South for the Mouth

[DanWil84]

I'm not entirely sure what "American" cuisine is. There are a great many regional cuisines and every one of them is refined, in the best sense. When I sit down to a plate of Huevos Rancheros at Tia Sophia in Santa Fé I'm experiencing the deep soul of Southwestern New Mexican cooking and there is something magical about their sopapillas.
Barbeque varies from region to region and people will fight over whose version is better. Chili is a national competition. All of this happens because there is refinement, in the best sense of the word, in the cooking of the various regions of the US.
It may not be served on a silver plate, but I'm not eating the silver plate.

With people moving in also the food is brought into the local cuisine. We have a large community from indonesia, Surinam and the Antilles and those cuisines are mingled with ours. The chance a Surinam would eat carrot and onion mash and sausages would be a lot slimmer than us enjoying slow stewed chicken (or even better, Duck ?) with green beans & sweet potato between a very thin buritto ?. Maybe the term "American" isn't the right one, but for ease used, just like any cuisine with other influences isn't just local.

Again, I might not be well introduced in American cuisine, but impressions matter: what I see is like said comfort food, if it's Pizza, cheesesteak, creole cuisine, barbecue or Mexican inspired food. And nothing wrong with that, a road trip from barbecue restaurant to restaurant sounds like heaven to me.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Southern foods are mostly based upon Germanic cooking styles, with lots of battered and fried meats with potatoes, but heavily influenced by African spices and style.
And, in Alabama, in the southern part of the state, the French cultures there gave us sauces and gravies, and a lot of what also inspired Cajun styles.

I grew up on pork brains and eggs for breakfast and pintos and cornbread for dinners. That is about as Southern as I can come up with.

I don't find that my pipe compliments any foods in particular.

 

[kcghost]

Love me some gumbo. Put grits on the side and I am in heaven.

 

[MRW]

Love me some gumbo. Put grits on the side and I am in heaven.

Love me sum cheese grits!

 

[MRW]

I grew up poor (thank goodness I changed that later in life). Tomato soup was ketchup and water. Mom made us SOS. Never really knew what that meant but it was just ground beef, flour and water on a piece of bread. Never went to bed hungry.

 

[monty55]

I grew up poor (thank goodness I changed that later in life). Tomato soup was ketchup and water. Mom made us SOS. Never really knew what that meant but it was just ground beef, flour and water on a piece of bread. Never went to bed hungry.

SOS in the food world mean Shit On a Shingle. Usually some type of meat in some type of gravy on some type of toast or bread. It's a great way to use leftovers and with a little salt, pepper and hot sauce it can be quite satisfying.

 

[trouttimes]

Brunswick stew
‘Banner pudding
Shrimp grits

 

[MRW]

SOS in the food world mean Shit On a Shingle. Usually some type of meat in some type of gravy on some type of toast or bread. It's a great way to use leftovers and with a little salt, pepper and hot sauce it can be quite satisfying.

This kept me alive.

 

[Streeper541]

I love southern food.

 

[sablebrush52]

Ever ate at a Michelin star place? That's what I call "refined", but still can not be everyone's preference or the epitomy of "refined".

OK, so what is referred to as "Haute Cuisine". I've dined at Michelin starred restaurants as well as James Beard Award winning restaurants, and the food is marvelous, and very refined in preparation and presentation. Still, I find it a bit of a narrow interpretation of "refined".

The cook who spends countless hours developing a barbeque sauce, or a cooking method that brings out just a bit more flavor in the meat; the cook who searches for the perfect combination of textures to make a peach cobbler, these are all acts of refinement. Regardless, it all comes down to the talent, palette, and palate of the cook.

 

[bullet08]

I could use some Carolina bbq with collard greens right now.

 

[MRW]

I could use some Carolina bbq with collard greens right now.

Back to the south. Thank God! My original intent.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

Didn't someone at the Oscars say, "keep my wife's south out of your mouth!" - maybe I misheard that . . . ?