Introduction to Southern Cooking

I must admit when I was younger I didn’t spend much time with Mama in the kitchen unless it was to eat something that just came out of the oven.  As I grew older I began to pay more attention to the things she did and then, of course, when I was out on my own I would try to recreate dishes she prepared at home.  Much, much later I landed in culinary school and learned some other styles of cooking but I found that eventually I returned to my roots of Southern cooking.  Mama was very encouraging about my endeavors and it soon became something we could talk about at length over the phone even though we lived miles apart. 

Mama passed away in 2009, but  my brother and two sisters and I inherited her recipes – a legacy to a woman who put a whole lot of love into everything she made for us.  We’ve begun to share these recipes with each other, and this year I asked their permission to start a blog in her honor.  My hope was to share her legacy with others in the hopes they, too, could learn some great Southern cooking and maybe one day be able to pass those items down to their children.  Wouldn’t that be a wonderful way to share our Mama with everyone?  They agreed, and so My Mama Taught Me was born.

I’ve already published several recipes and will continue to do so, but I also thought it might be helpful to publish some series of articles to help cooks learn the basics and maybe teach a few tricks to some experienced cooks as well.  I hope the ideas we share with you will help you to have some yummy Southern eating in your home.  And I hope that even if you never met her, you will remember my Mama when you try her recipes.  She would have loved to have you over to sit in her breezeway under a ceiling fan, drink some sweet iced tea and enjoy watching the birds in the oak tree in front of her house.  Mama knew the simplest ideas were the best and she loved to share them with others.  As you work your way through this series – Bon appetit or as we would say back home: “Let’s eat!”