Black Eyed Pea Soup

*1 lb dried peas (soak overnight)

*1 chopped onion (or more if you like onions)

*meat (I use a whole "smoked" Boston Butt but a roast will work)

*salt & pepper (get a spoon & figure out how much)

*hot sauce (bout 1/2 a bottle unless you've got the quart size)

*1 qt diced tomatoes

*ground mustard

*garlic

*jalapenos and juice

*ginger (yep, ginger, got to add ginger & enough so you can taste it)

the ginger adds a lot to the flavor, add enough that you can tell it's in there...

Soak peas overnight then drain & rinse.

Chop up an onion or two.

Put it in a big pot & cover with water (you can add more water later if needed)

then start adding the spices.

I just add big chunks of meat. It's already tender from being smoked for 8 hours, by the time it cooks in the soup for 3 or 4 hours, it just falls apart.

After it cooks a couple of hours, do a lot of tasting & add salt, pepper & spice as needed. Let it simmer for 3 or 4 hours total.

It makes a butt-load, I usually double everything and put a lot in the freezer.

Add corn bread and you're done

Sportsman's Lodge, Nashville, TN

Pretty cool place to eat. Nice big bar, pressed tin ceilings. Good food & cold beer. Open faced roast beef, smothered in gravy with onions and mushrooms with a couple of ice cold Yazoo Pale Ales.

Carver's Apple House, Cosby, TN

Great place to eat about 30 minutes from Gatlinburg. You get apple fritters & apple butter to start with. Good vegetables and country cooking. The apple cider is fresh. Dinning room has a great view of the orchard & the market has all types of jams and jellies and all that kind of stuff.

Oh yea, also have fried pies....

The Foglight Foodhouse, Rock Island, TN

"Eclectic southern food" the sign says. I had Cowboy Lollypops (ribs) with tomatoe jam, best ribs I've had next to the ones I cook myself and I got to figure out the tomatoe jam.
This is the first time I ever tried chocolate butter but I hope it not the last. Chocolate AND butter, how could it not be good.
The local microbrew was excellent and has the coolest name, Calfkiller. I went to the brewery/barn but you can only buy it by the keg. Good beer.

The Donut Man, Myrtle Beach, SC

The regular doughnuts were just OK, wouldn't have made my list except for the "velvet" doughnuts. Think red velvet cake with cream cheese icing, very good. Worth a try if in the area.
There's a Krispy Kream on every corner in MB, so no shortage of "Hot Now".

Mikee's, 4-11

Great food, cold beer, crowded & loud as ever.

Lambert's Cafe

Yep, throwed rolls again. This cat needed more practice, he took some little old ladies head off with one. Hated to see that roll wasted.

Julia's, Aberdeen, MS

Don't ask me for directions, all I can tell ya is that it's east of Main Street (highway 145) & before you get to 45, a few blocks from downtown. It's an old house that seats 'bout 12 people. I think Julia is the cook & her daughters are the waitresses. We went to have catfish (it did look good) but it looked like a good place for meat & vegetables to me. Hamburger steak with greenbeans & mac and cheese was great, service was excellent. I'd recomend it, just don't let the look of the place put you off.

Shrimp Basket, Orange Beach, AL

Can't beat The Shrimp Basket, I've got a few more locations to check out but it's all good so far. Wednsday is "all you can eat" shrimp night & every night is casual, my kind of place.

Lulu's, Gulf Shores, AL

Lulu is Jimmy Buffett's sister, they play that up a lot. "Cheesebuger in Paradice" is the center piece of the menu so I had high expectations for it. It was kinda a let down, it was a good hamburger, I just expected more, especially for $10. It won't make my list of places I gotta eat.