Vacation Eats: Part 1

I'm on vacation, spending some quality time with family; my first stop is in east Texas to see my mom. I'd say where in Texas, but you won't have heard of it—trust me.

Tuesday I flew from Fresno to Dallas, then from Dallas to Shreveport, Louisiana. I don't eat airline food (I didn't care for it when it was free), and none of the Dallas airport choices sounded appealing, so I had frozen yogurt. Exciting, I know.

Things got better after a grocery run with my mom, and Tuesday night she made chicken and dumplings (recipe coming—it's an easy one). Oh, how I've missed that.

Yesterday we headed into Jefferson, a small antique town, to Joseph's Riverport Barbecue. One sliced brisket sandwich, a side of fried okra and a couple of glasses of sweet tea later, I was happy. I also got to try some of Mom's fried catfish—I miss fried catfish. Joseph's cooks it perfectly with a cornmeal batter, and serves it with pickled green tomatoes.

After lunch, we visited a few shops, had a couple of drinks with the locals at "the club," and then finished off the chicken and dumplings for dinner. Mom also made an easy apple cobbler for dessert. Nom.