I was born and raised in the red-dirt crested bluffs and bayous of north and central Louisiana. My family of wonderful cooks kept the food for our holidays, church dinners on the ground, and family reunions so special that it created a magnetic pull that kept us returning no matter where life called us.
Southern food is soulful, sinful, and satisfying in a way that no other cuisine can match. It’s not only the food, but also the lifestyle that goes with it, that creates an indelible mark that time and distance cannot erase. From Acadiana’s spicy kick to New Orleans’s ethnic influence, to Memphis’ barbecue to coastal Alabama and Mississippi River catches, Southern food is a broad palate of culinary brushstrokes. It’s not a rich man’s cuisine, nor is it prepared only by the highly educated food aficionado. It’s accessible and real, comfortable and sustaining.
This book is my tribute to the place I call home, the food we serve, and the people who have joined me around the table and shared their fellowship and recipes with me. It is my sincere hope that the custom of eating around a table with good fresh-cooked meals can return to homes everywhere and heal something that has been lost through our busy schedules, which often make us turn to convenience food eaten on the run. At the end of our days, we won’t remember the calories we counted or the time we didn’t spend with those we love. But we will remember the indulgence of an incredible meal, the slow-as-molasses front-porch conversations, and the smell of bacon cooked in a real kitchen, with grace being said. The haunting perfume of wisteria, heavy hug of humidity, and tempting crunch of fried chicken will fix anything broken in life, if someone you love tells you to pull up a chair.