Tennessee foods

[TheShadow]

Why in the world would anybody want to eat something that is poisonous and requires all that repeated cooking and rinsing? Does it taste good? I think I'll stick to spinach.

[Rach1966]

Shadow, that's a good question
but it's was more of a poor person's thing, the poke is free, it grows wild
if you eat too much, just give you the belly cramps and maybe the runs for the day, but older people thought everyone could use a good cleaning out once in a while

[2mares]

I've eaten it and know lots of folks that do. I prefer frying the stalks of small shoots to eating the leaves. I gather it for my neighbors as it grows in the pasture. Never known anyone to get sick from it. As with many things it depends on how much of it you eat.

[mountainlady123]

Douglas Lake is not clean. Cherokee Lake is very clean and you would have no problem eating fish from there. I am leary of any kind of fish!

[Hishiad]

Things I think of when looking at TN food.


Memphis BBQ
Chicken Fried Steak
Fried Potatoes
Tater Hash
Soup Beans
Biscuits
Cornbread
Apple Butter
Cobbler (peach, blackberry)
Greens
Friend Chicken
Sausage Gravy
Grits
Kilt/Withered Lettuce (the is a great way to ruin something healthy! You fry up some bacon and take some fresh garden lettuce cut up with some fresh garden green onions and pour the hot bacon grease over it for a delicious side item that's horribly unhealthy! MMMM it's good especially fresh )


Those are a few Tennessee Toe Jam is a company that makes some good preserves (including apple butter) you can find it in most general type stores/markets.


I don't know if Tennessee has anything that's really unique to the area, but traditional southern cooking is a plenty and some may like the Tennessee style of the classics more so than if they were in a different part of the south.

[jabogitlu]

Oh my gosh, I LOVE kilt lettuce. That with some soup beans, cornbread and some peach tea. Mmmm.

The way my family's always made kilt though is to cut up the lettuce and onions (thin), then fry the bacon in small squares. Remove the bacon and add vinegar and a little sugar to the grease. Heat it up real quick, then add it to the lettuce and throw the bacon on top.

[madclerk]

Originally Posted by frbenson

I remember, years ago, eating at a family-style catfish restaurant in...or around...Springfield, Tn. There were huge bowls of fried catfish, hush puppies, cole slaw, mashed potatoes, green beans, collard greens, fried corn, fried okra, biscuits, and pitchers of sweet iced-tea. When a bowl was emptied, it was replaced with another, full-up...an unending banquet of the best food I've ever eaten. I've been working overseas for a number of years, but will be returning back home to Tennessee this summer. Are there any readers who might have an idea of the restaurant I'm referring to? Or of a similar one, anywhere from Nashville, east to the Crossville area. (During my visits home, I've had delicious catfish meals at Cracker Barrell but, as good as they were, they don't compare to that "to-die-for meal" I had at that catfish restaurant.) I'd sure love to re-create that dining experience at least once before I die!

I live in Springfield right down the street from the restaurant. Catfish House

[Rainna]

If it's the one i'm thinking about the name was PJ's. The best catfish anywhere. Unfortunely PJ's wife died of cancer and he killed himself a few weeks later. That was about 20 years (or more) ago and I still haven't found any place that serves good food like he did. ...