From June 2016. She lives in Chapel Hill, NC.

(I know Anderson mainly because of her ghost story "The Lady in Black," from "The Haunting of America: Ghost Stories from Our Past" (1973) about a Confederate female spy who supposedly haunts a fort in Boston Harbor. Trouble is, there's no real proof any such spy was ever there, let alone executed - after all, if the U.S. Army executed a female spy, it would have made the headline news, right?)

http://www.newsobserver.com/living/f...e84998952.html

It includes recipes for sticky toffee pudding, Swedish Cream, and Blueberry Pecan Crunch.

First half:

By Jean Anderson

Potluck picnicking, everyones favorite way to celebrate summer, is as American as €“ would you believe? €“ bouillabaisse.

Yes, thats French and so, too, le pique-nique (pique from the French verb €œto pick€�) and nique (meaning €œlittle bit€� or €œthing€�).

Though pique-nique appeared in print half a millennium ago, contrarians insist that early English hunts (think medieval €œDownton Abbey€�) were the civilized worlds first picnics. Yet these carefully staged upper-crust rituals had little in common with todays laid-back outings.

Likelier, it seems to me, were the plebeian snacks munched en plein air (outdoors) at the turn of the 19th century. But the journey from snacks to les pique-niques French Impressionists romanticized on canvas took time and serious menu upgrades (not to mention all-out revolution).

During the reign (and excesses) of Louis XVI and his €œlet-them-eat-cake€� queen, estate parks were off-limits to all but the rich and royal, who chose to pig out in halls of gold.

Only after the royals met their maker in 1793 were commoners free to stroll wherever they chose, snacking along the way. By the mid-1800s, they were rendezvousing with friends, sharing food and wine, potlucking under a canopy of sky. (Potluck, BTW, is a term born of the old English custom of keeping a pot of leftovers hot for the lucky few who might drop by).

Leave it to the Americans, however, to glorify potluck picnics for family reunions, for church socials, fundraisers, barbecues and fish fries. Menus vary, of course, from one part of the country to another, but none, its safe to say, does the picnic €œprouder€� than the South.

Our beloved potlucks (OK, lets admit it, friendly cooking competitions) showcase lofty platters of fried chicken, Everests of potato salad and coleslaw plus acres of biscuits and cornbread. Theres plenty of buzz, too, about the food and who brought what. Overheard recently:

€œBetter grab some of Docs fried chicken fore its gone €“ damn, its good!€� ... €œBJs deviled eggs are so different this year €“ reckon shell give me the recipe?€� ... €œDont Annie Ts artichoke pickles beat all!€�

Dessert? Heres where I part company with the rest of the South. Im tired of Jell-O whips and fluffs, Im bored with sheet cakes, weary even of pecan pies and lemon chess...

(snip)



Lenona.