Jackson Free Press

Sara Foster's career has come back home. After growing up in Tennessee in a family of cooks, Foster went to culinary school in New York. She worked with Martha Stewart and owned a catering business in Connecticut before relocating to North Carolina and opening Foster's Market.

With a second location in Chapel Hill and three cookbooks under her belt, Foster returned to her roots. In "Sara Foster's Southern Kitchen" (Random House, 2011, $35), she takes inspiration from her grandmother's recipes and shows that southern cuisine is simply a return to tradition.

You describe your cooking style not as "new southern" but "old southern." Would you mind expanding on that?
Well, I feel that southern food has really come full circle. I feel the whole farm-to-fork movement in my parents' and grandparents' generation was a necessity. You know, they ate seasonally, and they ate locally because that's what they grew, and it's great to see that happening again. I feel like now we're on this food movement where everyone's buying into that, and people care about where their food comes from and where it's grown and what it tastes like. ... You know, it tastes the best with minimal effort and that's how I like to cook.

You've written three other books, but this if your first one that's entirely southern, why the change of pace?
My grandmother had a collection of recipes in a loose-leaf notebook, and for years my sister had that book. I would always call her and say "how do you make the green-pickle relish?" or "Give me that recipe for pickled okra" or "what was that peanut-butter cookie that Granny used to make?" She finally gave me the collection of recipes.

What sets "Southern Kitchen" apart from other southern cookbooks?
It's my own, and it's very personal. There are a lot of family recipes or traditional recipes that I have mixed up or made my own by adding chipotle peppers or adding Asian greens. I tend to cook my greens closer to four minutes than four hours like my mother does. I always tell everyone that my mother still considers fried okra a green vegetable.

What's your recipe for "Phyllis' Comeback Sauce"?
Phyllis is a friend of mine, and I had actually had forgotten about comeback sauce until she was visiting me a couple of years ago and she made it one night at my house. ... We just started dipping carrots in it, and there must have been 10 people at my house, and everyone's like, "Oh, my God. What is this stuff? What's in it? It's fabulous!" So, I had to include that one, and then I remembered my sister used to live in Mobile (Ala.), and my grandmother and I would drive from Jackson (Tenn.) to Mobile, and we would always come down I-55 and stop at The Old Tyme Delicatessen (in Jackson, Miss.).

Shrimp Jambalaya

2 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
1⁄4 pound tasso or other smoked spicy ham, chopped
3 celery stalks, diced
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
4 garlic cloves, smashed and minced
2 cups long-grain white rice (preferably Carolina Gold)
2 teaspoons sea salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1⁄2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
Pinch of crushed red-pepper flakes
3 tomatoes, cored and chopped
31⁄2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 scallions, trimmed and minced

Cook bacon in large skillet or Dutch oven uncovered over medium heat until crispy. Remove bacon and drain.

Add olive oil to same skillet and heat over medium heat until sizzling hot. Add onion and tasso and cook, stirring often, for about five minutes, until the onion is soft and golden and the ham is light brown around the edges. Add celery and bell pepper and cook and stir for about five minutes more, until tender. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for one minute longer. Add rice, salt, cumin, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir for about two minutes until rice is coated with oil. Stir in tomatoes and cook for one minute more.

Pour in broth, add bay leaves and thyme, stirring once. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered tightly for about 20 minutes, until most of broth has evaporated and rice is plump and tender.

Scatter the shrimp over the top of the rice, increase the heat to low, and cover to steam the shrimp seven to 10 minutes, until bright pink and cooked through, and until the rice is tender and the liquid absorbed.

Divide jambalaya on serving plates, sprinkle with parsley and scallions, and serve hot. Serves six to eight.

Recipe from "Sara Foster's Southern Kitchen" by Sara Foster, with permission of Random House, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.