Southern Heirloom Cooking

Everyone who knew Norma Jean McQueen Haydel knew that she’s a supreme cook and that she was the steward of the McQueen family recipes. But she didn’t measure when she cooked. Or write things down.

Norma Jean’s brother Horace got to worrying about this. He cooked, too, but his repertoire wasn’t as vast as Norma Jean’s. So he began bothering her about writing down how she made her many dishes.

“I didn’t want Norma Jean’s recipes, or our Mama’s recipes, to be lost. We have kids coming. And other folks love to eat at my sister’s table, too.”

So the two got busy recording their treasured family recipes from the South. This collection of more than 250 dishes includes their best ones. “This is food you will absolutely enjoy,” said Horace. “Traditional, full of marvelous flavor, ‘enhanced’ old-timeys.”

Norma Jean and Horace put together the full line-up: crawfish bisque, poblano cream soup, wilted spinach salad, smothered pork ribs, zesty broasted chicken, baked catfish, cajun rice jambalaya, stuffed cornbread, five-flavor pound cake, margarita pie, and on and on.