I am currently living farther North than I have ever lived in my life. It is still considered the “South” but it is different. I got to thinking about it. The South is a pretty vast region that is bound together with a common history but with still a lot of differences. We all say y’all but there are definitely different flavors of Southern accents. There are the Carolina’s with their flavor which is decidedly different than that of Georgia and Alabama. There is Mississippi and Arkansas which are different from the Georgia. There is Louisiana with its Cajun flavor and the strange almost New Jersey sounding accent of some from New Orleans. I think this is part of what I love about the South. It is a region rich with diversity but bound together with a heritage that is as thick as molasses.
I have traveled quite a bit, thanks to my former job, training all over the United States. (See my “places I’ve been” on my facebook page) Nothing makes you feel more Southern to be in Chicago and have them whisper behind your back, “Did you hear her say y’all?” Or the time I was asked if we wear shoes all of the time. I’m not really sure what that was about. It seems when you are a novelty it just brings out the real Southerner in you. My Southern drawl would tend to get a little drawlier (if that is a word) and I enjoyed their smiles when I would say I was “fixin” to do something. Being a novelty is fun for a while, bless their hearts. It is always nice, though, to get back to the people who talk like you do (even if it is in another flavor) and share with you the common bond of being “Southern.”
Todays Lagniappe: Recipe for Cheese Straws
10 oz. sharp cheddar cheese
1-1/3 sticks butter
1-3/4 cups flour (not sifted)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon Tabasco
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix cheese and sofented butter. Add all other ingredients and work into stiff douh. Put though cookie press with star design in long rows on a cookie sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Cut in 3-4″ strips.
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