Pass the grits and no chitlins, please

My wife, Sherry, and I just returned from a driving trip to Georgia. The trip was to visit a very dear friend from years back and also, well, about nostalgia. We lived for 20 years over two time spans in the state, both our children were born there and I, honestly, had a strong hankering for some southern cooking. Our friend had warned, "Georgia is not the state you left 20 years ago." Though that was true, we were able to enjoy some culinary treats that are still part of the state's culture.

Like many regional and ethnic foods, much southern cooking was developed to utilize leftover food in ways still pleasing to the palate. And, like many homemade creations, the dishes used basic provisions often on hand even in the poorest households. Old style southern cooking uses lots of fried foods, a lot of pork and chicken and a huge variety of beans and peas. Here are some of the southern treats we were able to find and enjoy again.

More than just a lowly peanut

Even 50+ years ago, when we arrived in Athens to do some work at the University of Georgia, football was "the thing." This was before serious tailgating that is now part of the football scene and traveling fans often brought their own snacks for the game. The area around Athens back then was very rural and local entrepreneurs at country stores and even front yards of houses, would have huge black pots over an open fire making boiled peanuts for fans on the way to the game.

Boiled peanuts are raw (not roasted and unsalted). As the raw peanuts cook in the saltwater the shells turn soggy and blacken, leaving the nut inside with a 'fresh, legume flavor.' The seller scoops the nuts right out of the hot brine and puts them in a brown, paper sack. The wet shells cause water spots on the sack, so it's obvious what's inside. Even southerners admit that enjoying boiled peanuts is an acquired taste. That's really an understatement but once you have the craving, it never goes away. I doubt many roadside vendors are still in business but we did find boiled peanuts at a community festival in Barnesville, another place we lived and visited on this trip. And my craving for boiled peanuts was finally satisfied.

The full southern deal at Weaver D's in Athens

Dexter Weaver is a black man who has been serving "soul food" from an old house in Athens for 35 years. Weaver D's menu is totally southern cooking with vegetables, meats and desserts that are authentic. Sherry, our friend Amy and I opted for a vegetable plate (Weaver D's serves meat: baked or fried chicken, fried pork chops. Beef's in the meatloaf). For our vegetable plate we chose collard greens, squash casserole, sweet potato souffle, field peas and the plate topped off with a cornbread muffin and sweetened iced tea (one change is unsweetened tea is also available most places, unlike fifty years ago when it was assumed everyone would drink sweetened tea). There was also fried okra and potatoes cooked a couple of ways.

Field peas may be an unfamiliar term to some readers. Field peas are technically beans and are typically called cowpeas since they were/are grown as rotational crops rather than in home gardens (you could say the old new pulse crops). The most common field pea would be what we know as black-eyed peas. The seeds were often saved and passed down to the next generation resulting in a number of interestingly named heirloom varieties, like Turkey Craw, Red Ripper and Dimpled Brown Crowder. Southerners sill love their peas. We by-passed the desserts but Weaver D's offered apple pie, peach cobbler, several flavors of homemade cake and what he says is his most popular, banana pudding.

"Stew and Q" comes "chopped or pulled"

Later we met another friend at the Fresh Air Barbeque outside Jackson, Georgia-about 70 miles southwest of Athens. You only go to that eatery for barbeque and Brunswick stew. There are no desserts, no frills and the only side dish is slaw and bagged potato chips. It's been in business since 1929. Our friend said the first time she came to the restaurant the floors were dirt under sawdust. Truthfully, the building looks original except for an added area for sit down dining.

While barbequed meat is now enjoyed nationwide Brunswick stew is unique to the south. It's typically served as a side dish (in a soup bowl) with pulled or chopped pork barbeque. The stew's exact origin is a bit unclear but was a way to use leftover barbequed meat, with many recipes still calling for equal meat portions of pre-cooked chicken, pork and beef. The base is tomato and barbeque sauce, varied spices and often with corn and/or lima beans. As would be expected Brunswick stew is different in consistency and flavor at every place its served. Chain-style southern cooking

Readers are likely familiar with two chains that have their origins in Georgia, interestingly started only a few miles apart. Chick-fil-A has expanded to Montana ( with 2600+ stores, one in Kalispell). They are famous for their chicken sandwich and fries-a fried "side" and chicken, two staples of southern cooking. Waffle House also started in Georgia and has also expanded into other regions, especially along the interstate system of the country. We got our "Waffle House fix" on the way home, just on the western outskirts of Atlanta. Waffle House cooks make grits, another principal breakfast dish in the south, just right-creamy but solid enough to be eaten with a fork.

Two things I did not try to find

Not all southern cooking appeals to me. Cracklin' bread, cornbread with bits of fried pork rind baked in it, is in my opinion a ruination of cornbread. It's another one of those folksy ways to use up bits of leftover pork. I recall the first time I tasted cracklin' bread was at a church supper in East Point, GA. When I bit into the bread and chewed in to something soft and greasy I nearly gagged. I never really tried to acquire a taste for cracklin' bread.

And then there's chitlins, or "chitterlings" up north. The cooked intestines come both fried or boiled and are another way to use all the parts of a hog, sometimes a cow. Now that most people don't do their own butchering, chitlins have lost some of their appeal to southerners. Years ago a student of mine, he was actually older than me, invited me and my wife to a chitlin feed. It was about this time of the year when people were butchering and he knew a joint that served fresh chitlins. My wife, and his, refused to go. I went and with enough catchup and thinking of other things, I managed to get down a serving of chitlins. That was my last and will be my only experience with chitlins.

What else we missed

We didn't find hush puppies, though I think they are still served in many southern eateries where fish is the main course. Nor did I see any menus that mentioned red-eye gravy-a sauce like concoction using the grease from cooked country ham and strong, black coffee (I've heard red eye gravy is on the menu of the Cracker Barrel chain, another southern-based eatery headquartered in Tennessee). Red-eye gravy was/is popular as a breakfast side, especially for pouring over grits. Honestly, it's one of those things I had once and that was enough.

And that dear reader is my brief tour of southern cooking. Maybe next trip I can expand my horizons a bit and discover more of the unique culinary treasures of our southern neighbors. I can already predict it will be fried and involve chicken or pork.