Cookbook Thursday: Don't visit the Delta without this comprehensive book!

            One of my favorite places to visit is the Mississippi Delta, heading north from Jackson into towns such as Greenwood, where “The Help” was filmed, and Indianola, home to B.B. King, and on up to music-rich Memphis. In addition to the fertile blues scene — as one can imagine since the blues originated here, later birthing rock ’n’ roll — there’s an interesting culinary history.

            Susan Puckett travels this cultural heartland in “Eat Drink Delta: A Hungry Traveler’s Journey Through the Soul of the South” (University of Georgia Press), offering readers a guide to Delta foodways as well as the people, places, music and events. With photographs by Langdon Clay, “Eat Drink Delta” serves as a comprehensive travel guide to Memphis and the Mississippi Delta, as well as a restaurant guide with recipes to try at home. There’s the Delta Tamale Trail, explanations on the popular and varied “Comeback” dressing, catfish dishes due to the plethora of catfish farms and specialty drinks and foods enjoyed during Delta fox hunts (which actually involve coyotes).
             If you’re a food lover like me who enjoys traveling, “Eat Drink Delta” is the perfect combination; don’t leave home without it.