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PICNIC POTATO SALAD

MAKES 8 TO 10 SERVINGS

No southern picnic, family reunion, or church supper would be complete without this simple potato salad. Often a couple of finely diced celery ribs are added to the mix and sometimes a little chopped green or red bell pepper as well. But the southern cooks I know stick to the recipe below. In the old days, all-purpose potatoes went into the salad, but I prefer the sweeter “red-skins.” Note: Duke’s is the sandwich spread Southerners would use here. It was developed early in the twentieth century by Eugenia Duke of Greenville, South Carolina (see box, Chapter 4).

4 pounds large red-skin potatoes, cooked until firm-tender, peeled, and cubed

6 large hard-cooked eggs, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped

2 cups (1 pint) mayonnaise-relish sandwich spread (see Note at left)

3 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard (it should be “taxicab” yellow)

2 tablespoons milk (about)

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

2 teaspoons celery seeds

1½ teaspoons salt, or to taste

½ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

1. Place the potatoes, eggs, and onion in a very large bowl and toss gently to mix.

2. Whisk all remaining ingredients together in a small bowl or 1-quart measure, pour over the potato mixture, and toss well. If the salad seems dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons more milk. Also taste for salt and pepper and adjust as needed.

3. Cover and refrigerate the salad 2 to 3 hours before serving.

The courthouse square was covered with picnic parties sitting on newspapers, washing down biscuits and syrup with warm milk from fruit jars. Some people were gnawing on cold chicken and cold fried pork chops. The more affluent chased their food with drugstore Coca-Cola.

—HARPER LEE, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

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TIME LINE: the people and events that shaped Southern Cuisine

1930s

Double Cola is formulated in Chattanooga. “Double” refers to the size of the bottle (twice that of rival colas), not to flavor, which is lighter. Double Cola remains a southern favorite, although its bottles are no longer oversize.

1931

Toombs County, Georgia, farmer Mose Coleman discovers that this year’s onions are not typically, tearfully hot. They’re as sweet as apples—the very first Vidalias. (See Vidalia Onions, Chapter 4.)

1932

The Krystal Company is founded in Chattanooga and soon launches the South’s first chain of fast-food restaurants. Today more than 400 Krystal restaurants serve the company’s signature square oniony burgers around the clock.

Herman W. Lay, a Tennessee traveling salesman, begins selling Atlanta-made potato chips out of the trunk of his Model A Ford.

1933

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) installs an electric power plant in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and soon this backwoods booms with poultry farms.

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SWEET POTATO SALAD

MAKES 8 TO 10 SERVINGS

North Carolina tops all other states when it comes to sweet potato production, so it’s scarcely surprising that local chefs are constantly devising new ways to prepare them. And none, to my mind, is more inventive than Ben Barker, who with wife Karen owns Durham’s award-winning Magnolia Grill. I’ve profiled the Barkers many times (for Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, More), and among the recipes that I remember with particular fondness is Ben’s twenty-four-karat sweet potato salad. Although an earlier version of it appeared in a Food & Wine article of mine, the recipe here is adapted from the Barkers’s cookbook, Not Afraid of Flavor (2002). I find it equally good with cold baked ham, cold roast pork, or grilled, fried, or barbecued chicken. Note: Barker makes his own pepper relish but tells home cooks it’s okay to use a favorite commercial brand. With its tart oil-based dressing, this salad is perfect for a picnic; it can also be made a day or two in advance but should be brought to room temperature before being served. Tip: Mix the parsley in at the last minute; if added earlier, it will discolor.