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½ pound finely ground fully cooked smoked ham

1/3 cup finely chopped yellow onion

¼ cup firmly packed mayonnaise-relish sandwich spread

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons milk (about)

1/8 to ¼ teaspoon ground hot red pepper (cayenne), depending on how “hot” you like things

1. Combine all ingredients in a small nonreactive bowl, cover, and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

2. When almost ready to serve, let the ham salad stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. If the mixture seems dry, add another tablespoon or two of milk.

3. Use as a spread for open-face tea sandwiches or full-size luncheon sandwiches.

The South of every country is different, and the south of every South even more so.

—EUGENE WALTER, MILKING THE MOON, A SOUTHERNER’S STORY OF LIFE ON THIS PLANET

HERBED EGG SALAD

MAKES ABOUT 2½ CUPS

Like the ham salad in the previous recipe, egg salad is quintessential comfort food for the Southerners I know. They will pile it into sandwiches, scoop it into hollowed-out tomatoes, mound it on a bed of greens, even eat it straight out of the refrigerator. It was my Mississippi friend Jean Todd Freeman who began adding freshly snipped chives and dill (or tarragon) to an otherwise fairly bland mix. She’d lived in Philadelphia, then New York, and as fiction editor of The Ladies’ Home Journal had spent many luncheons not only wining and wooing literary agents in fancy restaurants but also picking up a few culinary tricks. Although fiction was Jean’s metier, she was a “food natural” who instinctively knew what went with what. In all the years that I knew her, Jean perpetuated this little myth that she couldn’t cook. I knew better. Note: For directions on the easy way to hard-cook eggs, see the headnote for Favorite Deviled Eggs, Chapter 1.

12 large hard-cooked eggs, shelled and finely chopped

½ cup firmly packed mayonnaise

1/3 cup moderately finely chopped parsley

1/3 cup finely snipped fresh dill (or, if you prefer, ¼ cup finely chopped fresh tarragon)

¼ cup finely snipped fresh chives

2 large scallions, trimmed and finely chopped (white part only)

1 small celery rib, trimmed and cut into fine dice

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

¼ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

2 tablespoons milk or half-and-half (about)

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium-size nonreactive bowl. If the mixture seems dry, add another tablespoon or two of milk. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust as needed. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

2. When ready to use, let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, then use as a spread for open-face tea sandwiches or full-size luncheon sandwiches.

Variation

Old South Egg Salad: Omit the parsley, dill, and chives and add 1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard; substitute ½ cup mayonnaise-relish sandwich spread for the mayonnaise and ¼ cup finely grated yellow onion for the scallions. Otherwise, prepare the recipe as directed.

BLACK-EYED PEA HUMMUS

MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP

Not so long ago I wrote an article for Gourmet on the Smokies and among the imaginative new southern dishes that I discovered while prowling the Tennessee and North Carolina high ground was this garlicky black-eyed pea hummus. It was the creation of Robert Carter, then the chef at the Richmond Hill Inn’s Arbor Grille in Asheville. Offered as an appetizer, it came with fried green tomatoes, quartered and crisp enough to serve as dippers. A winning combination. If you don’t want to bother about frying green tomatoes, serve this hummus with sesame crackers. Asheville’s Arbor Grille is closed and Robert Carter now wears the toque at the Peninsula Grill in Charleston, South Carolina (see his Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Greens and Ham, Chapter 2). Note: To toast cumin seeds, swirl in a small dry skillet over moderate heat for about a minute or until fragrant; cool before using. Tip: If you make this hummus a day or two ahead of time, it will taste even better. About an hour before serving, take the hummus from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature.