As each year passes for me here in the Carolinas, I find myself leaning effortlessly into my Southerness. It’s not just the refinement of my accent, which is now so much a part of the cadence of my speech that many people back home find themselves asking, “huh?” when I speak quickly. It’s the rhythm of things here that I love. It is slower here, more deliberate and authentic. I could never again live without the chirp of tree frogs after dark, and I don’t really even despise the red clay dirt on my running shoes. Even grits make sense to me.

Then, there’s my love of pork. Holy Mother of Hominy. This is food of the gods! For instance, I love pork belly! Chunks of fatty, flavorful meat that if it were sliced thinly would be your morning bacon. But in squares of juicy loveliness they are almost a delicacy. I mean, how did I not know about this from birth?

Pigs, in fact are not indigenous to the US, even though they’ve been around for quite awhile. They were first introduced in the 1500’s to what is now the southeastern U.S. by Spanish Explorer, Hernando DeSoto. I’m not sure the Spanish like the way we assume we “own” the idea of pork. But maybe around a table we could just agree we’ve both made the most of it.

​Try this easy appetizer and see if you can’t fill up your table with other folks yearning to get in touch with their Southerness.