Category Archives: Uncategorized

  One of the most frequently asked questions I receive is, “What is the difference between Southern cooking and Northern cooking?” Actually, I should restate that opening sentence. One of the most frequently asked questions by media located outside of the South is, “What is the difference between Southern cooking and Northern cooking?” If youContinue reading “North vs South”

It’s time to come clean. It’s a known fact, and I have written often, about my first experience cooking in a professional kitchen. It wasn’t until we opened the Purple Parrot in 1987, and after firing our chef on opening night, that I began cooking in a commercial kitchen. To that point, the entirety ofContinue reading “Maw-Maw's Chicken Scam”

The devil has come to town and he’s wearing a disguise. This devil doesn’t have a red tail and horns. He doesn’t go by an evil moniker such as Lucifer. This devil is made of sugar and spice and has a cutesy name. This evil doesn’t live in a fiery pit, but dwells in aContinue reading “Edible Evil Incarnate”

Three of the most beautiful words in the English language are “jumbo lump crabmeat.” Taken on their own the words are nothing special. If one were playing an association game, the first thing that came to mind upon hearing the word “jumbo” might be an elephant or maybe something connected to a circus. There isContinue reading “Jumbo Lump Crabmeat”

Independent restaurants anchor a community. They tell the story of a town and its people much better than a slick chamber of commerce brochure. When I am traveling, I skip meals at the hotel and ask the front desk clerk, “Where’s the best place to eat? Not a chain, nothing fancy, I’m looking for theContinue reading “Hal & Mal’s”

  My love affair with cereal has lasted 54 years. These days I mostly eat oatmeal, which is considered a healthy “warm cereal,” but I have never been too old to eat kid’s cereal, and I still eat plenty of it when I’m not dieting. My children are in their late teens and have alreadyContinue reading “Cereal Killers”

I started a diet a few months ago. The two main offenders I gave up were bread and sugar. It seems to me that those two items— bread and sugar— are toxic to my system and are the primary reasons for weight gain now that my middle-aged metabolism has slowed to that of a sloth.Continue reading “Bread and Circus (and sugar)”

In 1999, I received a telephone call from the local newspaper, The Hattiesburg American. They asked if I would be interested in writing a weekly column focused on food. I said, “No, thank you.” They pressed. I held firm. They kept pressing. Finally, after exhausting my long list of excuses as to why I couldn’tContinue reading “Death By Garlic, Roux, and Macaroni”

Dr. Henry Heimlich performed his famous life-saving maneuver for the first time when he was 96-years old. When I learned about that a few weeks ago the news took me aback. I had assumed that the creator of this often-used maneuver would have been a pro at it. As it stands, I am almost anContinue reading “RSJ 4 Heimlich 1”