Cornbread Nation: The Best of Southern Food Writing

by Anderson, Brett; Arnold, Sara Camp; Edge, John T.

• ISBN13: 9780820342610
• ISBN10: 0820342610
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-05-01
• Publisher: Univ of Georgia Pr

Summary

The hungrily awaited sixth volume in the Cornbread Nation series tells the story of the American South-circa now-through the prism of its food and the people who grow, make, serve, and eat it. The modern South serves up a groaning board of international cuisines virtually unknown to previous generations of Southerners, notes Brett Anderson in his introduction. Southern food, like the increasingly globalized South, shows an open and cosmopolitan attitude toward ethnic diversity. But fully appreciating Southern food still requires fluency with the region's history, warts and all. The essays, memoirs, poetry, and profiles in this book are informed by that fluency, revealing topics and people traditional as well as avant garde, down home as well as urbane. The book is organized into six chapters: "Menu Items" shares ruminations on iconic dishes; "Messing with Mother Nature" looks at the relationship between food and the natural environment; "Southern Characters" profiles an eclectic mix of food notables; "Southern Drinkways" distills libations, hard and soft; "Identity in Motion" examines change in the Southern food world; and "The Global South" leaves readers with some final thoughts on the cross-cultural influences wafting from the Southern kitchen. Gathered here are enough prominent food writers to muster the liveliest of dinner parties: Molly O'Neill, Calvin Trillin, Michael Pollan, Kim Severson, Martha Foose, Jessica Harris, Bill Addison, Matt and Ted Lee, and Lolis Eric Elie, among others. Two classic pieces-Frederick Douglass's account of the sustenance of slaves and Edward Behr's 1995 profile of Cajun cook Eula Mae Doré-are included. A photo essay on the Collins Oyster Company family of Louisiana rounds out Cornbread Nation 6. Published in association with the Southern Foodways Alliance at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi. A Friends Fund Publication.

Author Biography

Brett Anderson is the restaurant critic and a features writer at the New Orleans Times-Picayune. The winner of two James Beard awards for journalism, Anderson has written for such publications as Gourmet, Food Wine, and the Oxford American.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Of Memes and Munificence	p. 1
Menu Items
Why Chile con Queso Matters	p. 7
The Ceremony	p. 10
In Sorrow's Kitchen	p. 13
Blood-Bought Luxuries	p. 26
Green Goddess: Why We Love Collard Greens	p. 28
The Fatback Collective	p. 31
I Was a Texas Rib Ranger	p. 38
Fire in the Hole	p. 50
Carlo Silvestrini on the Hog Slaughter	p. 54
An Oyster by Any Other Name	p. 56
Adventures of a Boudin Junkie	p. 59
Boy & Egg	p. 66
As ConAgra Pulls Out, Workers Face Uncertainty	p. 67
Messing with Mother Nature
Reviving Red Snapper	p. 73
Flooded	p. 80
Reconsidering the Oyster	p. 83
The Collins Oyster Family	p. 89
A Paradise Lost	p. 99
Mr. Leroy and the French Club	p. 111
Southern Characters
Wendell Berry's Wisdom	p. 115
Tom Pritchard, Local Culinary Rock Star and Stuff of Legend	p. 119
Home Grown	p. 126
Blood and Water	p. 130
A Force of Nature	p. 140
St. Francine at the Café Max	p. 144
Eula Mae Doré	p. 145
How Not to Hire a Chef	p. 149
A Rapping Drag Queen and Her Fried Chicken	p. 156
Southern Drinkways
Past and Presence	p. 165
Whiskey and Geography	p. 170
Cheerwine	p. 173
Corncob Wine	p. 175
The Wild Vine	p. 177
Identity in Motion
Empire State South: Athens Star Chef Hugh Acheson Bring Atlanta Its Latest Southern Sensation	p. 189
Real Cajun	p. 192
No Daily Specials	p. 198
Pie + Design = Change	p. 206
The Origin Myth of New Orleans Cuisine	p. 214
Where Are All the Black Chefs?	p. 226
Homesick Restaurants: How Dallas Became a Dining Nowhereville	p. 232
An Open Letter to Kim Severson	p. 242
Family Pieces	p. 246
Putting Food on the Family	p. 249
The Global South
Bags, Butter, Surfboards, and Spice: Viet-Cajun in Cali	p. 263
Ravioli and Country Music's First Family	p. 269
Prospecting for Oil	p. 271
A Geechee Girl Speaks	p. 282
My Stoves in Good Condition	p. 286
Pancho at the Flor de Celaya	p. 288
Acknowledgments	p. 291
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