Sonker Pie's Southern Cousin

Nothing beats Appalachian cooking especially in the summer.It is an agrarian type of food , relying on ingredients from the trees and wild fields .The dessert, sonker, is one of these traditional dishes that comes from the orchards and berry fields that dot this wild mountain region.It is a tasty easy dish, perfect after a meal of fried chicken and barbecued ribs. This cousin of that other American classic ,the cobbler was one of the pies featured in the New York Times Dining sectionIt solely featured all sorts of pies.The piece ,written by Dining regular,Kim Severson, tells about this simple sweet ,found expressly in West Virginia.It's sort of like a pie but not really.Think of it as a hot soupy concoctions first made with fresh cooked fruit and any left over bread.It may be a cousin to the British slump which is stove top steam fruit covered with dumplings.It makes sense because the area was founded by British settlers in the 1700's and ,like other foods in the region more or less retained it's roots. Sonker is a little different than the average cobbler which has somewhat chewier texture.It has something called dip in it which is an amalgam of milk, sugar and a thickener such as cornstarch or flour.A drop or two of vanilla is added for flavor.Fruit and butter are added with the liquid from the fruit reserved. A pancake like batter is poured over it. it's baked for a little over half an hour.Sweet potato is used too, mostly by the region's African American population. In fact they only refer to the sweet potato kind as sonkers while they reserve the name cobbler for the fruit varieties. Sonkers are a great summer dessert.They are easy to make and a great way to end a family picnic.Try one aaa a nice way to greet a lazy sumer evening.

Catering To Appalachia

Appalachia and gourmet food usually aren't usually found in the same sentence however that's may be about to change. The region is known more for homesstyle grits and biscuits as opposed to gourmet meals. All that is changing thanks to a high end eateryand the introduction of locavore dining. Will it change the area? That's what some local chefs are hoping.

This was the subject of an interesting article written by Jane Black in yesterday's New York Times Dining section. She had interviewed Steven Hopp, who along with his wife , the author, Barbara Kingsolver wrote th e 2006 bestseller "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle:A Year Of Food Life" about their move and exploration of southwest Virginia and locavore dining. It was an eye opener. This type of dining has been going on in the area however the dishes are simple ,passed down from generation to generation. The area farmwers were wary of these outsiders and their different way of cooking and eating.

Mr. Hopp wants to change all this. His restaurant, The Harvest Table is meeting with some resitance, however. Locals think that the food is too fancy and too expensive. Even though the food is freshly grown and carefully prepared, townspeople prefer going to chain restaurants like Pizza Hut and Applebee's. Mr.Hopp keeps his pricing low and keeps the dishes' names simple to draw in customers.. A pasta that would be called one with fennel and pecans is renamed pasta primavera to draw customers. A fancy dish of peppers are called pepper roulette. It's this type of thinking that brings good quality food with homegrown ingredients to the area people.

Will Appalachia ever be a foodie destination stop? That may take a few years. However with men like Mr. Hopp, leading the way, it may be a reality soon enough.