Letter from the Guest Editor
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Back in February, our editor, Vallie Lynn Watson, made a joke about planning a food issue when she was hungry. A few days later, I pitched that a food-themed issue would be a great idea for November given how much cooking surrounds the holiday season. Thus, “Fall Feasts” was born; and I could not have been more excited to guest edit an issue about food and those closest to us.
Having grown up in a large family (with twelve aunts and two uncles, not including their spouses, and a total of twenty one cousins, between both of my parents’ sides of the family), there were many mouths to feed at any given family gathering. Thankfully, not only is my mother a good cook but a joyful cook as well. For as long as I can remember, my mother has loved cooking and passing down her knowledge of the craft to anyone willing to listen. Just as her mentor— Frances Richard, who owned and operated Allen’s Deli in Lake Charles, Louisiana— had taught her, my mother taught me measurements in phrases: “a little”, “a little bit more”, “a dash”, “a skosh”, “a tidbit”. The burner always had to be turned up “high, but not too high”, and the best measuring utensil was never a marked cup or spoon, but her heart.
Out of all of the things she taught me in the kitchen, the most important was never about cooking; it was about giving to and helping others. There is a magical dance my mother does around any kitchen as if she has practiced these steps with this specific partner for years, even if it is a kitchen she has known for less than an hour. With years of practice cooking for her own family of eight, at least one hundred people a day at Allen’s Deli, large crowds at church events, class reunions, and my older brother’s rehearsal dinner the night before his wedding, she has an overwhelming (and well earned) confidence with cooking. This confidence radiates with a greater warmth than any stovetop or oven. The only greater glow on her face that I have ever seen is that which dawns on her when she’s watching other people enjoying the food that she has made for them.
My mother, however, is not a one trick pony. When my younger brother’s birthday came around at the end of October, I asked if she would photograph her process of baking his annual Birthday-Pumpkin-Pie. There could not have been a better, or more meaningful, piece of art to represent “Fall Feasts”, an issue all about food and those it is shared with. I hope you enjoy this issue as much as I did putting it together.
Don’t forget to check out the seasonal guide with all the recipes needed for the perfect Fall Feast.
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Posted in Fall Feasts: Nov' 24 and tagged in #boudin