Southern Living Cookoff

Parabeagle

Just saw an interesting news article. Birmingham, AL is hosting the Southern Living magazine annual cookoff with $10K in prize money up for grabs.

The thing I thought was odd was that there were so few Southerners in the top ten finalists. Howzzat happen? Only four were from the South, the rest were from parts north and west.

Southern Living Cook-Off 2005 Finalists

Your Best Recipe

1. Florence Neavoll, Salem, Ore.--Chocolate Cake IV

2. Amy Hill, Muncie, Ind.--Double Whammie Yeast Rolls

3. Beth Ann Barrineau, Murrells Inlet, S.C.--Pimiento Cheese-Stuffed Fried Chicken

Easy Entrées

1. Priscilla Yee, Concord, Calif.--Herb-Grilled Chicken With Watermelon-Feta Salad

2. George R. Yates, Dallas--Southwestern Chicken-Corn Cakes

3. Denise Townsend, Shelton, Wash.--PanÉ Chicken With Sweet-'n'-Spicy Red Pepper Sauce

Healthy & Good For You

1. Anna Ginsberg, Austin, Texas--Toasted Pecan, Cranberry, and Gorgonzola Turkey Burgers

2. Gloria Duke, Tomball, Texas--Cuban Mojo Chicken With Mandarin-Black Bean Salad

3. Caroline Harris, Lexington, Ga.--White Bean Soup With Gremolata

Kids Love It!

1. Susan Riley, Allen, Texas--Crispy Ginger-and-Garlic Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps

2. Lisa Keys, Middlebury, Conn.--Crispy Coconut Chicken Dippers With Wowee Maui Mustard

3. Amanda Keen-Zebert, San Marcos, Texas--Sloppy José Sandwiches With Cilantro Slaw

Southern Desserts

1. Clifton Holt, Birmingham, Ala.--Southern Peach-and-Blueberry Shortcake

2. Sharon Collison, Newark, Del.--Chocolate Coffee Cheesecake With Mocha Sauce

3. Amanda Moore, Athens, Ga.--Decadent Banana Cake With Coconut-Cream Cheese Frosting

LivindonSouth

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 09-20-05 AT 05:17AM (CST)[/font][br][br]The same reason your Southern hotel gives complimentary stuff to guests from the North. They want return customers. Southern Living has a wide readership and they are very anxious to recruit more from other parts of the country by letting them think they can cook. Plus, the north confiscated a lot of recipes when Grant was burning his way east to the sea in 1865. Plus, a lot of cooks stole Southern recipes by various means. Plus most good cooks moved north from the South. Plus the contest is crooked. I'm bound to hit on it if I keep on. x:-)

The diversity police have infiltrated even Southern Living Magazine. Odd that the contest would be held in Birmingham, AL. Wait, that's where the magazine is published. And yes, most of the editors are north of The Line or in high rises in Atlanta.

But seriously, they wanted recipes that were in fact, NOT Southern, 'cept for a few. What Southerner among us worth his grits would cook up a mess of herbed feta salad, panE chicken, cranberry-gorgonzola turkey burgers, cuban mojo with black beans, white bean soup with gremolata, asian turkey lettuce wraps, wowee maui mustard with coconut, or sloppy jose? If you can't recognize it by name, it ain't Southern food.

On the other hand, true Southern food did seem to make the list: toasted pecans (that most of you can't even pronounce right), Southern Peach and Blueberry shortcake, banana cake with coconut frosting, chocolate cake and fried chicken.

Fried turkey is cajun born. When will you learn?

Next we'll have articles in Sports Illustrated listing the ten best reasons to be a gay athlete.

Leslie

Plus, you didn't enter?

Parabeaglex2

My biggest concern is that I didn't see any recipes among the finalists for deep-fried turkeys. Otherwise, I'm sure Don would have been in there. Enter the contest next time, will you, Don? The Southern Living cookoff should have at LEAST five of ten spots!

Or, try your hand at Pacific Northwest cooking and bounce those pretenders from other parts of the country. You could try your hand at smoked salmon, Alaskan king crab, seasoned tofu concoctions, etc., etc. x;-)

And I'm guessing you're probably right. The contest is crooked. Most of the editors of the magazine are probably New Yorkers working for New Yankee Life, or whatever the hell that magazine is that runs pictures of fall foliage 12 months of the year. x;-)

TN HR

After almost a decade in The South and having married a Southerner, I am almost qualified to say that no self-respecting Southerner would ever cook, much less eat, any of the crap listed in the above recipes. Well, the Sloppy Joes with cilantro may be passable

Gene