Fancy Foods

One of my favorite southern recipes is a recipe for tea rolls handed down in a black family: “1 quart flour; 1 yeast cake; 1 tablespoon lard; 1 tablespoon sugar; big pinch of salt; 1 heavy stone jar; 1 warm place in winter; 1 cold place in summer.” Weather conditioned the whole world of southern cookery because the plantation kitchen was kept separate from the house. The cold weather of New England demanded that additional rooms be attached to the main house. The hot weather of the South demanded a separate fire room so the main house could keep cool.