Whenever I was creating this blog- I brought it to a
semi-finished state (at which it still stands) and showed it to my husband.
Hubs, who is from Louisiana, promptly looked at the title and said, “Don’t you
mean ‘Mississippi Mud PIE?’” Our conversation was as follows…,
Me (bewildered): “No… WHY would I name it that? “
Husband (a bit condescendingly): “Because its Mississippi
Mud PIE, it doesn’t come in a cake….”
Me (annoyed): “ I’ve never had it as a pie, we’ve always had
Mississippi Mud CAKE, since I was a little girl!”
Husband (clearly over the conversation at this point): “I’ve
only ever heard of it as a pie. I’m pretty sure its Mississippi Mud PIE.”
Me (after pulling up Southern Living. Com to my
satisfaction): “Look, see here, Southern Living says there is Mississippi Mud
Pie, Cake, bars and even cookies! And they would know!”
So this conversation got me thinking, maybe I’ve just been
living under a rock in Arkansas but I had truly never heard of Mississippi Mud
Pie until my husband so adamantly believed that it only came in pie form.
Clearly, Mississippi Mud is like sweet potato pie/casserole- everyone loves its
but everyone makes it just a little bit different with a nod to their heritage.
You make it like your momma did. And her,
like her momma did, and so on.
For me, Mississippi Mud is made in a cake form, with
nostalgic memories of my sweet Nanny whipping it up in her little pink kitchen
in a tiny town along the Caddo River. Growing up it was my brother’s very
favorite dessert and it was a requisite for every family get-together. I remember
the nine-year-old version of my brother, bounding into the kitchen to stick his
finger- not so discreetly- into the marshmallow fudge topping before being
shoo-d out into the living room with the rest of us. Looking at this
introspectively- this CAKE resembles so much more than just dessert but the
distinct perspective from which I write this blog and view this move to
Mississippi. It represents my history,
where I’ve been and where I’m coming from.
And perhaps quite literally, it can easily be applied as a
metaphor for my life as well.
Mississippi- a given considering our move and my current
state of address
Mud- a serious aspect of my life raising two boys and living
with three (4 if you count our dog- ha!)
And CAKE- because I’m from Arkansas and that’s how my family
ate it. It represents my past and my
point of view.
(and also quite literally because this life is just plain SWEET-
if not a little fattening.)
(photo from SouthernLiving.com)
And there you have it. The title of this blog. Mississippi Mud Cake ---makes you want a piece doesn’t it?! J
-Kate
