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1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper sauce, or to taste

1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over for bits of shell and cartilage

4 tablespoons cream sherry

½ teaspoon salt, or to taste

2 medium lemons, very thinly sliced and seeded (Meri uses only the center portion of thin-skinned lemons)

3 large hard-cooked eggs, shelled and thinly sliced (Meri slices only the center portion of each egg and chops the ends; these also go into the soup)

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley or chervil (garnish)

1. Melt the butter in a large, heavy saucepan over moderately low heat. Add the celery, pepper, and nutmeg and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until the celery is soft.

2. Blend in the flour and cook and stir for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk, then cook and stir for about 5 minutes or until the soup thickens slightly. Do not let the soup boil or it may curdle.

3. Add the cream and cook, stirring now and then, for 10 minutes or until the flavors mellow. Mix in the Worcestershire and hot pepper sauce. Note: You can prepare the recipe up to this point a day or two in advance. Simply cover and refrigerate until ready to proceed. Tip: If you cool the soup, then smooth a sheet of plastic food wrap flat over the surface so no “skin” will form on top.

4. When ready to proceed, gently fold the crabmeat into the soup using a large spoon; do not stir. Bring just to a simmer over moderately low heat; this will take about 10 minutes. Fold in the sherry and salt, taste for seasoning, and adjust the salt, pepper, Worcestershire, and hot pepper sauce as needed. Also thin with a little additional milk or cream, if you like.

5. To serve, place 2 slices each of lemon and hard-cooked egg in each of four to six heated large, broad-rimmed soup bowls; add the chopped hard-cooked egg, dividing the total amount evenly; then ladle in the soup. Garnish each portion with a light scattering of the chopped parsley. Note: This soup is equally delicious cold. Simply transfer to a nonreactive bowl, cover, and refrigerate for several hours. Serve as directed in Step 5. Make sure the soup bowls are good and cold.

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TIME LINE: the people and events that shaped Southern Cuisine

1729

Baltimore is founded and soon swells with German immigrants.

1730

Germans, Scotch-Irish, Quakers, and Welsh Baptists who’d first settled in Pennsylvania begin funneling down the Blue Ridge into the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. They bring with them their own religion, their own culture, and, not least, their own way of cooking.

1733

James Oglethorpe sails into the mouth of the Savannah River, establishes a new British colony, and names it Georgia after King George II. Oglethorpe also lays out the town plan for Savannah, incorporating a very British series of parks.

1734

German Protestants begin settling in the Georgia colony.

1735

The Georgia colony bans the import of slaves, rum, and other “ruinous spirits.”

1737

With carriages and masked horsemen, New Orleans celebrates Carnival.

Natural History of Virginia by William Byrd II is published and describes in detail the fruits and vegetables growing in the Virginia colony, among them such European delicacies as artichokes, asparagus, and cauliflower.

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TEXAS PETE HOT SAUCE

Never mind the lasso-twirling cowboy on the label. Never mind the “howdy pod’ner” tone of the website (www.texaspete.com). This hot sauce has nothing to do with Texas.

The story of Texas Pete begins in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, back in 1929 with sixteen-year-old Thad W. Garner. Just out of high school, Garner was college-bound when opportunity knocked. The Dixie Pig Barbecue Stand just down the road was up for sale, a chance, Garner thought, to make a little money.

So he plunked down $300—half the college money he’d earned driving school buses and delivering newspapers. The Dixie Pig was his, but more important, so was the recipe for its signature barbecue sauce, a blend so delicious it would launch a multimillion-dollar business.

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