American regional cuisine

[chefteldanielle]

After flipping through my sylabus I noticed that I need to write a paper on the history of a certain region in the USA.
I believe that I can relate best to the southern cuisine, being from south america and having lived in Florida for 18 years.
My question to you is.
Does anyone know of a book or website that would help me write this paper on the history of Southern cuisine?
Secondly I can use some interesting soutern recipes for Soup, Salad, appetizer, entree, Vegetable, starch and Vegetarian
I must convert them to feed 100 people, which I will do ofcourse.
Thank you in advance.
Do you guys feel like you are right in school with me?
And it costs you absolutely nothing...
Dinner at my house when iam done with school.
Danielle

[elakin]

hi danielle

it's not exactly southern cuisine, but norman van aiken is a great chef from south florida who combines the products availiable in that area with lots of interesting carribbean, south american, low country, and southern american techniques and traditions to make a cuisine he has named "new world cuisine." he's a great chef, and has a couple good cookbooks out, which i'm sure you can find. also, he's got a very nice website which i'm sure you can locate by using a search engine and typing in his name. the restaurant's name is norman's. very good stuff and uniquely american...

[lynne]

Danielle,

Bill Neal's Southern Cooking is a great book not only for background, but traditional Southern recipes. Our local library has a copy of it, and I know you can get it off of bestbookbuys.com for 1/2 price. The recipes in it all seem to convert pretty well (I used some for one of my school projects) and the info is very relevant.

Good luck!

lynne

Danielle:

You might do some poking around in this site:
http://southernfood.about.com/food/s...ern+%2Bcooking

[foodnfoto]

Also check out "Gracious Plenty" and "Southern Belly" both by John T. edge of the Institute for Southern Studies at Old Miss.
Bill Neal also wrote "Biscuits, Spoonbread and Sweet Pototato Pie" another insightful book about southern cooking.

[Mezzaluna]

Golly, nobody has mentioned White Trash Cooking! Laugh if you will, but I see some good vegetable recipes in there, and a few other things I'm interested in trying some day (Limpin' Susan). More cultural than culinary, I have to admit, but a real hoot to read.

[cape chef]

danielle,

I'm sorry that I don't have any books on "southern cooking" Hey I'm a CT Yankee (although I'm a Mets fan)
But Most of the books recommended to you I am familer with. I would highly recommend Norman Van Akins books...I think he has had the biggest impact down south (florida anyway)he is masterful in blending traditinal southern foods with a blast of the islands.Also Mark Mitella (sp?) has a very high regarded restaurant and book.Daneille,This time around why don't you throw out your ideas to the community and we can all work with you.
cc

[Isa]

Danielle,

On the Cooking Light website there's a small article, with recipes, on southern foods.
http://cookinglight.com/articles/get...e.asp?aID=9533

[chefteldanielle]

Ok guys I am working on my recipes tonight and will let you know what they are.
Thank you for all the info..
Crudeau you are definately the information queen.
Thank you.
Danielle

Danielle:

You are most welcome...but ya better make that king.

[Dlee]

Danielle,

After reading your posting, I think the class that you are taking now is Americian regional cuisine. If that is so I think you need to focus in more on the "Americian", IE; biscuits and gravy, soul food, fried chicken , cornbread, cat fish, etc...

Regions like Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia....


Now if it is Southwest Cuisine, Arizona, New Mexico. Food examples are; chiles, corn, beans, salsa, tortilla, squash, taco, catus,etc...


A good refrence book is "Culinaria, The United States, a culinary discovery."

Just a thought...

D.Lee

[ 02-18-2001: Message edited by: Dlee ]

[Pete]

Southern cuisine-that is quite a large area to cover. There are many different areas of the south that have their own specilties, such as cajun/creole, low-country, soul food, Floribean (a combination of southern and caribbean which Norman has made famous), and southwestern. For me things that bring to mind "southern cooking" are things such as biscuits, spoonbread, grits, crab & shrimp boils, BBQ, and the ever popular fried chicken. Also no discussion of southern foods is complete without collards and pot licker (the liquid left over from cooking collards.
There are numerous cookbooks out there about Southern cooking, most of them will at least give you a good idea of the kinds of food produced there and many also will give you an idea of history of these foods.

If I had this topic I would do the influence of the black cook in Southern cuisine. Throughout the colonial period, slavery, Reconstruction and ever after, the influence of blacks, whether from Africa or the Caribbean, is undeniable.
It is a common thread that pervades all of the foodways of the South. In the rural areas, making do with local ingredients was required -- turning them into wonderful food that endures today was ART! In the cities, using local ingredients to produce "haute cuisine" was ART!
I would look at some of the "party ladies" -- black women who were hired to cater parties -- who produced fabulous delicacies. Read the Heritage of Southern Cooking by Camille Glenn, Creole Feast (15 Masster Chefs of New Orleans Reveal Their Secrets) by Nathaniel Burton and Rudy Lombard, and Dooky Chase's cookbook.
Without the glorious creativity of the black Southern cook, we'd all be stuck with the worst of British Colonial "cooking." Poverty's only comfort is that inspires resilience and innovation.

Margaret:

Amen.

[chefteldanielle]

This is what I came up with this weekend..
Hoppin John Chowder
Vine ripe tomato corn salad
Crab cakes with key lime aioli
Peach and bourbon basted pork chops
Sweet potato and cracked pepper biscuits
Minted green snap peas
and for my vegetarian meal grits and greens souffle'

I already wrote my paperon the history of the Southern BBQ.
We have to write a paper in this class on one of the regional cuisines and Iam hoping he will accept this paper. I guess I will ask when i meet him on Tuesday.

Now for one of these I need 1/2 gallon of breadcrumbs. In the original recipe it was listed in cups. I do not convert this to lbs correct? (theses are all converted to 100 portions)
Thank you
Danielle
P.S. Crudeau.. King sounds better I quess, I thought you were a female...sorry