Turtles, peanuts, and a few tons of stew

When I was pillaging a local Half Price Books and found a set of big, green rings holding together thick wooden covers, I thought I had come across a little cookbook that had inspired such devotion that some (racist) craftsperson had created a special cover to protect the precious book.

The fact that the title on the cover, Fine Old Dixie Recipes, did not actually match the title of the book inside seemed to confirm my hunch.

My instincts were wrong, though. Whether this is Fine Old Dixie Recipes or Southern Cook Book (1965), the booklet and the wooden cover came as a set. I just got a slightly worn copy. There's no heartwarming(-ish) story of someone making this cover as a Christmas present to help protect Mama's favorite book.

 The booklet has plenty of "Fine Old Recipes," as promised, though.

Not too long ago, I was reading an article about why Americans quit eating turtle. Here's a reminder that turtle was indeed fine dining:

I love turtles, though, and I'd hate to see the little guys in my soup. They should be on a log out in the sun!

This southern favorite is more my speed:

Peanuts! Admittedly, I eat most of mine in peanut butter cup or peanut butter on toast form, but I wonder what Cream of Peanut Soup would be like. (Rich!)

The book highlighted my ignorance of southern cooking. Of course I'd heard of short'nin' bread, but I realized I didn't actually know what it was when I saw an actual recipe. I'd always assumed it was something like fry bread.

Nope! Apparently it's just a southern way to refer to shortbread cookies.

Southerners really want to be known for hospitality, so here's a classic dish to make when you have a few thousand of your closest friends over:

Good luck finding enough huge iron kettles to hold a few tons of food to be cooked outdoors for 15-20 hours. Just remember that if squirrels are in season, you can add a dozen to each 100 gallons!

The booklet has plenty of pictures, but not a lot of them are actually of food. They mostly show off the south as a region. Here's a rare one that showcases both the food and the area:

Hope you enjoyed this peek into southern cuisine! I'm going out to reassure my little turtle and squirrel friends that I have no desire to eat them.