Where You Come From

I can't believe we're winding down the first month of the New Year and I'm just getting around to my first post of 2011! I've been wanting to post for weeks now, but there were two reasons I couldn't. Firstly, I had to finish all my Christmas thank you notes. As any child raised by a Southern mamma knows, not sending a handwritten thank you note is unthinkable and has potential to shame the family, which is basically the worst thing you can do.

Secondly, I was in Boston for business and found myself stuck in the midst of this:

I was easy to spot as I was the only moron trying to walk around in 15 inches of snow in 5-inch platform heels. I got tired of strangers walking up to me and saying, "Those are wicked awesome shoes but where are you from?" And I've never seen people having to shovel a roof before!

Although I didn't get around to making a snow angel, I did have the most amazing and quintessential Boston lunch at this fine eating establishment. I often categorize cities by food, so when I think of Boston I think lobster roll, or the "lobstah" roll as the locals call it. Regardless of how you pronounce it, it's basically luscious chunks of lobster in a light mayonnaise dressing stuffed into a soft hotdog-like roll. But like most dishes, they can run the spectrum from ho-hum to life-changing. Chef Barbara Lynch is nothing short of a culinary rock star, so the fact that after just one bite I felt compelled to grab the entire lobster roll-filled tray for eight and run as fast as I could away from the table so I could stuff myself into oblivion shouldn't really come as much of a surprise.

It reminded me, though, that every place has its own beauty and characteristics — be it a meal or a monument or a method of living — that defines it and makes it unique. Often it's those "special" qualities that endears us to a place.

After having the pleasure of spending both Thanksgiving and Christmas back in the South, I spent some time thinking about all the little things that in many ways become big things that I love and miss about the South when living in California.

Things like frozen dumplings — and an entire case dedicated to them at the grocery store — for quick chicken and dumplings . . .

. . . quite possibly the best breakfast sausage in the world . . .

. . . Blue Bell ice cream. . .

. . . deep fried turkey breast . . .

. . . cane syrup for your biscuits . . .

. . . pimento cheese-stuffed celery sticks . . .

. . . scuppernong jelly . . .

. . . deer sausage, from a buck my cousin's 13-year-old daughter shot, to name just a few.

As much as I love to travel and learn about new places (which often involves food), I never want to forget where I come from and how it's shaped me. So here's to a 2011 filled with many wonderful new experiences and an appreciation for our roots.

I hope the year is off to a fabulous start for you!