Elizabeth Sims - Tupelo Honey Cafe: New Southern Flavors from the Blue Ridge Mountains

From the Heart of Asheville, Tupelo Honeys Eclectic Table

The Larder

Angels of the First Degree: Heavenly Appetizers and Soups

The Art of the Perfect Sandwich and Salad

Fish Out of Water

Chicken Seven Ways, or We Still Lay

Beyond the Smokehouse

The Threes

Blue Ridge Parkway Brunches

As Sweet as Tupelo Honey

I am extremely grateful to everyone at Tupelo Honey Cafe for allowing me to be part of the family. I owe particular thanks to owner Steve Frabitore, who took a chance on me, and Chef Brian Sonoskus, whose amazing recipes fill this book. Id also like to thank our partners at Andrews McMeel, especially our editor, Jean Lucas, our terrific art director, Julie Barnes, and AM president Kirsty Melville. I appreciate their collective leap of faith, and their embracement of our city and Tupelo Honey Cafe with enthusiastic support.

Lots of hard work went into this book, and it wouldnt be here without the creative and culinary brilliance of Kim Sunee, the beautiful photography by Brie Williams, and the keen eye and detective skills of Martha Dugger.

I am also deeply indebted to all of my friends and colleagues at the Southern Foodways Alliance, an organization that I hold dear. SFA is a group of thinkers, cooks, chefs, historians, foodies, journalists, authors, and academicians who take a long look at the South and see a region with a variety of food reflecting the diversity of people, places, traditions, and histories. Mainly, SFA is like my family, and I am honored to be a part of it. I am especially grateful to my friends Ronni Lundy, John Egerton, and John T. Edge for their guidance and insight.

Finally, I am grateful to my siblings Mary Jane, Roger, and Luz who have kept the memories of our moms table and our grandmothers tables alive and well. I honor my grandmothers, Mary Emma Murrey Lusby, who made the best warm fried pies and caramel cake in the universe, and Myrtle McClure Brown, whose reverence for the abundance of the Appalachian region I now share. And most important, I am deeply grateful to my mother, Miriam Lusby Brown, who nourished me in so many ways every day.

Elizabeth Sims

I would like to thank the following people for the roles they have played in my life. First, my family for the origins of comfort food. Jack Bakers Lobster Shanty for teaching me to be an awesome line cook. Sharon Schott Prosser and Stephen D. Frabitore for their vision. Martha Palmer for pickled beets and garlic ranch dressing, Micah Harwell for salsa verde, Daniel Wright for candied almonds, and Jamie White for pickled green tomato salad and fresh mozzarella and cherry apple chowchow. Fran Scibelli for her uncompromising values and taste. The people of Asheville for their support and mostly Kate and Jack for their patience and understanding. Thank you food world for the best career possible and thanks to the cookbook team.

Brian Sonoskus

As the owner of Tupelo Honey Cafe, Ive listened to customers from all across the country say they couldnt wait to eat with us. Ive watched longtime staff continue to deliver incredible service and amazing food, day after day, with the same enthusiasm that began when the restaurant opened in 2000. I had to make this happen. I knew people wanted this book. And more important, I knew that the restaurant and all the folks who make the restaurant really deserve this book. I was fortunate to find the right partners in Andrews McMeel and am extremely proud of what our team has produced. I hope that you will enjoy these great recipes at home and that you will come see us if your travels ever lead you to Asheville.