These Southerners commiserate over COVID-19 by cooking together in a Facebook group

Never underestimate the creativity of people that love to cook!

With so many people staying at home, or at least not going out as often as they once did, many people are turning to the kitchen for something to do. And just like in so many restaurants that have switched to takeout and delivery, comfort food seems to be the major theme.

Facebook is a hot spot for creative cooking ideas while staying inside and safe.

Bread seems to be on everyone’s mind, even people that aren’t normally bakers are baking away, some for the first time. There are lots of posts about making yeast rolls, dinner rolls or specialty breads, like honey oatmeal whole wheat, or just a basic white sandwich-style bread, and there are many posts about how wonderful it makes the house smell.

Robin Heart posted on Facebook, “Bread, nothing smells better!”

Some of the posts are pretty mundane, others are pretty far out there. On a post with a photo of a fried shrimp and a ham and cheese sandwich, Catherine Mayhew said, “Nothing is too weird right now!” And she may be right.

Others have gotten creative, like my buddy, JP Parker who made mushroom Marsala over mozzarella ravioli and Meghan Toomey, who made classic, but not to easy to make, redfish coubion. Others are making everything from jams and jellies to beans and ham hocks.

Malcolm White, the director of the Mississippi Arts Commission, a friend and a sometimes Bay St. Louis resident, started a Facebook group called “Cooking and Coping: Gathering Around a Virtual Table” with over 1,150 members and growing.

Carole Pucket, a group member, said “A whole bunch of us not only cope but thrive by grabbing a whisk or a skillet and cooking.”

It’s pretty amazing what some people have come up with. You will find fancy dishes like French-fried chicken tenders with whole grain mustard gastrique, and spinach au gratin to simple dill pimento and cheese.

I decided to go retro and explore the foods I enjoyed as a kid. Fried baloney sandwiches with Velveeta cheese, bean and bacon soup, spaghetti and meat sauce, and fresh peas and cornbread with chow-chow, were on my menu recently, but I decided to jazz things up a bit too.

I made bread, for the second time in my life, but I topped it with collard greens and tomato chutney. I also made grit cakes, from Original Grit Girl grits, with slow-roasted pork shanks from Dale Stevens Sand Ridge Farms outside of Lucedale. I seared the shank, the cooked it low and slow, until it was falling apart. The grit cakes were made with heavy cream and cheddar cheese. Most recently, I made smoked pork ramen with soft cooked eggs.

I even tried to replicate my mother’s fried chicken. I know of only two restaurants in Mississippi that can make chicken as good as my mom’s, the Old Country Store in Lorman, and the Delta Corner in Indianola.

I have to admit, my chicken wasn’t that good. But Amazon just delivered a few pounds of Crisco, and I am going to try again. Mom always used Crisco and I think that makes a big difference.

So, don’t sit in that comfy chair and play computer games or watch old movies. Get creative in the kitchen, try that recipe from your youth that you haven’t had in years, or pick something you have never made before.

I think you will find that being in the kitchen, being a little creative and sharing food with family is going to add a layer of comfort to your life.

Leslie Kelly posted, “Is there anything more comforting than lasagna?” No matter what you go to comfort food is, who couldn’t use a little more comfort in today’s world?