Memory can be as solid and reassuring as a wool blanket on a wintry night, but sometimes as uncertain as a worn out quilt. Sketchy remembrances like a threadbare cover often present gaping holes with puzzling pieces. Such are the origins of my love for kumback sauce.
Did the luscious pink dressing first adorn a fancy shrimp cocktail served in my Grandmother’s Victorian dining room or did my people simply slap a teaspoon full on a saltine and shove it my way? Earliest details elude me, but one thing I know for sure – the setting was as exotic and disturbing as the place itself – Mississippi.
Since I do believe that there is more to birthplace than random design, I’ll claim every bit of the chaotic and creative privilege. I’m certain that contradictory thoughts about my home state are not mine alone, and will confirm that the hills of North Mississippi can break my heart while the flatness of the Delta landscape can revive me. Even walking into a room of strangers anywhere in the state, I can feel an odd sense of familiarity. Splendid eccentricity is the norm there and the by-product has been an historic rhythm of color, words, music and food that allows for quirky brilliance.
On a trip to Jackson, Mississippi last weekend, highlights of a recovery struggle were evident, but timeless sparkle abounded in my favorite food haunts. Some enhance my table while others inspire it. Amid other nationally recognized premiers, Lemuria Books provides an endearing cookbook collection and Annelle Primos and Associates have the tools for the most stirring table tops ever to roll out a meal. Respectively, John Evans and Annelle have developed retail destinations second to none and I know their individual successes can be attributed to a Mississippi heritage known as the artful host.
Within that role, they well know that delicious food is a birthright. In Jackson alone, multitudes of restaurants highlighted by ethic specials have been embraced at every point in the state’s history. State wide, various cultures have been celebrated within the walls of food havens leaving their epigraph.
Kumback is a significant example as it reportedly began its flavorful journey in the Jackson kitchen of The Rotisserie and then made its way onto the menus of other Greek restaurants to become a Mississippi staple.
Not surprisingly in Jackson, three of our favorite restaurants on this earth are the ubiquitous Mayflower Café with ever-present bottles of said sauce, Walker’s Drive In, serving a spicier version each day for lunch (on fried portabellas at night) and the timeless Crechale’s Restaurant employing Kumback as a permanent plate partner.
With pride I can testify that a colorful meal will always be a part of the Mississippi experience along with the people who charmingly prepare and serve the plate. The piece de resistance is the yummy sauce that I count on for cover.
Kumback Sauce
As quoted by author of Screen Doors and Sweet Tea, Martha Foose’s recipe is authentic as home and you can put it on anything.
1 cup of mayonnaise (preferably homemade)
14 cup salad oil
¼ cup chili sauce
¼ cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
¼ teaspoon hot paprika
1 small white onion, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
RESOURCES for Jackson, Mississippi
Lemuria Books
www.lemuriabooks.com
Annelle Primos and Associates
www.aprimos.com
Mayflower Café
123 West Capitol Street
601-355-4122
Walker’s Drive In
3016 North State Street
601-982-2633
Crechale’s Restaurant
3107 Hwy 80 West
601-355-1840