Southern

Find out why NC's Triangle area is one of America's great food scenes.

Praline, a southern candy, forms the top of this showstopping cake.

Spring! That means the Kentucky Derby (this Saturday) and the Mint Julep--the rare convergence of sports and an extremely elegant libation.

Along with the other guests at Peacock's inaugural dinner in Washington DC, I recieved a copy of the cookbook last week. When the chef announced that it contained the recipe for the banana pudding he had just served us for dessert, everyone suddenly became more protective of their copy.

With a few notable exceptions, Washington DC is not a great city for fine dining. But that all changed last week—along with more than a million people that flocked to our Nation's capitol to witness history, so too came some of the country's greatest chefs.

In his cookbook The Glory of Southern Cooking, James Villas writes, "As far I'm concerned, Southern cookery is right there on the same level with French cuisine bourgeoise and Italian cucina casereccia--the sacred traditions, the incredible variety of regional dishes, the prevalence of fresh local ingredients, the distinctive cooking techniques, everything." As a native Southerner, I couldn't agree more.