As a child I wrote short stories with long, drawn out descriptions of food. This would have been forgivable had I written the rest of the story in the same amount of detail. Apparently plot was never particularly important. This uneven focus has continued into my adult life. Seeing a commercial or even hearing a passing mention of food can make me fixate on it to the point that I feel physical pain if I don’t eat that particular thing. I watch cooking shows when I’m hungry so that when I finally tear myself away from the TV—salivating, stomach churning—the food I eat will taste even better. I might be a crazy person.
To Kill A Mockingbird at least pretends to have a plot (just kidding. Racial strife. It’s important.) Food works on many levels: as metaphor for racial segregation (the Black folks leave their offerings on the back porch, the white folks knock on the front door), as a reflection of socioeconomic status (affluence based on ingredients afforded by income) and as representation for Southern hospitality—the way you could expect the neighbors to drop by with a Lane Cake or lemon squares in times of tragedy. So much of life in Maycomb can be represented through food. I get a lot of satisfaction from this. It mirrors that first bite I take after watching Giada make carbonara and say “mah-zo-ray-a” between perfectly enunciated English words. You know, just in case you forgot she was Italian.
“Perhaps Calpurnia sensed that my day had been a grim one: she let me watch her fix supper. ‘Shut your eyes and open your mouth and I’ll give you a surprise,’ she said. It was not often that she made crackling bread, she said she never had time, but with both of us at school today had been an easy one for her. She knew I loved crackling bread.”
I don’t know what to think about crackling bread. I prefer my cornbread less meaty, I guess. Don’t get me wrong, I doused this in butter and pure Vermont maple syrup and it was amazing. I just don’t like pork that much.
I debated making my own cracklings, but ultimately—after wandering the meat section wide eyed and confused—I stumbled upon prepackaged cracklings and snatched them up. Going forward I would like to make everything from scratch. Just consider this introductory recipe my Sandra Lee-semi-homemade slip up (you know, boxed recipe + extra ingredient. Oh Sandra. You crazy lush.) See, if Calpurnia had employed this kind of half-assed strategy then maybe she’d have more time to make crackling bread. Just sayin’.
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cup yellow or white corn meal, 1 cup all purpose flour, 2 cups buttermilk, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tbsp baking powder, 2 eggs, 1 cup pork cracklings, 2 tbsp bacon fat or crisco (makes about 6 servings)
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat baking pan in bacon fat or crisco (I ended up cooking the bacon for the fat, crumbling it up and adding it in with the cracklings)
2. Mix dry ingredients. Pour in buttermilk (if you don’t have buttermilk, use powdered buttermilk + water) and stir. Add eggs and cracklings. Mix well.
3. Pour into pan and bake for 25-30 mins. Cool for 5 mins. Drizzle with butter, honey or maple syrup.
In my culture we say:” the eyes eat before the mouth, sometimes”
I love this. What culture is that?
Saudi (middle eastern culture) 🙂
Reblogged this on Agus Bimbank and commented:
Nyam,,nyammm,,nyaaammmmm
The union of excellent food and excellent literature is a beautiful thing. I’ve been meaning to read To Kill a Mockingbird, but now you’ve definitely convinced me. 🙂
Glad I could give you a little cajoling 🙂
Will need to eat this with Tequila Mockingbird from Tim Federle’s book, though I suspect the cultural clash of cocktail with crackling may do me in…
This is perfectly sound logic to me (and I’ve been meaning to buy that book!)
Congratulations on being Freshly Pressed.
Thank you!
Oh, Calpurnia — I haven’t thought about her in so long. Time for a re-read I think. Congrats on the Fresh Press! I too am a sucker for food scenes in books. Pretty sure the best gift I ever received was my first Little House on the Prairie cookbook. 🙂
Thanks! I am (obviously) the same when it comes to food scenes. That cookbook sounds adorable by the way.
Reblogged this on experiencethechase and commented:
Great photo, all the necessities are present 🙂
Amazing! Love your original blogging idea of putting two delicious things together 🙂
Thank you! I am excited to share some of my upcoming ideas 🙂
Books with food scenes are good, but I by far like movies with great food themes. “Big Night” comes immediately to mind. “Babette’s Feast” is another one that will send me to the stove.
I’m not sure how I feel about crackling bread either. I think I prefer my extra fat on bread to be in the form of liquid butter.
Me too. I let a pat of butter melt on top and that was quite good, but maple syrup helped to combat the additional saltiness from the cracklings so I preferred it like that.
Reading my childhood diaries (ages 7 – 10) I am disturbed by how they consist almost soley of what we ate that day.
‘This morning we had porridge for breakfast. After I played outside with Sam. For lunch we had chicken sandwiches and muffins. In the afternoon I helped Mum make fritters for dinner. Grandma came to visit and brought a cake.’
I also vividly remember my pride when I wrote ‘fishfingers’ in cursive for the first time. It was such a long word!
You and I might have been the same child 🙂 Also, not disturbing. Everyone else is doing it wrong.
That’s a great idea for more interactive reading experiences. The only other food-in-literature I can think of is the bacon grease soaked biscuits in To Build a Fire, though, and that don’t sound particularly appetizing. Oh well.
I’ve never read it, but it does sound interesting. Also I eat vats of bacon grease all the time, so…
Reblogged this on soniarajeev08's Blog.
very nicely written 🙂
Thank you!
great recipe idea x3
I love, love LOVE descriptions of food. I just love food. I’m actually currently writing a book and its totally missing some good food descriptions. Thanks for the reminder!
Glad I could help! And according to my 9 year old self, any good book is essentially devoid of all plot or climax. Just describe pancakes. I’m pretty sure that’s what my “crime thriller” was about.
Haha awesome!!
I know those pork rinds and that Cracklin cornbread takes me back home!!!
PS i love those cooking channels too.
Happy it could take you back! I didn’t grow up on Southern cooking, but my little forays into these recipes have given me a new appreciation for it (next up I”ll have to try what my Kentucky friend calls “country ham.”)
I love your Calpurnia references! To Kill a Mockingbird is my favorite book. I never thought about the racial inequalities through food. Thanks for the unique perspective.
Thank you! Also one of my favorite books 🙂 I never considered it until I began examining the book from a strictly foodie perspective (my favorite way to look at, well, everything)
What an awesome idea! I love this book…!
Thanks 🙂 Me too
Wow, bread and crackling – my mouth is watering… this looks great and I really enjoyed the post!
Thanks so much!
And now I am starving! Great post
– Erik
http://erikconover.com
I love both – food and books!
Life’s greatest treasures 😛
I need to love my books better… Many of them have food and coffee stains on the pages!
I went back to my childhood… Reading this rilli nice….!
Frnds you must also visit nehapsingh14.WordPress. Com…i will be waiting for your response…
I will definitely have to go back and re-read that book from a culinary perspective. One question…did you break up the cracklings or put them in in large pieces? (In Texas, they’re pork rinds or chicharrones.)
I thought the pieces might be too big, so I did spend some time cutting them up on a cutting board. I think it may have worked out better if I had a food processor. I have to wonder if authentic crackling bread is best with those surprise bits of crackling when you take a bite or just that hint of smoky, pork flavor in the bread.
I love this picture! Perfection ❤️
Thank you 🙂
hmm now I’m hungry…
Try the recipe!
Don’t worry I will!
I admire your passion for food..I am too a foodachloic and passionate about cooking..probbaly you can try cooking some indian items..
Thank you 🙂 And I love Indian food! I would love to try that. I’ll just need to find a suitable book….
Try this: http://www.amazon.in/Mastering-Indian-Cooking-Sanjeev-Kapoor/dp/1584799331?tag=googinhydr18418-21
This guy is a kind of celebrity and his recipes are simple to catch..
Thanks for the recommendation!
Reblogged this on Apps Lotus's Blog.
Next to a book dog is man’s best friend, inside a dog it’s to dark to read
YUM
Lovely post and fabulous combination of two of life’s greatest pleasures! Have you read Yangsze Choo’s book The Ghost Bride? There’s some gorgeous food description, and Choo also has an amazing blog focused on reading and eating. Her tagline is “Likes to eat and read.” You two might be kindred spirits. 🙂
I have not, but she sounds like my kind of lady 🙂 I will check out that book
She is pretty awesome. Hope you enjoy the book!
Reblogged this on The Life & Times of Ice.
very nice post… thanks
So Good My Grandma used to make that We called it Crackling Corn Bread Awsome sounds Good
Beautiful prose matched with an elegant set-up of food. Then throw one of my favorite books in for desert! Lovely piece!
Thanks so much!
This looks all kinds of yummy!!! Nicely done!
This is just fabulous! I love cooking AND photography and when you put the two together, just forget about it. Fabulous post.
Thank you!
You are making me drool!
That means it’s working 😉