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5. To serve, cut the Pressed Chicken into squares and bed each on a lettuce leaf on a dinner plate. Top each portion with a generous dollop of mayonnaise. Good accompaniments: Crisp-tender asparagus spears or green beans and thickly sliced red-ripe tomatoes.

Until a child was grown he saw only the wings, back, and Pope’s noses of chicken while he watched the grown folks eat the breasts, legs, and such.

—CARSON MCCULLERS, ON HER GEORGIA CHILDHOOD

The Turkey is certainly one of the most delightful presents which the New World has made to the Old.

—ANTHELME BRILLAT-SAVARIN

* * *

TIME LINE: the people and events that shaped Southern Cuisine

1892

Asa G. Candler incorporates Coca-Cola and over time earns millions as its president.

Down-Easter L. W. Rogers, recently relocated to Atlanta to make his fortune, opens his first grocery, then rapidly expands throughout Georgia and South Carolina. By 1936, there are more than 400 Rogers groceries. Fifty-five years later, and already merged with the popular Virginia-based Pender chain, Rogers renames its groceries. They become Colonial Stores.

1893

Pharmacist Caleb Bradham of New Bern, North Carolina, concocts a fizzy digestif out of pepsin, kola nuts, sugar, vanilla, rare oils, and carbonated water. He calls it “Brad’s Drink.”

1895

Asa Candler now has three plants across the country producing the secret Coca-Cola syrup, one each in Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles.

1896

Booker T. Washington hires agronomist George Washington Carver to teach and conduct research at Alabama’s Tuskegee Institute. (See box, Chapter 6.)

* * *

CHICKEN MAYONNAISE

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

The recipe for this cool molded chicken salad, like the Pressed Chicken that precedes, came from Ruth Current, with whom I worked shortly after graduating from college. It, too, calls for two envelopes of gelatin and once again I’ve halved the amount. For slightly stiffer Chicken Mayonnaise, use one envelope plus one teaspoon of gelatin. I’ve changed Miz Ruth’s recipe in another way, too: I’ve toasted the almonds because I like them better than raw almonds. My method of making Chicken Mayonnaise, however, is the same as for Pressed Chicken because I’m forever seeking ways to minimize kitchen time and clutter. See the Note and Tip on Chapter 3.

1 envelope unflavored gelatin (see headnote)

¼ cup cold water

2 cups boiling chicken broth or rich stock

2 tablespoons finely grated yellow onion

1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

½ cup firmly packed mayonnaise (use “light,” if you like)

½ cup firmly packed mayonnaise-relish sandwich spread

2½ cups finely diced cooked chicken

½ cup coarsely chopped, lightly toasted slivered almonds (8 to 10 minutes in a 350° F. oven)

2 large hard-cooked eggs, peeled and finely diced

2 medium celery ribs, trimmed and finely diced

1 cup solidly frozen tiny green peas

6 lettuce leaves or 1 head radicchio, cored and sliced about ½ inch thick

1. Lightly coat an 8 × 8 × 2-inch baking dish or nonreactive pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2. Soften the gelatin in the cold water for 5 minutes. Pour the boiling chicken broth into a large heatproof bowl (see Note and Tip, Chapter 3), and add the gelatin. As soon as it dissolves, mix in the onion, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

3. Set uncovered in the refrigerator for about an hour or until syrupy. Blend in the mayonnaise and sandwich spread, whisking until smooth. Fold in the chicken, almonds, eggs, celery, and frozen peas, then pour into the baking dish and spread to the corners.

4. Set uncovered in the refrigerator and chill overnight or until firm enough to cut.

5. To serve, cut the Chicken Mayonnaise into squares and bed each on a lettuce leaf or nest in the sliced radicchio. The perfect accompaniment: thickly sliced red-ripe tomatoes.

Variations

Turkey Mayonnaise: Prepare the recipe as directed, substituting cooked turkey for chicken. Ham Mayonnaise: Prepare Steps 1 and 2 of Chicken