Jimmy Dean bibimbap. Spaghetti—in lieu of translucent sweet potato noodles—tossed with sesame oil and vegetables. These were some of the go-to family meals of Ann Taylor Pittman’s childhood, the result of her Korean mother blending the flavors she loved with what was available at their Mississippi grocery store. “Cooks everywhere, and certainly in the South, have always found clever ways to use the ingredients to which they have access to capture the flavors they’ve experienced elsewhere,” says the James Beard Award–winning food writer and co-author of The Global Pantry Cookbook. The newly released cookbook’s Smoked Chicken Sandwich caught our eye not only because we were reminded that the Alabama White Sauce drizzled on top wouldn’t be possible without Worcestershire (a flavor from nineteenth-century England), but also because the DIY stovetop smoking rig is pure genius. When we tried the technique, we were blown away by the smoky results in just six minutes. “I’ve smoked (uncooked) grits and rye flour, fish, vegetables, salt, cream cheese, you name it,” Pittman says. “It’s a fantastic way to crank up the flavor.”
