Hi,

I grew up down here in South Louisiana a hop away from downtown New Orleans. I think that our food is a little different than Georgia cooking. I think around there and in the Carolinas there is cooking called "lowcountry." I swear by Southern Living mag. and website. Go there and look for lowcountry recipes -- things like Shrimp and grits, cornbread, biscuits, etc. There are even member ratings to tell you how good the recipes are. Other tips would be always use real butter, real cream, bacon, etc. I know its fattening but this is just one meal. Take your time serving and eating it. Indulge in a nice pecan or sweet potato pie. Good luck!
Christie

JennT wrote:

I grew up on Fort Walton Beach FL, went off to college, joined the Navy, and moved to Pensacola and lived on Perdido Key within walking distance of the Florabama! Heard Ivan distroyed my old house and now it's gone!!!

Christmas eve was a blast there watching Santa and his elves parachute onto the beach in back of the Florabama. I live in San Diego now and sure do miss the Gulf!!!!

Now you're talkin' trash MY way, ladies!

Breakfast: Country ham w/ red-eyed gravy, biscuits and fresh peaches. The country ham should be soaked/rinsed before cooking--gotta get it right! Most people who eat it think it's toooo salty. That means they didn't "get it right." The red eyed gravy is made with drippings from the ham and COFFEE. You wouldn't believe how it tastes over home made biscuits! Mmmmm...

Lunch: Soup-beans (pintos mixed with navys or just straight navys cooked with some onion, garlic and SOME KIND OF PORK) and a big hunk of real cornbread, cracklin' bread, or biscuits. Serve it with green onions on top, or a slice of vidalia on the spoon plate.

Dinner: Southern fried chicken (soaked in real buttermilk and a bit of hot sauce for about 4 hours before breadin' it) green beans slow cooked with BACON DRIPPINS and a piece of country fried ham and some fat back, maybe even a lil' piece of red pepper in there for color, mashed taters with PAN DRIPPIN GRAVY over the top, some collards and spinach mixed with PAN DRIPPINS and red gravy, (ham hock gravy), corn bread, biscuits, SWEET TEA.

On the TEA SUBJECT: The secret to the "real Southern sweet tea" that most people don't get is THE WATER! Here in the Smokies, the water table is a very soft one, with a hint of a "sweet" taste to it. Hence, the tea we make here comes out with no hardness to it, and it's smooth on the tongue. You could try making it in other places, and use the "same" ingredients and measure---but it's not the same.

(I'll gladly ship y'all some bottled spring water from Food City if y'all would like--you won't want to ever drink any other water!)

Dessert: Peach cobbler, pecan pie, red velvet cake or hot fudge cake.

The thing about "Southern" cookin' is that it takes TIME and PATIENCE. AND BACON or PORK!

I thought everybody had drippins on the stove or in the fridge...

--Knox--

I have not read all the post, so somebody may have already said this....


Hot Homemade Butter and Tomato Biscuit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH MY GOSH!!!!

Southern belle here...born and raised in Atlanta...or shall I say Atlanna? Has anyone mentioned fried green tomatoes??

I just died laughing when y'all mentioned bacon drippings. So many transplants have never heard of that. Collards cooked in bacon drippings...potatoes fried in bacon drippings...yum. And let's not forget fried chicken to go with those.

I find a huge amount of southern recipes on the www.SouthernLiving.com website.

And for that easy dessert - Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

Dang y'all -- when are we getting together? I think we all should go to Georgia and show up for that meal Or, you all can come down to the city and "donate" some of your money back to our "french quarters" (as some of the locals say).

I would love to know what finally ends up in that meal!

Now, I'm craving bacon and peaches after all this talk.

Have a good day, y'all.
Christie

man, I'm hungry!

I was born and raised in Georgia and I can tell you that there isn't anything better than some Fried Chicken or fried pork chops (with plenty of salt and pepper on them... both sides). Then for the fixin's I'd go the baked macaroni and cheese (not boxed but homemade), yellow squash fried in bacon drippin's or fried eggplant fritters and some homemade buttermilk biscuits. Served with ice tea SWEETENED!!! LOL

Lazy_Susan

You all are making me sooo hungry!

I swear, I've never lived in the south but I am a southern girl at heart, especially when it comes to food. My family must have southern roots that I'm not aware of 'cause we've done the southern cooking thing for as long as I can remember, and long before I was born I'm sure.

Definitely give her some sweet tea. I know others have said it, but maybe a nice southern fried chicken with pan gravy....mmmmm.

Gotta get something to eat now Bye

My favorite would be fried chicken, green beans cooked in bacon grease with onions, fried okra, fried squash, corn bread, sweet tea and POUND CAKE for dessert.

Fried chicken and southern potato salad.... made with real mayonnaise. I'm from Florida and to night I'm fix-en fried chicken, rice and gravy made with the chicken grease. MMMMMMMMMMMM.

Long time ago, my DH and I were in New York , I ordered tea at a restaurant-the waiter brought me that cute little pot of hot water, a cup, and a tea bag...now I knew right away that he obviously thought tea should be served hot , when he came by to check on us I asked if he would please bring me some iced tea-shortly he returned to our table bearing a tray with a wine glass and a bottle of Asti Spumanti-my husband about split his pants laughing-he said, "and you don't think you have a southern accent !?!"
True story...
Kathy

For dessert you have definitely got to make her a nice Red Velvet Cake!!! This is also the perfect time of year for Red Velvet Cake. I'm making one tomorrow

Okay! Everybody's just about got everything covered, but in my family you can't serve all those great desserts, peach cobbler especially without a greaat big scoop of (preferably homemade) vanilla ice cream. Main course favorites are definitely Fired Chicken, Chicken fried Steak and Fried Catfish (...getting the pattern here? "FRIED!") Can be served up with mashed potatoes, potato salad, slaw, or baked mac&cheese. Must have fresh biscuits, cornbread or hot rolls!

My mother in law{a pain in the butt but I love her to death} always makes what she calls a poor man's dinner. She'll make soup beans, fried cornbread, fried potatoes and then she'll fry some cut up hot dogs with sauerkraut. I could live on this every day of the week. Thinking of it now, I may have to make it for dinner tomorrow!! Although my Mom and I were born and raised in Ohio we always save our bacon fat, have always made sweet potato cassarole and I was drinking sweet tea before I could walk!

AAhhhhaaaa! LOL!!

KJT and LazySusan--y'all are sooo funny!

*rolls eyes and giggles furiously*

--Knox--

Almost forgot!!!!!

CORNBREAD DUMPLINS!

SOOOOOOO YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ya'll are making me miss my great-grandma so much!!! She was the best cook ever! I can still remember going to spend the night with her in Southern Ky. (Pleasant View/Williamsburg, close to Jellico, TN). I'd be awakened in the mornings by the smell of bacon and sausage frying and hot homemade biscuits and gravy and fried eggs, served "over easy"! As soon as breakfast was over, she was busy washing dishes and getting dinner prepared. I swear the woman spent her whole days doing nothing but cooking, cleaning and laundry! She didn't just cook a meal, either, it was always a feast! She'd have ham, fried chicken, mashed potatos, green beans, corn pudding, cornbread (with buttermilk to dip it in), chicken and dumplings (I've never had any that even begin to compare to hers!), mac 'n cheese, sliced tomatos and onions, and to top it all off, for dessert it was ALWAYS her Banana Pudding, made in the same big yellow bowl every time! I've tried to make chicken 'n dumplings, and it's pretty good, but nothing like hers was. Oh, and I hate seeing it made with canned biscuits. There's just no substituting for homemade dumplings! My Nanny (or grandmother) makes delicious fried squash and fried zucchini, and when my Papaw used to go fishing a lot, we would have the best fried catfish, mac 'n cheese and coleslaw! Oh, and homemade ice cream! I remember sitting on the old ice cream churn as a kid and fighting over who got to crank the handle! Yep, I'm gonna have to have a good old country meal here soon, and let my kids see what they're missing! Good luck with your meal!!!

Almost forgot, pinto beans slow cooked with a big ol' ham bone and pieces of ham in it. Now that it's getting cooler out, I made some home made vegetable soup the other night. I made it like my granny, just put in wahtever you have left over in the fridge! I started it with a can of tomatoes and okra my mom put up last year. It was SO good. Andy, yes, the chicken and dumplings are just to die for! I'm pretty good at making my Granny's chicken and dumplings now, so in the fall and winter we have that, chili beans and homemade veggie or potato soup, and pinto's.

We really do fry everything down here! Last year I went to an Oktoberfest in the mountains and actually tried a fried oreo and fried twinkie. Not too bad!

Potatocakes, that's the same way my great grandmother cooked. Every meal was a feast and she spent most of her time in the kitchen. She never pulled leftovers from lunch out to serve at supper-time. She always had a homemade cake in the middle of her table. The dining room was the heart of the home. That's where eveyone gathered to talk from morning to bedtime. Hmmmm... I can smell her seafood gumbo now...