Cotton to sign new book Saturday

Published 12:00 am Sunday, September 27, 2009

Someone’s in the kitchen with Gordon.

Family, friends, Yokena neighbors, church folk — all have had a hand in cooking up Gordon Cotton’s latest book, “The Past…and Repast,” a collection of recipes seasoned with a dash of history and a splash of humor.

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Gordon Cotton will sign

copies of his latest book, “The Past…and Repast,” Saturday

at his booth at the Old Court House Flea Market,

1008 Cherry St., beginning

at 8 a.m. The book

features more than 120 recipes, 42 historic photographs

and 44 stories

about the people behind

the recipes. In addition to the cookbook, Cotton will

have copies of some of his

other books available for

sale.

In more than 100 pages, Cotton has concocted a sampling of food, photos, one-liners and tidbits of history. Some are serious, like the story about President Eisenhower. Some, like the tale of Lizzie and the Priest, are sad. Most are lighthearted.

“That’s because I’d rather laugh than cry,” said Cotton, who’ll have a booth at Saturday’s Old Court House Flea Market.

Cotton said he combined two of his loves, food and history, in creating the cookbook. Sections include beverages, breads, meats, sweets, salads and vegetables.

Friends who were shocked by his latest venture were reminded, “You don’t have to be a chef to recognize and enjoy culinary delights,” as he writes in the introduction, “Good Food, Good Friends, Good Fun.” “All it takes is taste buds.”

“The Past…and Repast” is dedicated to Cotton’s best friend, the late Hobbs Freeman. Freeman died earlier this year, but Cotton credits him with suggesting the book and it includes many of Freeman’s original recipes.

“He often made up his own,” Cotton said. “He didn’t like to copy others.”

Freeman’s recipes for rice and tomato salad, crunchy baked chicken, asparagus casserole and chocolate pudding could make a good fall supper, though Cotton might rather have his Aunt Malena Cotton Foster’s homemade ice cream for dessert.

“Malena was born in 1896 and lived her 94 years on the same place in the Jeff Davis community south of Vicksburg,” Cotton writes along with her ice cream recipe. “She was a pianist for the Baptist church and used to say, ‘If there is such  a thing as reincarnation, I hope I don’t come back as the third verse of a four-verse hymn’ (which was often omitted by the song leader.”)

“For most, I tried to tell a little story about the person whose recipe it was,” Cotton said. “I always wonder about that when I look at people’s recipes.”

He’s included two he got from Eva Davis, founder and longtime curator of the Old Court House Museum, president of the Vicksburg Historical Society and inspiration to Cotton in his own career as teacher, museum curator and prolific local historian.

Davis herself published a cookbook around 1960, Cotton notes, and said Southern cookbooks have to include recipes for collard greens and okra. Cotton includes hers.

He also made it a point to note brand names in some of the recipes. Polk’s Sausage, Tennessee Pride, Country Pleasin’ link sausage — some brands are just the best and worth using, Cotton said.

In the “Sweets” section, he quotes Joy Mohammed Fulcher, a Belzoni woman who would undoubtedly agree. She had her brands a little mixed up, however, when she responded to a compliment about her cake: “Oh, thank you, but it’s just a Betty Duncan.”

Cotton’s mixed in a few of his own recipes, too, like sausage-grits casserole and Crock-Pot roast with Cavendar’s Greek Seasoning. “I believe the Crock-Pot was one of God’s greatest gifts to mankind,” he joked.

With common ingredients found in most every cupboard and refrigerator, Cotton’s recipes are just about as easy as whipping up a cake from a mix. He said he learned from Dorothy Grimes, head of home economics at the old Jett School and Warren Central High School, to keep it simple.

“Miss Grimes said she always told her students, ‘Look at a recipe, and if it’s got too many ingredients just forget it,’” Cotton laughed. “The recipes in the book use stock stuff. You can pretty much cook right out of the pantry.”

The recipes have also all been tried and tested, either by Cotton or someone he knows.

“The Past…and Repast” sells for $22.95. In addition to his booth at Saturday’s flea market, copies will be available in the gift shop at the Old Court House Museum on Cherry Street and at The Cinnamon Tree and Peterson’s Art and Antiques, both downtown on Washington Street.

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Contact Pamela Hitchins at phitchins@vicksburgpost.com