boxes as a surprise. “People like it,” Wright said. “Only problem I have is when they call (for more).” In fact, RJ’s gets so many calls — whether it’s customers making sure Wright still has their favorite menu items toward the end of the day, or suit-and-tie types with a to-go order in fear of smelling like RJ’s for the rest of the day — Wright will often “take the phone off the hook,” to focus on in-house customers. Wright gets many calls asking for the spot’s remaining stock, especially with things like the Italian beef with cheese sandwich, which Wright said is baked for several hours, cooled and soaked in pepper juice, then gets soaked in

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beef juice. It’s sliced, topped with cheese and peppers, and served with a side of “Chicago peppers” that he has to get directly from Chicago, since vendors don’t offer it around here. Of course, there are the tried-and-true diner options, like hamburgers and the Snack Plate: Three chicken tenders, three mozzarella sticks and fries. In addition to throwing a few extra, unexpected goodies on their plate, Wright admits his customers usually get food and a show. “I dance while I’m back there,” he said over the old-school music playing in his restaurant. “I don’t hold nothing back. When I yell something, I yell it, and they’ll hear me.” Wright prides himself on how fast RJ’s turns out orders. He said back when he was in Chicago, most places only gave their employees 30-minute lunch breaks, so he tries to keep that in mind while cranking out orders. His customers, especially since RJ’s stopped taking debit cards a few years ago and are now cash-only — are “mostly older people. There’s a lot of Yankees around here,” and professors from Itawamba Community College. Since RJ’s opened its doors in 2008, Wright said it’s grown quite the loyal following. “We’re doing alright, man,” he said. “We’re cruisin’ pretty good.” M

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