A Love Affair With Southern Cooking_ Recipes and Recollections - Jean Anderson [256]
Catfish:
Kajun Catfish. No website. Purveyor of wild, freshly caught catfish. Phone: (504) 758-7454.
Des Allemands Out Law Katfish. No website. Another source for wild catfish. Phone: (985) 758-7454.
Crawfish:
lacrawfish.com. This family-owned business in Natchitoches, Louisiana, guarantees that the crawfish shipped to your door will arrive live and kicking. They also pack and ship jumbo Gulf shrimp.
cajuncrawfish.com. Shrimp, live crawfish, and a variety of other Cajun foods.
Flour, Cornmeal, Grits, and Other Grains
ansonmills.com. Organic, stone-ground cornmeal and grits milled in small batches; they’re praised for their fresh corn flavor. Also headquarters for the precious Carolina Gold rice.
hoppinjohns.com. Stone-ground grits (the coarsest grind), cornmeal, and corn flour.
J. T. Pollard Milling Co. No website; phone: 1-334-588-3391. Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock consider its stone-ground cornmeal the South’s best.
Logan Turnpike Mills. No website; phone: 1-800-844-7487. Atlanta Cuisine calls its water-ground grits “the best in the nation.” Logan also grinds cornmeal and flour.
marthawhite.com. An old Tennessee company relocated to Minnesota, Martha White still mills the soft-wheat flours southern bakers prize. Many southern supermarkets still stock Martha White flours, cornmeals, and mixes but if unavailable, they can be ordered online.
oldmillofguilford.com. From an eighteenth-century water-powered mill: yellow or white cornmeal and grits, unbleached plain or self-rising flour, high-gluten flour, rye flour, buckwheat flour, and more.
whitelily.com. Miller of the South’s beloved soft (low-gluten) flours (all-purpose and self-rising), essential for feathery cakes, flaky biscuits, and pastries. Other products: unbleached bread and self-rising flours; biscuit, brownie, cornmeal, muffin, and pancake mixes.
Fruits and Vegetables
Creecy greens (wild cress of the mustard family):
Available in 14.5-ounce cans from InTown General Mercantile in Aberdeen, North Carolina. www.eintown.com/ourstore.
Key limes:
Some high-end southern groceries carry fresh Key limes in season (fall and early winter) as does the Whole Foods chain of stores.
Key lime juice:
floridajuice.com. Key lime juice by the case in small (1-pint), medium (1-quart), and large (1-gallon) bottles.
keylimejuice.com. What began as a Key West cottage industry more than thirty years ago (backyard Key limes squeezed into beer bottles) has become the wholly professional Nellie & Joe’s Famous Lime Juice. For home cooks there are 16-ounce (1-pint) bottles; for food service industries there are 55-gallon drums.
williams-sonoma.com. Key lime juice in handy 12-ounce bottles.
Vidalia onions:
byronplantation.com. Spring and fall harvest Vidalias, baby Vidalias, plus Vidalia relishes, vinaigrettes, and other products.
manningfarms.com. Fresh Vidalias as well as cookbooks and assorted products.
vidaliasfinest.com. Jumbo Vidalias from the L. G. Herndon, Jr., Farms shipped in 10-or 40-pound boxes from May through September.
robisonfarms@cybersouth.com. Two sizes of Vidalias—3-inch-or-larger Jumbos and 1¾-to 2¾-inch Mediums—shipped in season.
vidaliaarea.com/pdfs/OnionGrowersList. For a complete list of Vidalia Onion growers and handlers.
Ramps (wild leeks):
earthy.com. Fresh ramps, available only from late March through June.
Wild Persimmon Purée:
dillmanfarm.com. Just what you need for persimmon bread and pudding.
Hams, Bacon, Sausages, and Other Meats
Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Hams. No website; phone: 1-423-442-5003. Sugar-cured or hickory-smoked hams and bacons, also American prosciutto.
cajunspecialtymeats.com. Purveyors of a variety of Cajun products, among them the classic tasso, andouille, and boudin as well as heat-and-eat turducken (duck-and-chicken-stuffed turkey) and crawfish étouffée–stuffed chicken.
comeaux.com. An excellent source for tasso; recommended