The best cook in the world: tales from my momma's table

Prologue: It takes a lot of rust to wipe away a General Electric

"Them shadows get to dancin'"

"Salt is good"

A man who knew beans

Sweeter, after the frost

"A chicken ... ain't likely to ketch on"

The fourth bear

The falling cow

"Hard times, come around no more"

"A ham hock don't call for help"

Cakes of gold

Sis

The second ghost

Bitter weeds

Still hard times for an honest man

The pie that never was

Ribs in the dead of night

Clementine

Tomatoes without taste, tomatoes without end

Didelphis Virginiana

Stairway to nowhere

People who cook

Blackberry winter

Till it thunders

Offerings

Government cheese

Sometimes the pies just call your name

Red's

"When Momma was all right"

Monkey on a string

Edna's ark

Staggering to glory

The runaway

"Untimely figs"

Spring

Epilogue: The recipe that never was.