My Achilles ... Tooth?

My sweet tooth is my Achilles heel. If it’s a sweet confection that’s glazed, cream-filled, sprinkled with sugar, dusted with cocoa or covered in frosting, I am powerless to resist it.

Of all the glorious things that can be done to desserts, the application of frosting is by far my favorite. I remember the brownies my grandmother used to make: dark, dense, rich and topped with a layer of chocolate frosting. For years, I didn’t know brownies could come any other way.

And then there are doughnut holes. Doughnut holes are good, right? Bite-sized and glazed, they’re a perfect little snack. But imagine them injected with just a dollop of frosting. That, as far as I’m concerned, renders them practically irresistible. And where can you get such a delectable thing? The Fancy Pastry Shop in Lexington, N.C., of course.

From the time I was a little tow-headed tyke, I remember going with my mother to Fancy Pastry. Inside were glass cases filled with cookies, pies, tarts, turnovers, Danishes, doughnuts, cakes—every sweet imaginable. And bread, rolls and biscuits too.

It’s their cakes, though, that I find most enthralling, because Fancy Pastry’s frosting is the best frosting ever. Light, fluffy, sweet, creamy … it’s sheer perfection. Period.

My mother always insists that her birthday cake come from Fancy Pastry. And, because we share the same sweet tooth gene, she always insists that the top of the cake not have the standard “Happy Birthday” script and a few meager flowers. Rather, it has to be covered entirely in flowers and decoration, resulting in a layer cake with frosting nearly 2 inches thick on top.

What could make a birthday—or any day, for that matter—happier?

Smokehouse Lane

I visited my hometown lately and had to go here:

Now, you might be wondering what's at Smokehouse Lane. Well, this:

And this:

Which are usually topped with one of these:

It might not look like much, but it's delicious pulled-pork barbecue, chopped and on a bun (or in a tray) with barbecue slaw and hot sauce or smokehouse sauce (known to locals as "dip").

It's all cooked over a pit here, a place where magic truly happens:

Yes, it's the modest, marvelous, mouthwatering, much-copied barbecue that can be found nowhere else but:

Oh yeah!

Lexington-style barbecue at Lexington Barbecue, one of many (but, arguably, the best) barbecue restaurants in Lexington, N.C.

Southern Foods We Love

Since today is Valentine's Day, I thought it would be appropriate to share with you some of our deep, abiding food loves--as well as a few hot and heavy crushes. These foods will make almost any Southern heart go pitter patter:

• Okra  Fried, grilled, pickled ... it doesn't matter; we'll take it.
• Buttermilk Biscuits  Cat-head sized, but we're not particular.
• Sawmill Gravy  Hello? You need it for your biscuits.
• Fried Pork Chops  Another canvas for sawmill gravy.
• Casseroles  Any kind, but we like our mamas' recipes best.
• Tomato Sandwiches  Summer wouldn't be summer without them--but only if they're slathered in Duke's Mayonnaise.
• Green Beans  These are only a favorite when they're cooked in fat-back (as if there's any other way).
• Pimento Cheese Homemade. ONLY homemade.
• Carolina Slaw Burgers  If you don't end up with it all over you, you're doing it wrong.
• Lexington-Style Chopped BBQ  Yes, we're taking sides in the BBQ wars.
• Chess Pie  If your teeth don't fall out and you don't go into diabetic shock, you'll probably ask for seconds.
• Sweet Tea  It's not a food, but what else are you going to wash down all this mess with? Nothing else, that's what.

Gosh, I'm starting to realize this list could go on and on. Does it make us culinary sluts that we spread our love around to so many dishes?

I hope we don't get a reputation.

A Civil Food Conflict

When I was growing up, my family (like most) always had a succession of memorable meals from November to January each year. This heavy dinner season (in the South dinner means the afternoon meal) of course started with Thanksgiving—a holiday that doesn't differ too much by region when it comes to the traditional menu. Then our Decembers would bring with them numerous get-togethers, from casserole-laden potlucks to finger-food festivities, culminating in our family's unique interpretation of Christmas Day dinner: Lexington, NC-style pulled pork barbecue sandwiches.

January 1 always capped off the months of indulgence with a final formal meal. One that, for us, was mostly Southern in tradition ... but with a tiny bit of Northern influence. (You see, my grandfather was from Pennsylvania. And while he ended up living most of his life in North Carolina and fully embraced Southern life and culture, he did introduce the rest of us to what we referred to as "Yankee foods.")

Our menu for that day always included the following:

Pork Roast

Mashed Potatoes

Squash Casserole*

Asparagus Casserole*

Black-eyed Peas

Sauerkraut

Green Beans

Rolls

Sweet Tea

*Note that all holiday meals in my family, whether it's Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's or Easter, always involve at least one casserole.

A Southern eye will detect a few problems with my list. First of all, the black-eyed peas are served as is, not in Hoppin' John. Well, don't worry; we began adopting that dish in recent years. And, regardless, the presence of the legume in general helps ensure wealth (in the form of coins, but still).

Secondly, um ... sauerkraut. Yes, this is clearly a Yankee food—and one that was not embraced by my brother and me. Thirdly, you'll notice the absence of any type of greens. This is because the sauerkraut filled the role of that food, which traditionally means money, or cash, for the new year. In later years, we did start adding collard greens to our meal; yet, somehow, none of us ever achieved double the wealth (at least not yet). Finally, you'll see that we had rolls instead of cornbread. I'm honestly not sure how cornbread factors into good luck for the new year. And, frankly, I love cornbread but rolls are just fine too.

So there you go. That's my family's history of New Year's Day meals. Very "New South," wouldn't you say? Quite progressive of us to incorporate such an alien dish as sauerkraut, I think. Of course pork equals progress, according to tradition, so maybe that's what fueled our acceptance of Northern cuisine.

If you're interested in trying some traditional Southern New Year's dishes, Southern Living has a great line-up here. And Epicurious has an interesting article on the meanings behind various New Year's food traditions.

But whether you go traditional Southern, Northern or some hybrid of the two, we wish you a very happy, prosperous and delicious New Year!