TheDeltaDirt.com

Marsh Pickett, Jr. with his prize-winning pimento cheese spread. Recipe below. A history major by degree, Marsh Pickett, Jr. has been managing restaurants for most of his life, dabbling in the creation of what he calls "Southern comfort" foods. Although he didn't realize that the culinary arts would play such an important role in his life while a college student at Delta State University, Pickett would be the first to tell you that life has a way of steering you in the right direction. Not one to back down from adversity, Pickett had to fight for his life in 2004 and 2005 by beating cancer and staph infection. Prior to this, he dabbled in cooking but once he regained his health, something clicked, causing him to pursue the culinary arts with a vengeance. "I learned mostly from watching the late Justin Wilson's cooking shows and the Food Network," Pickett said. Speaking of the Food Network, Pickett readily admits that his favorite celebrity chef is Bobby Fl...

Hal Fiore of "Three Guys Who Grow" sells a cornucopia of fresh vegetables at the Downtown Greenwood Farmer's Market. Courtesy photo. GREENWOOD -- The Greenwood Farmer's Market continues to be a success for Greenwood-area residents who value freshness and quality at their kitchen table. Now in its second year, the Farmer's Market, which was spearheaded by Main Street Greenwood, Inc., will continue to be held every Saturday from 7:30 a.m. until noon through October 31. The market takes place near the Columbus and Greenville Railroad at the intersection of Johnson and Main Streets. The market was formed in the winter of 2007 by a small group of Greenwood citizens who liked the idea of a local market where area farmers could sell the fruits of their labor (pun intended). Assisted by grants from Blue Cross, MAC, and USDA, the market was able to open for business in Summer 2008. Tents and tables were purchased and the event was advertised across the Delta with these fu...

In follow up to our original pimento cheese post , we thought it prudent to have The Delta Dirt's very first recipe contest. It will be a virtual Iron Chef of sorts for Delta cooks. So, you think your pimento cheese recipe is the best? Post your recipe on the Facebook Fan page as a new wall post and the one that receives the most "Likes" by this Sunday, August 23 at midnight will receive their own post on TheDeltaDirt.com . That will give you plenty of time to test a few of the recipes and eat a few sandwiches containing the cheesy goodness. Bon appétit!

NOLA restaurant in Indianola. The Delta. It's the best and worst of everything. I think sometimes the words "quaint" and "charming" double for "ignorant" and "lacking customer service skills," but whatever. People love the Delta for the people, who -- while they may move at their own speed -- are nothing if not friendly and eager to lend a helping hand. They also serve really good food, if you can get it. Two weekends ago I journeyed 30 minutes away to Indianola to eat at Lost Dog Pizza Co. This was my third attempt to eat the famed pizza of this establishment. And again, my attempt was thwarted, but this time not due to my own poor planning. At 7:30 p.m. on a Friday night: It was closed. The sign on the door said, "On vacation until Tuesday"! Small town businesses are just really not afraid to close at completely inappropriate times whenever the proprietors feel like vacationing -- or hunting, for that matter. I will never underst...

"The Nemo" at What's Cookin' in Greenwood. The "Southern Burger" at Webster's Food & Drink, also in Greenwood. Pimento cheese, a Southern favorite. Redneck or high-class, no Delta social occasion is complete without this concoction of grated cheeses mixed with mayonnaise, pepper and a sprinkling of Tobasco sauce or cayenne pepper. I grew up not thinking of the pimento as an organic food item. I'm not sure what I thought they were. Or if they were singular or plural. They were just these chopped up red things that came as green olive inserts. The only other thing they were useful for was being mixed in the "pimento cheese" that my mother made occasionally, since she was the only member of our household who would touch it. After I moved backed to Mississippi and became a Delta resident, I realized there was no escaping little finger sandwiches with the crusts cut off containing the stuff. I started to eat it. Now when I see it on an hors ...

Pulled pork and hushpuppies from a pig pickin' in Asheboro, North Carolina. In a recent article, TIME Magazine's Claire Suddath asked the question, "Why Are Southerners So Fat?" The answer is part socio-economic, part cultural, part historical, and of course, part fried chicken. Although the article pins down the root causes of a widespread problem in the southern U.S., it doesn't assuage appetites. About halfway through the article, it lists all the foods which make people fat, including "fried chicken, fried steak, fried onions, fried green tomatoes, fried pickles and fried corn bread." After reading that, all I could think about was making reservations at the Crystal Grill. Bon appétit!