Did you know fried green tomatoes are actually not native to the south? The first published recipe for fried green tomatoes was actually in a Chicago newspaper in 1877. The instructions were to “cut a thin slice from top and bottom and throw [them] away, then cut the remainder in slices, roll in flour, sprinkle with pepper and salt, and fry brown in butter.” They became a southern icon after the release of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe in 1992.

I’ve been living in Alabama basically since I was a freshman at the University of Alabama in 2014. I met my now-husband who is from Mobile, Alabama in 2015 and I’ve grown very accustomed to southern cooking ever since. I love fried green tomatoes. I see them as a side-dish option at every single “meat-and-three” restaurant I’ve ever been to, and usually always order them. They may not have originated from Alabama, but I can’t imagine a more “Alabama” appetizer than fried green tomatoes.

I made mine by combining equal parts flour and yellow cornmeal plus some cornstarch for the dry batter. I seasoned that with Cajun seasoning (we’re a Tony’s household!), garlic powder, onion powder, seasoned salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. For the wet batter, I did buttermilk, eggs, and hot sauce (Cholula all the way). I dunked the sliced, dried, salted green tomatoes into the wet batter first, then the dry, then the wet again, then the dry one last time. I let them sit on a wire rack to dry out a little. This helps with the crispness. I then pan fried them in some 325° vegetable oil in my cast iron skillet until they were a deep golden brown and crispy. I served them with a homemade remoulade and enjoyed listening to the crunch when my friends bit into them.

---

The most iconic food that Alabama is known for has to be their white BBQ sauce. It was invented by Bob Gibson in Decatur, AL in the 1920s for the purpose of keeping the chicken he smoked in his backyard from drying out. When you’re smoking chicken for multiple hours, the fat gets rendered and it can tend to dry out – which is where the ingenuity of the mayonnaise-based sauce comes in. The mayo is crucial in keeping the flavor and moisture locked in. I actually slathered my chickens in a heavily seasoned mayo (with seasoned salt, lemon pepper, Cajun seasoning, black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic powder, garlic & parsley salt, and onion powder) and even got it up under the skin to really keep that moisture in. After they smoked for about 3 hours at 250°, I topped them with a homemade version of Bob Gibson’s classic white BBQ sauce recipe.

I’m gonna be honest: the chicken came out incredible. It was the juiciest chicken I think I’ve ever had. It sat out for quite some time while my friends and I were watching the Alabama game and enjoying our Saturday, and every once in awhile someone would go pick a piece off the chicken and it was still so juicy and flavorful. Cook your chicken in mayo, then top it with some more mayo. I’m telling you.

The inspiration for the actual dish I made came from Saw’s BBQ in Birmingham, Alabama where I currently live. It’s by far (in my opinion) the best BBQ joint that I’ve tried in Alabama. One of their most popular dishes, called Chicken N’ Greens, is collard greens over cheese grits topped w/ pulled chicken, red BBQ sauce, and onion rings. I definitely took the inspiration with the layered dishes, but made it my own by adding Conecuh sausage to the greens (another Alabama-native delicacy – they’re smoked sausages similar to Andouille, but with a much bolder flavor) and just adding a boat-load more cheese, milk, and butter to my grits. I love my grits extra cheesy and extra creamy. I am partial to the leg quarter part of a chicken (dark meat is supreme), so instead of pulled chicken I just left the whole leg quarter on top. This is my personal favorite way of eating chicken. Of course, instead of the classic tomato based BBQ sauce I went with the legendary white BBQ sauce. I actually ask to substitute the red sauce with the white sauce when I eat at Saw’s.

Ah, cornbread. The most quintessential “bread” side dish in the south. Southern cornbread is actually a little different than what other regions is the U.S. think of cornbread. Southern-style can be made with either yellow or white cornmeal, has a buttery finish, and calls for more eggs – this produces a cake-like texture. It’s also usually pretty sweet, with sugar added to the batter and then topped with some honey + butter right out of the oven (this is how I made mine!) Northern cornbread isn’t very sweet and is made with fewer eggs and specifically yellow corn real to achieve a crumbly texture.

---

My selection for the dessert was a tough one. Technically, Alabama had an official state dessert. I told myself I would try my best to honor any “official” state meals that I could find. HOWEVER, neither I nor anyone I know from Alabama has ever heard of “Lane cake.” I married into a family from lower Alabama and also have some family from my stepdad’s side who live in lower Alabama. Two of my really good friends are from northern Alabama. I have family in Montgomery. I have lived in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham. No one, and I mean NO ONE, has ever heard of Lane cake (I’ve asked!) The dessert I see at every single gathering/function and on every single dessert menu, though? Banana pudding. A restaurant will only serve ribs and white bread for dinner and still have banana pudding (talking about you, original Dreamland BBQ). I happen to also love banana pudding. I had it for the first time at one of my mom’s family reunions in rural central Florida and have been addicted ever since.

Banana pudding has a strong, genuine Southrtn identity that stretches back more than half a century. It’s extremely popular in all states in the Southeast region of the United States, but I see it genuinely everywhere in Alabama. If my husband would eat it, I’d make it every week. (He doesn’t eat fruit .. like, what?). I closely followed the Magnolia Bakery recipe, with my own touch to it. But that’s a secret I’ll never tell. (Ok fine, it’s cream cheese).