Jed Portman

Southern Pantry: Tennessee Treats

By Jed PortmanGood EatsJune 18, 2013

Earlier this year, Blackberry Farm began offering caramels from the Shotwell Candy Co., based across the state in Memphis. And they aren’t the only ones who have taken notice of the up-and-coming operation, an after-hours project for corporate lawyer Jerrod Smith. His chewy, delicately seasoned caramels—available in salted, espresso, Old-Fashioned, five-spice dark chocolate, and craft beer and pretzel varieties—have appeared on shelves from the Delta to the heart of New York City in the six months since Smith launched his company. Below, the time-challenged confectioner shares his story.

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Southern Pantry: Sunshine State Sweets

By Jed PortmanGood EatsJune 3, 2013

In Orlando, Florida, a town better known for its mega-resorts than its artisan foods, one husband-and-wife team is turning out tasty handcrafted marshmallows in flavors that you aren’t likely to find at your local supermarket.

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Openings: The Johnny Cash Museum

By Jed PortmanSouthern SoundsMay 31, 2013

Since the days of "Hey, Porter," his first hit song, Johnny Cash has entertained generations of fans. Now, with the opening of Nashville’s Johnny Cash Museum, those fans have a place to pay tribute to the Man in Black. The hundreds of items in the museum, which range from a young Cash’s Future Farmers of America card to the handwritten lyrics for the last song that he ever wrote, come almost entirely from one man: museum founder Bill Miller, who has spent most of his life collecting Johnny Cash memorabilia. We caught up with Miller to ask him a few questions about his career as a collector, his friendship with Cash, and the long-awaited museum opening.

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Southern Pantry: A Tangy Taste of Alabama

By Jed PortmanGood EatsMay 24, 2013

Thirty-nine years ago, in Mobile County, Alabama, Virginia Sutton began fermenting her first big batches of vinegar. She’d made vinegar for her family plenty of times before, but by the mid-seventies, she was giving so much of it away to friends and family that she’d decided to expand production. Three decades later, the Sutton family began selling their stockpiles of aged vinegars to the public under the name Southern Skillet

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Southern Pantry: Flavored Vodka, Texas-Style

By Jed PortmanGood EatsMay 16, 2013

In the past decade, Austin, Texas, has become the unlikely vodka capital of the South. First came Tito’s Handmade Vodka, the first spirit legally distilled in Texas. It took off in the early 2000s and is a fixture in bars across the country today. Next came small-batch successors like Dripping Springs Vodka, made in the nearby town of Dripping Springs, and SAVVY Vodka, a Texas-only brand distilled with spring water from founder Chad Auler’s family ranch.

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Southern Pantry: Crab With a Capital T

By Jed PortmanGood EatsMay 8, 2013

In the coastal South, crab dip is a classic summertime treat. Fresh crab, blended with mayonnaise, cheese, and spices, brings the flavor of the sea to picnics and cocktail parties alike. Grocery-store crab dip rarely amounts to much, but a new product from Charleston, South Carolina’s Big T Coastal Provisions, a husband-and-wife operation run by Tony “Big T” and Tracy Blanchard, gives the homemade stuff a run for its money. Rich, creamy, and packed with tender claw meat, the Blanchards’ crab dip, available in regular and jalapeño varieties, has spread to grocery stores all over the South in the five months since the couple launched it. We caught up with Tracy earlier this week to ask her a few questions.

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Edward Lee's Perfect Catfish

By Jed PortmanGood EatsMay 2, 2013

These are busy times for Edward Lee, longtime head chef at Louisville’s 610 Magnolia. Three months ago, he opened MilkWood, an Asian-inflected bar and restaurant, to big crowds and rave reviews. Three days ago, he and his wife welcomed a new baby girl. Next Monday, after the Derby, Lee will be headed to New York City to attend the James Beard Awards as one of the finalists in the Best Chef: Southeast category. 

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Dinner Theater

By Jed PortmanGood EatsApril 22, 2013

We only have one problem with most movies about food: We leave hungry. 

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A Rich Legacy

By Jed PortmanGood EatsApril 13, 2013

Today, on what would be Thomas Jefferson’s 270th birthday, you are sure to see our third president remembered as the voracious intellectual who drafted the Declaration of Independence and founded the University of Virginia. In the world of Southern food, however, Jefferson boasts another, lesser-known accomplishment: He played a major role in bringing macaroni and cheese to the American dinner table.

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Earth Day on Wadmalaw

By Jed PortmanThe Sporting SouthApril 12, 2013

Looking to celebrate Earth Day in Southern style?

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