Hill Country Cookin And Memoirs

“Get cooking and enjoy some old-time good foods” with this treasury of Southern recipes from a Tennessee farm family in the 1930s and 1940s (Cannon Courier). Author Ibbie Ledford, born and raised in the Tennessee hills, offers her special recipes along with some cherished personal memories. Hill Country treats and staples, traditional fare, and modern favorites are all included here. Recipes for Hand-Squashed Biscuits, Corn Fritters, Chicken Pot Pie, Baked Cheese Grits, Shepherd’s Pie, Flapjacks and Hot Blackberry Jam, Deer Steaks and Gravy, Squirrel Stew with Potato Dumplings, Fried Okra, Turnip Greens, Wilted Lettuce Salad, Buttermilk Pie, and Beef Jerky are accompanied by peculiar (to some) Hill Country customs, such as how to clean and pluck a chicken, kill a hog, boil a country ham, fry chitterlings, and make inexpensive Christmas tree ornaments. Interspersed throughout the book are Ibbie’s memoirs—deliciously funny and warmly touching tales of growing up poor but well provided for in rural Tennessee more than sixty years ago. Recall with Ibbie such scenes as porch sitting, Papa’s monthly trek into town to buy supplies (and surprises for the children!), the excitement of a dance at the house, preaching all day and dinner on the grounds (with a recipe for Scripture Cake), and the arrival of May 1—time to take off the winter underwear and go barefoot—the first outhouse for the family, and many more stories that will bring back memories and touch your heart.

Homespun country sensibilities spin into modern country cooking. With stories as juicy and delicious as her recipes, author Ibbie Ledford has compiled a collection of her favorite foods and anecdotes about how people in the Tennessee hill country have adapted to changing times and modern progress.

Mark F. Sohn’s classic book, Mountain Country Cooking, was a James Beard Award nominee in 1997. In Appalachian Home Cooking, Sohn expands and improves upon his earlier work by using his extensive knowledge of cooking to uncover the romantic secrets of Appalachian food, both within and beyond the kitchen. The foods of Appalachia are the medium for the history of a creative culture and a proud people. This is the story of pigs and chickens, corn and beans, and apples and peaches as they reflect the culture that has grown from the region’s topography, climate, and soil. Sohn unfolds the ways of a table that blends Native American, Eastern European, Scotch–Irish, black, and Hispanic influences to become something new—and uniquely American. Sohn shows how food traditions in Appalachia have developed over two centuries from dinner on the grounds, church picnics, school lunches, and family reunions as he celebrates regional signatures such as dumplings, moonshine, and country ham. Food and folkways go hand in hand as he examines wild plants, cast-iron cookware, and the nature of the Appalachian homeplace. Appalachian Home Cooking celebrates mountain food at its best. In addition to a thorough discussion of Appalachian food history and culture, Sohn offers over eighty classic recipes, as well as mail-order sources, information on Appalachian food festivals, photographs, poetry, a glossary of Appalachian and cooking terms, menus for holidays and seasons, and a list of the top 100 Appalachian foods.

Birren has conducted more than twenty-five years of autobiography groups, where participants recall, write, and share their life stories. He offers "how-to" tips for organizing, complementing, and understanding oral history works. He finds that the exercise is rewarding for adults entering periods of transitions, such as the elderly population, and encourages the sharing of experiences with others on the same journey.

Homespun country sensibilities spin into modern country cooking. With stories as juicy and delicious as her recipes, author Ibbie Ledford has compiled a collection of her favorite foods and anecdotes about how people in the Tennessee hill country have adapted to changing times and modern progress.

A collection of memoir stories by Hill Country Legacy Writers