By Melony Carey
What were relationships like between white Junior Leaguers and their black maids during the civil rights era in Jackson, Miss.?
That is the topic of the New York Times bestseller, “The Help,” by Kathryn Stockett.
Stockett uses women’s lives to paint a portrait of early 1960s Jackson in black and white, drawing out a myriad of boundaries and crossing them.
The opening voice is that of Aibileen, who works for Elizabeth Leefolt as maid and caregiver to the Leefolt’s fat 3-year-old daughter, Mae Mobley.
How Missus Leefolt treats Mae disgusts Aibileen, but she knows she treads a fine line, keeping her mouth shut most of the time. Her friend Minny, however, speaks her mind, which often gets her fired and finally banished as a housekeeper to the home of white-trash-married-well, Celia Rae Foote.
Just back from Ole Miss is the budding journalist, 22-year-old Eugenia Skeeter Phelan. Part of the aristocracy, but now educated to its ways, Skeeter sets out to commit to paper the stories of the black maids of Jackson as the premise for her first book. She diligently records their stories and earns the accolades of the black community, even though she is made aware that she is using them for personal glory.
And then there is Hilly Holbrook, the ultimate Jackson Junior League socialite. She leaves a lurid trail of victims, both black and white, wherever she goes, including her own mother.
She uses her “shiny little set a tools . . . sharp as witches’ fingernails, tidy and laid out neat, like the picks on a dentist tray” to keep everyone in their place, especially to keep the maids out of the white people’s bathrooms in the Home Help Sanitation Initiative. But, she will most likely be in need of help herself holding onto that Junior League presidency, because the times, they are a changin’ in Jackson.
Stockett was born in 1969 and grew up in Jackson, raised by her family’s maid. Young voices, like our own Hillary Jordan, are exploring the topic of social injustice in an effort to make sense of it all. As Stockett says, “. . . trying to understand (it) is vital to our humanity.”
If Stockett does not help us understand completely, she at least forces us to think about our own conscious self-deceit, no matter what color we are — a great book club read.
The real Junior League of Jackson has two cookbooks that are worth investigating, “Southern Sideboards” and “Come on In,” both available through Amazon.
BUTTERED STEAMED SLAW
1 sack coleslaw or fresh cabbage chopped
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Toss all ingredients in glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high 5 minutes; let stand 2 minutes. You can also heat in a skillet over low heat until cabbage reaches desired doneness. A very good slaw. Source: Lee Bailey’s Southern Food and Plantation Houses.
OVEN ROASTED CATFISH WITH SWEET ONION MARMALADE
2 pounds sweet yellow onions, thinly sliced (about 8 small onions)
2 cups chicken stock or canned broth
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 quart heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
8 U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish fillets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
To prepare the marmalade, place onions in a large, heavy saucepan and add chicken stock. Cover and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. Add thyme leaves and garlic powder, and cook, uncovered, for about 45 minutes or until onions start to color and liquid is almost evaporated. Add cream and cook until mixture thickens. Add vinegar and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place catfish fillets on a flat surface. Season well with salt and pepper. Spread 1 tablespoon of the onion marmalade over each fillet. Starting with the smaller tail end, tightly roll fillets and secure with toothpicks. Arrange rolled fillets in a shallow baking dish several inches apart. Top each with 1 tablespoon of marmalade.
Bake for 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Place 3 tablespoons of marmalade on each warmed serving plate and top with the cooked fillets. Remove toothpicks before serving. Serve with Konrico Brand Wild Pecan Rice. Source: The Catfish Institute, Jackson, Mississippi.
BUTTERMILK FRIED CHICKEN
1 1/4 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 broiler-fryers, cut up
Combine flour, salt, paprika, and pepper in a zip-lock bag. Combine buttermilk and baking powder, mixing well. Dip chicken pieces in milk mixture, then drop into plastic bag and coat with flour. Arrange on flat baking pan and refrigerate 2 hours. Pour oil about 2 inches deep into deep skillet and heat to about 350 degrees.
Add chicken pieces carefully and fry uncovered about 40 minutes, turning halfway through. Make sure chicken is brown and done.
SQUASH
CASSEROLE
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 stick butter
3 cups cooked yellow squash, cooked and drained
1 cup crushed reduced fat Ritz crackers, plus
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sauté onion in butter until translucent. Mix all ingredients in casserole dish; top with additional crushed crackers. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until bubbly.
MISSISSIPPI
MUD CAKE
2 sticks of margarine
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup of cocoa
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup self-rising flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
dash of salt
1 small package miniature marshmallows
Melt margarine; add cocoa with beaten eggs, flour and milk. Add salt and sugar. Beat well, then add nuts and beat more. Pour in greased pan 13x9x2 inches. Bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Pour marshmallows over cake while still hot. Put cake in warm oven until marshmallows melt.
Icing:
1 package confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1/2 stick soft margarine
1/3 cup of cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup of milk
Beat well. Pour over marshmallows and even out.
