Dessert First

I am not, in the fullest sense, a Southerner. Born and raised in Raleigh, I have always considered myself Southern, but I was often irritatingly reminded that that wasn’t enough by older women who pointedly asked where I was from, noting that I didn’t sound very Southern. With a mother from Connecticut and a Nebraskan father, I was, apparently, very hard to pigeonhole.
And I guess it’s true that when it comes to food, I don’t make a wholly convincing Southerner. I adore most Southern food, but I’m afraid chitlins will never find available space at my table, and Southern sweets are often too sugary for me.