DS1’s GF’s dad cooks southern food (according to DS1), we wanted to give a holiday food gift basket. Any suggestions of what to put in it?
Grits, cornbread
gourmet bacon
Pecans, bbq sauce, peanuts, black eyed peas
@roethlisburger Is a grit something you get in a box? Like oatmeal?
@TooOld4School Good idea. He cooks with bacon all the time. And he uses gravy. What is southern gravy?
@twoinanddone Are black eyed peas canned?
Grits comes in a box or a bag. Bob’s red mill makes it, and Quaker (oats), and you should be able to get them anywhere.
How about some spices and seasonings? This looks like a good source - https://www.savoryspiceshop.com/southern-seasonings
You could get some rubs from different regions.
I was looking at the site for the Southern Food and Beverage Museum but they don’t have much for sale online (in the actual store there’s quite a bit). https://squareup.com/store/sofab-institute/
My Dad also used to like to cook Southern foods.
I don’t know if this was truly a southern thing, but my Dad used to like to make roasted pecans for Christmas that were coated with some kind of concoction that included Worcestershire sauce. They were really good. He’s been gone for over 10 years, so I can’t ask him for the recipe, but if that’s the type of thing you’re looking for, I can try to look it up.
He might like “gourmet” beef jerky also. My Dad used to like that, and my sister actually made her own that was also very good. I order mine online.
@gearmom Yes they are, but the best ones are made from dried peas. Canned peas are “meh”. And yes, grits are in a box or container.
You can’t put southern gravy in a basket. It’s just meat drippings with flour and milk added to it as I recall. If I’m wrong, I’m sure someone will correct me.
Usually people buy dried black eyed peas in a sack, not a can, like you’d buy split peas for soup or red beans to be soaked before cooking (red beans and rice also a good southern food). They are popular for new years day.
There are a lot of soups that are southern and spicy - jambalaya or red beans and rice with sausage… A theme basket with all the ingredients might be nice but some would be fresh so would need to be added on the day (sausage, herbs)
Maybe a small ham would work? Ham is southern food.
Here’s a recipe for the pecans that sounds about right. I don’t know if my Dad included the Tabasco sauce though.
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/spicy-toasted-pecans-231166
Yes, even in non-south places, you should be able to find it in grocery stores.
http://alberscorn.com/products/#grits
http://www.quakeroats.com/products/hot-cereals/grits/grits-oldfashioned.aspx
OK, I just google searched southern food gift basket, and this is what I found in a “premium” basket: This Gift Basket is filled to the brim with Classic Southern mixes, dips, sweets and treats not available in grocery stores. We have chosen the best Southern staples available including: 16 oz. bag of Stone Ground Grits, 9 oz. bag of Mornin Flap Jack Mix, 12oz. bottle of Jim Bean Pancake Syrup, 8oz. jar of Honeybery Farms Honey Jelly, 3oz. box of Strawberry Patch Cheese Grits Bits, Blackberry Patch Biscuit Mix, 8oz. jar of San Saba Blackberry Pecan Preserves, 6oz. box of Mingo River “Butter Roasted Pecans” and “Praline Pecan”, 10oz. bag of St. Ives “Southern Pecan” coffee, Pelican Bay’s Spinach dip mix and Tomato Horseradish and a 16oz. jar of Sechler’s Sliced Green Tomatoes.
Deer(fresh or jerky)
Please do not buy Quaker grits (or even Bob’s Red Mill). Get real stone ground grits from a southern mill. You can buy them off Amazon. There’s a huge difference as I’ve learned through experience.
https://www.amazon.com/Palmetto-Farms-White-Stone-Ground/dp/B009HHNUUE/ref=sr_1_2_s_it
For snacking, cheese straws, pralines, moravian cookies, benne wafers, goo goo clusters and moon pies.
Also bbq sauces and dry rubs, peach jams/chutneys, cajun seasoning, pickled okra, heritage rices, vidalia onion jam.
Oh no. Quaker grits? Gravy in a can/jar? Y’all make me want to cry.
Buy your grits from a good vendor like Anson Mills - you can get them online. There is a real difference between Anson Mills grits and the c*** you buy in grocery stores. Ditto for the bacon and the country ham (smithfield).
And to be pedantic: there really isn’t one type of “Southern cooking.” The Southern food I grew up with in NC isn’t going to be the same Southern food that people from Alabama would prefer. If I were looking for generic Southern food, though, I think grits, cornbread, maybe the ham, honey, pecans/peanuts might work.
But the barbecue thing could be a mine field – which kind of sauce? What kind of BBQ? Wars have been started over less.
@doschicos, the moon pies made me laugh. RC Cola and moon pies were my grandfather’s favorites.
@scout59 They’re a bit low brow but I admit to liking them and I’m not even a southerner although I’ve spent much time there. I’m a sucker for all things marshmallow. 
That is why I’m asking, @scout59 . Need a Southern food intervention before I buy canned black eyed peas. Not sure of the dad’s region of the south. My guy just calls it southern. I know that is nebulous.
Is a country ham different from a spiral ham? Ham is not just ham?