A Novel Event

My bloggy friend Lisa @ Champaign Taste is co-hosting a Novel Food Event with Briciole. I saw this event and thought... that is right up our alley! The idea is to take a food that has a connection with a novel and then post it. Lisa will do all the work and round them up.

For this first Novel Food Event, I thought I would post a little piece from the novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the WhistleStop Cafe. When Fannie Flagg was doing research for the novel, she spent time at the cafe and sitting talking with Mom. Many of the tales used in the novel are loosely based on stories from our cafe in Irondale.

Fannie Flagg's great Aunt was Bess Fortenberry. She is the person Mom & Dad bought the cafe from many years ago. She was quite a character~ much like Iggy in the novel. This story is about the relationships Iggy has, the food they love, and the lives they made. Fannie admits that she is not much of a cook, but her love of food and southern cooking has woven through several of her books. After all in the south life revolves around good food and good friends.

My Quote from the book...
" I may be sitting here at the Rose Terrace Nursing Home, but in My mind I'm over at the WhistleStop Cafe having a plate of fried green tomatoes."
Fried Green Tomatoes- Fannie's recipe

1 egg beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup self rising flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
1/2 tsp salt
6-8 green tomatoes, cut into 1/4 inch slices
bacon drippings or vegetable oil
Mix egg and buttermilk in a shallow dish. Mix flour, cornmeal, and salt in a shallow dish. Working in batches dip tomato slices into egg mixture. Allow excess to drip back into the dish. Coat each with flour mixture. Fry in hot bacon drippings in a large heavy skillet until browned. Turn once with tongs. Drain in a colander.

Don't be tempted to crowd the frying pan, to many at a time will cool the grease. Hot grease is the secret to crispy green tomatoes.

Of course I need to mention that if you'd like to take the quick and easy route... you can get your fried green tomato batter mix at our little country store A Pinch of Dis~ A Pinch of Dat. (I mention that only because it looks like we may not have won the lottery after all.)

Y'all eat lots!
Sandi