My mother used to make a dish she called Hot Browns on cold nights when we were kids. I loved hot brown nights. I didn’t know that Hot Browns were a real dish, something with a history and many fanatical supporters and traditionalists, I just thought it was something yummy my mom invented, specific to our house. I have to admit that my mom’s version was not … [Read more...] about Tennessee Hot Browns
Southern Specialties
Sorghum Buttermilk Pie
In case you haven’t noticed, I love cooking with buttermilk. It tenderizes, flavorizes, tangifies and creamifies anything it works with. I go out of my way to seek out good, thick country buttermilk. It is the most important ingredient in fried chicken, biscuits and cornbread. I use it in dressings, gravies, marinades, cookies cakes and pies. It is always on my … [Read more...] about Sorghum Buttermilk Pie
Shrimp and Corn Cobbler
Shrimp and corn pie recipes appear in a number of Southern community cookbooks, and I’ve tried a few. But I have always thought they lacked a little oomph. But the delicious combination of shrimp and corn deserves attention, so I put my mind to it and decided on a tangy filling and an old-fashioned biscuit top to make perfect transitional comfort food. When summer has wound … [Read more...] about Shrimp and Corn Cobbler
Wallis’s Southern Sorghum Loaf
My house is slowly being taken over by my collection of cookbooks. There are parts of the house that are not open to the public because of it. And in one of those piles of community cookbooks, I dug out this little piece of Southern ephemera: Some Favorite Southern Recipes of the Duchess of Windsor. It’s been awhile since I looked through it, but I immediately sat down to … [Read more...] about Wallis’s Southern Sorghum Loaf
Country Ham Paté
Football and tailgating season have arrived, so I offer this little tidbit. Country Ham Paté has the down-home goodness of salty, savory country ham, with a slightly sophisticated twist. It is easily portable and imminently useful. Try it simple spread on crackers or corn chips, or sandwiched between the halves of little cocktail-sized buttermilk biscuits. Its great on a … [Read more...] about Country Ham Paté
