Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe (35 page)

"See, I told you."

Bill laughed and Marion paid for the drinks. They were about to go when Patsy pulled at her mother's dress. "Momma, can we please get a jar of honey?"

"Sweetheart, we've got plenty of honey at home."

"Please, Momma, we don't have any with honeycomb. Please?"

Marion looked at her for a moment and then gave in. "How much is the honey?"

"The Honey? Well, let's see." The old woman started counting on her fingers, and then said, "You're not gonna believe this, but you hit it lucky, because today . . . it's absolutely free."

Patsy's eyes got wide. "
Really?
"

“That's right."

Marion said, "Oh, I feel terrible about not paying you anything. Won't you let me give you a little something, at least?"

The old woman shook her head. "No, it's free. You won it, fair and square. You don't know this, but your little girl, here, just happens to be my one millionth customer this month." "I AM?"

"That's right, my one millionth."

Marion smiled at the old woman. "Well, if you insist. Patsy, what do you say?"

“Thank you."

"You're welcome. And listen, Patsy, if you ever get anywhere around these parts again, you be sure and look me up, y’hear?"

"Yes ma'am, I will."

As they pulled out, Bill tooted his horn and the little girl waved goodbye.

The old woman stood on the side of the road and waved back until the car was out of sight.

******

SIPSEY’S RECIPES

BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

2 cups flour

¼
teaspoon soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

½
cup Crisco

2 teaspoons salt

1 cup buttermilk

Sift dry ingredients together. Add Crisco and blend well until like fine meal. Add buttermilk and mix. Roll out thin and cut into desired size biscuit. Bake in greased pan at 450 degrees until golden brown.

Naughty Bird's favorite!

SKILLET CORNBREAD

¾
teaspoon baking soda

1½
cups buttermilk

2 cups cornmeal sifted

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 tablespoon melted bacon fat

Dissolve soda in buttermilk. Mix the cornmeal with salt, egg, and buttermilk. Add hot, melted bacon fat. Pour into greased iron skillet and bake at 375 degrees until done.

So good, it will kill you.

COCONUT CREAM PIE

3 egg yolks

1/3 cup sugar

¼
teaspoon salt

2½
tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon melted butter

2 cups scalded milk

1 cup grated coconut

1 teaspoon vanilla or rum

¼
teaspoon nutmeg

9-inch pie shell, baked

Beat egg yolks. Beat in sugar, salt, cornstarch, and butter gradually. Pour in milk and blend. Cook over boiling water, stirring constantly until thick. Add coconut, and cool. Add flavoring and nutmeg and pour into shell. Cover with meringue and bake 15 to 20 minutes in 300-degree oven.

Yum, yum.

PECAN PIE

9-inch pie shell, unbaked

2 cups pecans, chopped

1 cup sugar, brown or white

1 cup light corn syrup

1 tablespoon flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

¼
teaspoon salt

3 eggs

2 tablespoons butter

Line the pie shell with chopped pecans. Combine the sugar, com syrup, flour, vanilla, and salt and mix until blended. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well each time. Pour into the nut-lined pie shell, and dot with butter. Bake at 350 degrees until firm—about 1 hour.

Sinful stuff—Stump's favorite.

SIPSEY'S SOUTHERN-FRIED CHICKEN

1 good-sized fryer

Milk

Salt and pepper

1
½
cups sifted flour

Cut chicken into serving pieces. Rub well with salt and pepper. Let stand awhile. Then soak in milk about 1/2 hour. Put flour, a little salt and pepper, and chicken into a bag, and shake well until every piece is coated. Fry in hot, deep fat at 400 degrees, until golden brown. Leave heavy pieces in fat a little longer than the smaller ones.

So long, Mr. Chicken.

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

2 cups white flour

2/3 cup milk

3 teaspoons baking soda

1/3 cup Crisco oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 pot of chicken stew

Mix flour, baking soda, and salt together. Then add milk and oil. Spoon-drop into boiling stew, cook for 15 minutes, turning dumplings often.

Should float off the fork.

FRIED HAM WITH RED-EYE GRAVY

Slice ham about 1/4 inch thick. Cook slowly in a heavy frying pan until evenly browned on both sides. Sprinkle each side lightly with sugar during cooking. Remove the ham and keep it warm, then add about 1/2 cup of cold water or a cup of coffee. Let it boil until gravy turns red. Blend and pour over the ham.

Good eats!

GRITS

2 tablespoons butter

5 cups boiling water

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup hominy grits

Add lots of butter and salt to the boiling water. Slowly stir in the grits. Cover and cook slowly for about 30 to 40 minutes, and stir till you like it

Keeps you regular.

FRIED CATFISH

2 pounds catfish, cleaned and skinned

½
cup sifted flour

Salt and pepper to taste

½
cup yellow cornmeal

3 tablespoons bacon fat or Crisco

  Wipe the fish with a damp cloth. Mix the flour, salt, pepper and cornmeal. Roll Mr. Catfish in the mixture and fry in hot bacon fat until golden brown on one side. Then turn and brown the other side. Total cooking time about 8 to 10 minutes.

Thank God for catfish!

MILK GRAVY

Use hot drippings from chicken or pork chops. For each 3 tablespoons of drippings, stir in 3 tablespoons of flour and blend well Cook and stir until lightly browned. Gradually add 1½ to 2 cups hot milk. Cook and stir until thickened.

Goes with everything.

PORK CHOPS GRAVY

4 slices bacon

4 large thick pork chops

1/3 cup flour

Salt and pepper

1½
cups milk

Fry the bacon first, then dip the chops in flour, with salt and pepper. Save what's left of the flour. Fry your chops in the hot bacon drippings until brown on both sides. Turn down heat, cover, and cook till chops are tender and thoroughly cooked—about 30 minutes. Stir your leftover flour into the fat and cook until browned. Pour the milk over the chops and simmer until gravy is thickened.

Big George could eat eight at a time.

SNAP BEANS

1 hambone, cooked

2 pounds snap beans

1 teaspoon sugar, brown or granulated

A few hot red pepper flakes

Salt to taste

Place hambone in pot and add water to cover beans. Bring to a boil. String the beans and snap or cut into desired lengths. Add to the pot along with the sugar and pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat for 1 hour.

Happy beans . . . fun to eat.

SIPSEY'S BLACK-EYED PEAS

1¼
cups dried black-eyed peas

1 piece salt pork or 8 pieces bacon

4 cups water

1 onion, chopped

A little red pepper

Put all the ingredients together in a pot and cook slowly until tender—about 3 hours.

Even better the next day!

CREAMED CORN

6 ears sweet white corn

½-1 cup milk and water

2 tablespoons butter

Salt and pepper

Cut corn off cob, then scrape the cob down with the back of a knife to get what's left. Cook with butter over low heat and slowly add milk and water and salt and pepper till you like it.  Stir for 10 minutes till just right.

Good for you.

LIMA BEANS BUTTER BEANS

1 quart fresh beans

1 piece salt pork or 6 pieces bacon

Salt and pepper to taste

Add water just up to the top of the beans. Let it come to a boil, then simmer until tender. Add salt and pepper till you like it

Right out of the Victory garden. 

CANDIED YAMS

1/3 cup butter

2/3 cup brown sugar, packed

6 medium-sized sweet potatoes, cooked, peeled, and sliced

½
teaspoon salt

1/3 cup water

2 pinches cinnamon

In a heavy frying pan or skillet, heat together butter and brown sugar until melted and blended. Add the sliced sweet potatoes and turn until coated in the syrup and brown. Add salt, water, and cinnamon, cover, and cook slowly until potatoes are tender.

Sweeter than candy.

FRIED OKRA

Wash your okra well and cut off the stems. Cut pods into sections about l/2 inch long. Roll in cornmeal and fry in hot bacon drippings and deep hot fat until a nice crisp brown. Drain on paper towel, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve hot.

Better than popcorn.

TURNIP COLLARD GREENS

Wash greens well and take the leaves, roots, and stems off from the collards. Boil a hambone or some fatback or bacon. Add greens, a red pepper pod, and salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. Cover tightly and cook until greens are tender. Drain and place on serving platter; reserve the liquid. Serve the liquid as "pot likker" to dunk your cornbread in.

Will cure what ails you! 

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

1 medium green tomato (per person)

Salt

Pepper

White cornmeal

Bacon drippings

Slice tomatoes about 1/4 inch thick, season with salt and pepper and then coat both sides with cornmeal. In a large skillet, heat enough bacon drippings to coat the bottom of the pan and fry tomatoes until lightly browned on both sides.

You’ll think you died and gone to heaven!

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES WITH MILK GRAVY 

3 tablespoons bacon fat

4 firm green tomatoes, sliced
½
inch thick

Beaten eggs

Dry bread crumbs

Flour

Milk

Salt

Pepper

Heat your bacon fiat in a heavy frying pan. Dip tomatoes in eggs, then in bread crumbs. Slowly fry them in the bacon fat until golden brown on both sides. Put your tomatoes on a plate. For each tablespoon of fat left in the pan, stir in 1 tablespoon of flour and blend well; then stir in 1 cup warm milk and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Add salt and pepper till you like it. Pour over the tomatoes and serve hot

The best there is.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

FANNIE FLAGG began writing and producing television specials at age nineteen and went on to distinguish herself as an actress and writer in television, films, and the theater. She is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe (which was produced by Universal Pictures as Fried Green Tomatoes), Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!, and Standing in the Rainbow. Flagg's script for Fried Green Tomatoes was nominated for both the Academy and Writers Guild of America Awards and won the highly regarded Scripters Award. Flagg lives in California and in Alabama.