"Well, for the main event, we got us some an easy seafood gumbo made with shrimp and andouille sausage, served over rice and with a side of cornbread, cooked in an iron skillet as is right and proper." She seemed very stern about that, on the off-chance that anyone was about to argue for the oven like an ignorant Yankee heathen. "And since I didn't know if there were vegetarians, I made North Carolina's own fried green tomatoes and collard greens both with bacon and without."

She looked around at the kitchen which was still in a state of mid-cooking with pride. "If anyone here likes Southern cooking, they should have plenty to eat."