Ginger Guice Clark: My Mom
I can’t start a blog about influential women without talking to my mother. Let’s be honest, I can’t do anything without talking to my mother first. My mom, Ginger Guice Clark (after whom I’m named), taught me everything I know about cooking. Using past tense isn’t actually accurate because I am continuously learning from her, and she continuously, most every time graciously, accepts my calls to answer kitchen & life questions. So aside from that one cooking camp I did in 4th or 5th grade (Gummy Bear Gourmet), my tutelage in the kitchen didn’t come at one particular moment, but several small ones over time. Prepping, chopping, helping measure along the way, unless tensions ran high in the holiday kitchen and my sister, Lee Dicks (also a family name), and I were asked to leave. Eventually we were old enough to handle the heat and were given full reign over a recipe - the Angel Biscuits for Thanksgiving. Then it all evolved (or devolved) from there.
My mom spent all of her youth on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Biloxi at first and then across the bay in Ocean Springs. Ocean Springs houses all of my personal memories of my grandparents, and a large portion of my food memories as well. I can attest to the regional influence on my mom’s cooking. When my parents moved from Mississippi to Birmingham, Alabama my mom became known for bringing that cooking influence with her: pralines as Christmas gifts, red beans and rice or gumbo for larger gatherings, and beignets for breakfast on our birthdays. If you’re not familiar with the Louisiana/Mississippi Gulf Coast cuisine, then you may be scratching your head on a few of the foods (hello mirlitons and cushaw) my mom talks about, but hyper-local cuisine is what makes our collective food experiences so rich, and creates a connection to the past.
Over the years I have talked with my mom about who taught her to cook, and I witnessed first-hand my grandmother JoJo’s frying skills. I had not, however, talked with my mom about her favorite food memories. I love the varied experiences from her first raw oyster to dining in Florence, Italy. I was going to challenge her on mentioning salad dressing as a favorite recipe because she makes it every night, per my dad’s request; however, countless consecutive nights of making that dressing definitely counts as a memory - a rote memory. She mentions many of the “best cooks” in her family, but I would say that my mom has humbly worn that crown for decades.
Let’s read about her food memories and influences.
How did growing up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast influence your cooking style?
There was a definite New Orleans style influence from turtle soup, gumbo, oysters, bread pudding and pralines. Sunday meals were always an experience when I was young. Coming from the land of dreamy dreams and good food…life revolved around food.
Was eating a home-cooked meal an important part of your upbringing?
Definitely. We never experienced fast food until I was older. Every evening we enjoyed conversation and a varied meal. Monday was a red beans and rice day, Thursday was a trout Amandine day, Sunday was reserved for fried or roasted chicken. Artichokes were a favorite along with stuffed merlatons. Shrimp was a staple.
Where were most of your meals eaten as a family?
Dining room table, no TV, but music played softly. Conversation and a talk about our day was required. As a result we had much laughter and fun. The ritual spilled over to festive holidays. Always dancing and fun.
Who did most of the cooking while growing up? Is that person still considered to be the “best cook in the family?
Melissa, my grandparents’ cook, taught me how to chop and make a roux for gumbo. She was by far the best chef. Experience, no doubt. She would hand cut shoestring potatoes that rivaled anything that I have eaten in France.
My mother (JoJo) cooked most meals. JoJo could fry fish and shrimp like no other. Elizabeth was there to cook a few days a week. What an outstanding cook. She made the best cushaw going.
Both of my grandmother’s were excellent bakers. Sadie Virginia was renowned for her coconut cake. You cheated if you did not grate your own coconut, and her famous Charlotte Rousse. Her chow chow was no slough either. Grandmother Lee Dicks’ pralines have been famous and creating a sugar fix for 100 years.
What are some (or one) of your favorite food memories?
Standing next to my grandfather as he fed me raw oysters when I was four, first baked Alaska at Antoines that was shaped like a swan, a 3 hour lunch at Alaine Ducasse in Paris, and dinner at Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence. Then there’s Thanksgiving.
I know the answer to this, but do you continue to cook family recipes today? And are you teaching those to your children?
All my children are excellent cooks and have their own expertise. Yes, they carry on with a number of our family favorites. Angel wing biscuits, cornbread, cornbread dressing, red beans and rice, pralines, divinity, creme brûlée and puttanesca to name a few.
What is your favorite family recipe?
Pralines or gumbo or quail? So many! This is a hard one to answer. I can’t pick a favorite. I just make salad dressing every night.
Interested in learning more about the restaurants mom listed? Antoines, Ducasse, Enoteca Pinchiorri.
In future post we’ll sit down with mom and talk to her about her beekeeping and honey endeavors. Until then I am going to highlight two of her favorite recipes featuring the pecan: my great grandmother Lee Dicks’ pralines, and my mom’s pecan pie.
