A Little Piece of Home
by Sandra Bounds September Now in the Mississippi Delta. The dazzling whiteness of cotton
Happy Birthday to Truman Capote!
Capote's best known work may be "Breakfast at Tiffany's," set in New York City, and he died in 1984 in Los Angeles, but the writer was originally a son of the South. He was born September 30, 1924, in New Orleans and was raised in Alabama.
Literary Friday
Debut of our Fall/Winter Reading List. A Twitter chat with Erika Robuck. Literature's famous food scenes. University of South Carolina's huge literary acquisition. Banned Books Week approaches. 52 great reads, 100,000 poets & a story about running moonshine. Happy Literary Friday!
Rig Music
by Jennifer Riley Oaks towered over Tucker Body Shop, the only body shop on U.S.Highway 99 in Tuckerville, North Carolina. In 1952, acorns covered the asphalt welcome mat spread in a remote corner of Fletcher County. Most drive-ins, diners, and body shops used gravel, but the body shop provided the first smooth asphalt finish in
Best of the Bayou Brings Music Back to Houma This Weekend
This Saturday and Sunday, Houma takes the spotlight from Louisiana's better known music towns to present the first-annual Best of the Bayou Festival.
2012 Fall/Winter Reading List
As temperatures cool down and the leaves begin to turn, curl up with these mysteries, thrillers, new releases & love stories from down South.
Happy Birthday William Faulkner!
Mississippi writer William Faulkner was born September 25, 1897. He would have been 115 today.
In Defense of Treme
Last night, the third season of "Treme" premiered on HBO. I've seen every episode and was excited to once again immerse myself in New Orleans culture for an hour on Sunday night.
A Slice of Southern Literary History in Irondale
Get a taste of some of Fannie Flagg's famous fried green tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Festival this Saturday.
Fried Green Tomatoes From Irondale Cafe
In 1992, “Fried Green Tomatoes” premiered at the Cobb Galleria Theatre in Birmingham, Alabama. Fans of the movie started showing up at Irondale Cafe to taste the fried green tomatoes, and The Birmingham News ran a photo of a couple of the cooks holding baskets of green tomatoes with the caption: “Seen the movie? Now taste the title.” Current Owner Jim Dolan estimates the cafe serves about 600-800 slices of fried green tomatoes, paired with a remoulade dipping sauce, each day.
1 egg, beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup self-rising flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
1/2 Tsp salt
6-8 green tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch slices
Bacon drippings, vegetable oil, or mixture of both
Mix egg and buttermilk in a shallow dish. Mix flour, cornmeal and salt in a shallow dish. Working in batches, dip tomato slices into egg mixture, allowing excess to drip back into dish. Coat with flour mixture. Fry in hot bacon drippings (375 degrees F) in a large heavy skillet until browned, turning once with tongs. Don’t crowd the skillet when frying green tomatoes. Keep them in a single layer, with plenty of space in between slices. If too many are put in the pan, the oil temperature will be lowered and the food will absorb the grease rather than be seared by it, resulting soggy tomatoes. Transfer to a colander to drain. Serves 6.
Remoulade Sauce
2 quarts mayo
4 oz. Ketchup 4 oz. Creole mustard
2 oz. chopped fresh parsley
2 oz. cayenne pepper
2 oz. lemon juice2 oz. horseradish
2 oz. fresh chopped garlic
1 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire
1 1/2 Tbsp celery salt
1 1/2 Tbsp paprika
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend for 2 minutes. Makes over two quarts.
Fried green tomatoes photo by Judy Baxter, Old Shoe Woman on Flickr.