Maybe it's because there's a Sonny Bubba in the White House.
Or because rediscovery of American regional cuisine is sweeping the country.Whatever the reason, there's a Southern Revival going on!
The locals call it "New Southern" cooking.
Young, culinarily schooled chefs are taking traditional down-home Southern dishes and reworking them with new ingredients. Upscaling catfish. Fancifying fried chicken.
Or grits with pesto . . . really!
My introduction to "New Southern" occurred at a recent food journalist's trip to Atlanta.
I was used to being bombarded from both sides by food and opinions . . . it's similar to a typical family meal! But it seemed as if a "Civil War" were brewing over Old vs. New.
So this "war correspondent" noted these thoughts:
DAY 1
MEMORIES OF THE "OLD" SOUTH:
As our plane circled the lush green landscape below, I recalled living in Columbus, Ga., 25 years ago, a not-too-thrilled Army wife.
Gov. Lester Maddox was waving ax-handles, and color-coded restaurant entrances dimmed my perceptions of Southern hospitality.
Life consisted of rare trips to the Piggly Wiggly for groceries, and the bank, where at times this Yankee (and I wasn't even wearing my baseball cap) needed an interpreter to complete the transaction.
Local restaurants shocked transplanted Northerners by furnishing skull-and-crossbones-imprinted matchbooks that read, "Moonshine Kills!"
And the Mason jar menagerie of chameleons (caught in my apartment, no less) wasn't perky company.
My tender palate wasn't used to grits and catfish, and therefore, I determined that all Southern food was like grits - the PITS.
I was 21 years old.
TWO DECADES LATER:
So here it was . . . the New South.
And the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead was a far cry from a seedy apartment outside the gates of Fort Benning.
The triumphant return, I mused as I checked into my room.
The Southern hospitality aura still lacked sincerity, I noted, as I read the "Welcome to Atlanta" letter from the Ritz-Carlton manager.
It was addressed to Ms. Jean Williams, Food Editor . . . THE DISCREET NEWS.
AN EVENING OF TASTES - OLD AND NEW:
The Battle of the Bulge had begun.
More than 30 local restaurants set up shop in the Ritz and we were invited to "graze." As I walked the gantlet, sampling salmon sushi and turnip sauerkraut, I felt like I was on a dieter's ride through Beelzebub's Buffet!
A New Southern dish - Fried Savannah Frog Legs with New Potato Puree and White Remoulade was surprisingly delicious. (Tasted just like chicken in gravy!)
New was followed by a traditional Old Southern standby - Coconut Cake from Thelma's Kitchen.
It went on. Traditional Cheese Straws vs. Chicken, Goat Cheese and Mango Quesadillas.
Like a tennis match. Each chef held the racquet. And we were being served!
Later that night, after ingesting what felt like the entire U.S. Open concession stand, I tried to determine which was best. Simple Old Southern comfort foods or innovative and tasty New Southern fare.
Oh, well. Four more days to form an opinion. And another chin.
DAY 2
The agenda read "Lunch prepared by nationally acclaimed chef . . .
The war raged on. This time New Southern lost . . . horribly.
Our fussy foodie group was served quail wrapped in collard greens, encapsulated in acorn squash, resting on a bed of something-or-other coulis.
Apparently the nationally acclaimed chef forgot to turn on the ovens.
The quail was raw.
Sending back 90 plates of semi-chirping game birds does not a happy chef make.
And it's not a pretty sight, watching tables of eight supposed professionals fighting over a basket of bread.
DAY 3
NIGHT OF THE LIVING BREAD
Dinner with a local Atlanta couple at the Cherokee Country Club erased any hints of lunchtime battle scars. (The fork imprint on the back of my hand has almost healed at this writing).
Wonderful soup. Venison chop in rich brown sauce. Gooey pecan dessert.
And a first. Several bites of sauteed sweetbreads.
The tender palate was forever banished. The Discreet News Food Lady had nibbled on the throat and pancreas gland of either a calf, lamb or a pig. (I didn't ask.)
Chalk one up for Tradition in the food war.
TRADITION RULES:
Mind you, all the eating was intertwined with lectures. Today we learned about the evolution of Southern Cooking from the Queen of Southern cooking - Edna Lewis.
The 78-year-old Lewis, a chef and cookbook author who has brought the wonders of Traditional Southern cooking into the forefront of the food world, talked about growing up on a self-sufficient farm.
"In those days, a lot of people were good cooks and didn't even know it," she said.
"The food was raised by us and not fed with chemicals and additives, and it was eaten in its own time, not shipped someplace else. Everything fed each other. Even the pigs got milk from the cows and the chickens got the whey," she recalled.
Lewis and chef Scott Peacock of the Horseradish Grill, a New Southern restaurant, have teamed up to blend old with new, in hopes of preserving the basic elements in cooking that Lewis passionately protects.
Signs of a truce in this war?
LOW COUNTRY BARBECUE AND BLUES
At the Inman Park Trolley Barn that night, we met real Southern Hospitality - in the form of the Georgia barbecue.
Here was the Southern hospitality I had read about in "Gone With the Wind."
We found it in the fried chicken and cornbread dished up by friendly folks from Burton's Grill.
It was in the 180-pound roasted pig that Bennett Brown III had barbecued and basted for 18 hours.
We drooled as the pork was pulled from the barbecued hog, and wrapped the succulent strips in soft white bread, adding a side of Ocilla slaw and an ear of corn dripping in butter.
Peanuts were boiled, sugared and fried by friendly farmers. (No, Jimmy and Rosalynn weren't there.)
And we swooned over Jimmy Bentley's Brunswick stew.
THE WRAP-UP
Our final breakfast was a far cry from our first morning at a famed downtown breakfast joint - where we were served, cafeteria style, fried chicken, grits and gravy, biscuits and collard greens. At 7 a.m. (I renamed the place Cholesterol City).
Today were samplings of Southern cookbook author Nathalie Dupree's recipe for cheese grits, various types of cured country hams, biscuits and red-eye gravy (which is, we were told, nothing more than the remaining grease and drippings from country ham mixed with a cup of hot coffee.)
FORMAL LOW COUNTRY FINALE:
And finally, the farewell banquet. (As if we were merely snacking up to this point.)
The meal was meant to highlight the best from the region's seasonal offerings, prepared by chef Elizabeth Terry, a nationally acclaimed chef and a three-time James Beard Award nominee.
The simple little snack consisted of:
Starters:
Fall Grilled Eggplant Soup with Leeks and Shrimp garnished with Red Pepper Puree, served with Benne Wafers.
Next:
Duck Served Two Ways - Crisp and Crumbled with Black-eyed Pea and Bitter Green Salad, served with Southern Drop Biscuits.
Followed by:
Roasted Flounder-Stuffed with Blue Crab with Corn and Celery Ragout garnished with Crisp Leeks.
And Finally:
Savannah Cream Cake with English Cream, Fresh Fruit and Chocolate Truffle.
GOING HOME
Well, y'all, the War Between the Plates was over. Traditional was the winner.
New Southern is simply Traditional with a yuppiefied twist.
Whatever it is, the popularity of Southern cooking is already moving westward, with chains of Southern Barbecue joints popping up everywhere.
And young Southern chefs continue to experiment with variations of the home-grown natural bounties that Edna Lewis cherishes.
Note the young "rebels" featured on our cover - Darryl E. Evans of Anthony's; Jane Long of the Easy Way Out; Jeffrey Palso of Ok Cafe; Scott Peacock of Horseradish Grill; and Tom McEachern of 1848 House. They offer diners the region's best menus, from the traditional to the experimental.
And they respect the Old ways of Southern cookin' - hoping to embellish, enhance and preserve the tradition.
Returning home, the left side of my brain was etched a little deeper after this food celebration of the South.
And my three chins are keeping me warm in Yankee weather.
*****
RECIPES
PAN-FRIED GREEN TOMATOES
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
4 or 5 green tomatoes, sliced 1/3-to-1/2-inch thick
Bacon fat, oil or solid vegetable shortening for frying
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
In a shallow bowl, mix cornmeal, flour and sugar. Dredge both sides of the tomatoes in the mixture. Press the slices firmly into the meal to coat them well.
Put bacon fat, oil or shortening in an iron skillet to a depth of about 1/4 inch, and heat over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes to the hot oil a few at a time, without crowding, and fry for 2 minutes, or until golden brown. Turn and cook the other sides. When both sides are golden brown. Turn and cook the other sides. When both are golden brown, remove from the skillet, drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve hot with a chunky, spicy tomato sauce alongside, if you wish. Serves 4.
- Each serving contains 287 calories, 15 g fat, 17 mg sodium, 0 cholesterol.
- From Cynthia Hizer
NOTE: Choose green tomatoes that are firm and light green; darker green tomatoes will be too hard. Refrigerate green tomatoes up to a week, loosely wrapped in a plastic bag or a vegetable drawer; if left at room temperature they will ripen.
CRAB CAKES WITH DIJON MUSTARD SAUCE
Dijon mustard sauce:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 dashes Tabasco
Crab cakes:
1/3 cup cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 pound jumbo lump crab meat, picked over from shell
Oil for pan
Vegetable cooking spray
To prepare mustard sauce:
Mix together the sour cream, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco in a small bowl. Place in the refrigerator to chill.
To prepare crab cakes:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together the cracker crumbs, dry mustard, Old Bay seasoning, salt, peppers, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, egg and mayonnaise until well-blended. Gently fold in crab meat, preferable with your hands, to avoid breaking up. Using a 1/2-cup ice cream scoop, portion out crab cakes as much as possible. Cook over medium heat until golden brown on one side, about 3 minutes, then carefully turn and cook on the other side until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Place the crab cakes on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray and bake about 5 minutes. Serve crab cakes hot with 2 tablespoons of the mustard sauce on the side. Makes 6 appetizer servings.
- Each serving contains 463 calories, 41 g fat, 1,150 mg sodium, 172 mg cholesterol.
- From Chef Kevin Osella, Atlanta Fish Market
ROAST RIBS OF PORK WITH PEANUT SAUCE
5 to 6 pounds loin of pork cut from the rib end (about 12 chops)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
Peanut sauce:
1/4 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 tablespoon vinegar
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 cup water
Watercress, enough to cover serving platter
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Carve the meat out of the ribs in one whole piece. Mix together the salt, pepper and ginger and rub it into the meat. Place it back against the ribs and tie in place with kitchen string. Place the roast fat side up on a double sheet of greased foil. Draw the foil close to the meat to form a 11/2-to-2-inch deep trough that will hold the juices close to the meat. This will help keep the pork juicy and crisp outside. Set the roast in a shallow baking pan, and place it in the center of the oven. Roast for 2 to 21/2 hours, basting several times with the pan juices, until the juices of the meat run clear when roast is pricked with a fork and reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees.
Remove the meat from the foil and set in a warm place. Take the juice collected in the foil, skim off the fat and set aside. Heat a heavy skillet and add two tablespoons of fat separated from the juice. Saute the garlic and cayenne without browning. Mix together the peanut butter, vinegar, soy sauce and water and add to the garlic mixture. Add the defatted meat drippings and blend thoroughly with the peanut sauce; check for seasonings.
Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. If the sauce seems too thick, add additional hot water. Cut the string from the pork to serve, and place on a platter lined with watercress. Serve peanut sauce hot with the pork. Serves 10.
- Each serving contains 357 calories, 22 g fat, 620 mg sodium, 119 mg cholesterol.
- From "The Edna Lewis Cookbook"
GRITS WITH CREAM AND CHEESE
1 cup heavy cream mixed with 2 cups milk
3/4 cup quick grits
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
Salt
Freshly ground white pepper
1 cup freshly grated imported Parmesan cheese
In a heavy saucepan, bring the milk and cream to a simmer. Add the grits to the liquid, stirring, and return to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, to ensure it doesn't burn. If the grits begin to separate and turn lumpy, add a bit of water to keep them creamy.
Remove from the heat, add the butter and salt and pepper to taste, then stir in the cheese. This can be made ahead and reheated over low heat or in a microwave. Serves 4.
- Each serving contains 539 calories, 38 g fat, 873 mg sodium, 126 mg cholesterol.
- From "Southern Memories," by Nathalie Dupree
LEMON BUTTERMILK CHESS PIE
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest (yellow part of peel)
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup buttermilk at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust
1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar, sifted
Whipped cream for garnish (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine sugar, cornmeal, flour and salt. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, add the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the butter, lemon zest and juice, buttermilk and vanilla, blending after each addition to prevent lumping. Pour the mixture into the pie crust and bake for 30-45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and custard is set. Remove the pie to a rack and cool completely. Sprinkle the top with confectioner's sugar, then serve with whipped cream if you wish. Serves 8.
- Each serving (without whipped cream) contains 344 calories, 16 g fat, 265 mg sodium, 174 mg cholesterol.
- From Chef Scott Peacock, Horseradish Grill