They stared at one another without feeling the need to look away. Ginny could envision a point in the future when she’d look at Willy’s face without seeing Silas’s.
“I hope to run into you again.” She turned away quickly so he wouldn’t see that her eyes were misting up.
Willy touched her arm to stop her. “Miss Polk, you’re not to blame for my daddy’s death,” he said.
She brought her fingers to her trembling lips. In her nightmares, the eight-year-old Willy Barnes had accused her of killing his father no matter how much she protested. Today, he tried to release her of a burden she’d carried more than two decades.
Ginny nodded and squeezed his hand. Perhaps one day she’d believe him.
FEATURED RECIPES
The recipes that follow have been reprinted almost exactly as they appeared in the vintage sources. In a few instances, instructions have been clarified.
AUNT SUSAN’S CLABBER CAKE
Source: Daily Oklahoman, 1952
(http://newsok.com/article/2666525)
½ pound butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3½ cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
3⅓ tablespoons cocoa
2 cups clabber milk (can substitute buttermilk)
Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time.
Sift dry ingredients together and add alternately with clabber milk to creamed mixture. Bake in greased and floured 14 × 9-inch pan in a preheated 350-degree oven for 45 minutes.
Author’s Note: Clabber milk is clotted, soured milk. To make it, leave raw (not pasteurized) milk on the counter in a sealed jar for two to three days in a warm spot until solids appear. Shake it to see if it’s turned thick. It should not yet be separated. If the milk is still mostly white when shaken, and has turned thick, then it is done clabbering. Store clabbered milk in the refrigerator. If left on the counter too long, it will separate and turn into curds and whey.
MASTER RECIPE FOR DIGESTIBLE CRISCO SHORTCAKE
Source: Crisco advertisement, 1934
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup Crisco
1 egg
⅔ cup milk, water, or juice
Sift dry ingredients. Work in Crisco (a pure digestible shortening). Beat egg in measuring cup; add liquid to fill cup ¾ full. Add to Crisco mixture. Divide dough. Pat out into rounds to fit bottom of pie plate. Brush one round with melted Crisco. Place second round on top.
Bake in a 425-degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Separate rounds. Put filling between.
For individual shortcakes: Cut out biscuits ¼ inch thick. Brush tops with melted Crisco. Put other biscuits on top. Bake in a 425-degree oven for 12 minutes.
SEVEN MINUTE FROSTING
Source: All About Home Baking (General Foods
Corporation, 1933, p. 104)
2 egg whites, unbeaten
1½ cups sugar
5 tablespoons water
1½ teaspoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
Combine egg whites, sugar, water, and corn syrup in top of double boiler, beating with rotary egg beater until thoroughly mixed. Place over rapidly boiling water, beat constantly with rotary egg beater, and cook 7 minutes, or until frosting will stand in peaks. Remove from boiling water; add vanilla and beat until thick enough to spread. Makes enough frosting to cover tops and sides of two 9-inch layers or about two dozen cupcakes. Make sure the cake is cold and free from loose crumbs before attempting to frost it. The frosting should be cool so that it does not run and soak into the cake.
CALUMET FRUITCAKE
Source: All About Home Baking (General Foods
Corporation, 1933, p. 135)
1 pound (4½ cups) sifted Swans Down Cake Flour
1 teaspoon Calumet baking powder
½ teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon mace
1 pound butter or other shortening
1 pound brown sugar
10 eggs, well beaten
½ pound candied cherries
½ pound candied pineapple
1 pound dates, seeded and sliced
1 pound raisins
1 pound currants
½ pound citron, thinly sliced
½ pound candied orange and lemon peel
½ pound nut meats, chopped
1 cup honey
1 cup molasses
½ cup cider
Sift flour once, measure, add baking powder and spices, and sift together three times. Cream shortening thoroughly, add sugar gradually, and cream together until light and fluffy. Add remaining ingredients. Add flour gradually. Bake in four greased pans, 8 × 8 × 2 inches, lined with greased paper, in a 250-degree oven for 3 to 3½ hours. Makes four 2.5-pound fruitcakes.
SOUTHERN SPOON BREAD
Source: The Southern Cook Book – 322 Old Dixie
Recipes (Culinary Arts Press, 1939, p. 31)
2 cups cornmeal
2 cups boiling water
3 large tablespoons butter (melted)
1 teaspoon salt
1½ cups sweet milk
3 eggs
Sift the cornmeal three times and dissolve in the boiling water, mix until it is smooth and free from any lumps. Add the melted butter and salt. Thin with milk. Separate the eggs; beat until light; add the yolks and then the whites. Pour into a buttered baking dish and bake in a 350-degree oven about 30 minutes. This should be served in the dish in which it is baked.
BAKING POWDER BISCUITS
Source: The Victory Binding of the American Woman’s
Cook Book – Wartime Edition (Consolidated Book
Publishers, Chicago, 1938, p. 118)
2 cups sifted flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup cold shortening
¾ cup cold milk
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together and cut in shortening with two knives or a pastry blender. Add milk and mix quickly. Knead for a few seconds on lightly floured board. Pat out to ½-inch thickness and cut with biscuit cutter. Place in greased pan close together for crust on top and bottom only, far apart if crust is desired on sides also. Bake at once in a 450-degree oven for 12 minutes. Makes 12.
PORK NECK STEW
Source: Allrecipes.com (adapted from
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/184741/neck-bones-and-lima-beans)
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon rubbed sage
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
Salt and pepper to taste
3 pounds pork neck bones
3 tablespoons oil
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced celery
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 (16-ounce) package dried lima beans
10 cups water, divided
Combine the garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, sage, nutmeg, seasoned salt, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Rub ¾ of this mixture into the pork neck bones; set the neck bones and remaining seasoning aside.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion, celery, and bell pepper; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the neck bones; reduce heat to low and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour, adding water as needed to keep the meat and vegetables from scorching.
Meanwhile, place the lima beans into a large pot and pour in 8 cups of water; bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, turn off the heat, cover, and let stand 1 hour.
After the beans have soaked for 1 hour, drain and rinse. Return the beans to the pot, then pour in 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then stir in the pork and vegetables and the remaining spice mixture. Reduce heat, cover, and
simmer until the lima beans are tender and the pork is falling off the bones, about 30 minutes.
SHIT ON A SHINGLE (CREAMED GROUND BEEF ON TOAST)
Source: Department of the Army
Technical Manual, 1957
24 pounds boneless ground beef
1 pound onions, chopped fine
½ cup salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
2 gallons evaporated milk mixed with 2 gallons water
2 pounds wheat flour, hard
100 slices toast
Brown beef in its own fat in roasting pans on top of range. Remove excess fat during cooking period. Add onions and seasoning and mix thoroughly.
Add 3 gallons of milk mixture to beef mixture and heat to simmering, stirring frequently. Mix flour with the remaining gallon of milk and stir into hot mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring steadily; reduce heat and simmer until thickened.
Serve 1 cup serving over 1 piece of toast. Makes 100 servings.
CHOWCHOW
Source: The Victory Binding of the American Woman’s
Cook Book – Wartime Edition (Consolidated Book
Publishers, Chicago, 1938, p. 697)
18 green tomatoes
1 bunch celery
8 cucumbers
5 dozen small green onions
1 pound green string beans
1 cauliflower
3 red peppers
½ cup salt
2 quarts vinegar
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons turmeric
4 tablespoons mustard seed
1 tablespoon cloves
1 tablespoon pepper
Dice tomatoes, celery, and cucumbers; skin onions and remove tops; cut beans into small pieces; separate cauliflower into flowerets; and chop peppers. Arrange vegetables in layers, sprinkling each layer with salt. Let stand 24 hours, then drain. Combine vinegar, sugar, and spices and heat to boiling, stirring well. Pack in hot, sterilized jars and seal. Makes 6 quarts.
Author’s note: My grandmother also added sliced yellow squash to chowchow.
CAJUN DIRTY RICE
Source: Cooks.com
(http://www.cooks.com/recipe/pv2850nl/cajun-dirty-rice.html)
1 pound chicken gizzards
1 pound chicken livers
½ cup butter
1½ onions, finely chopped
½ cup green pepper, finely chopped
½ cup celery, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon ground red pepper
3 cups hot cooked rice
½ cup chopped parsley
Chop chicken gizzards and livers very fine. Brown meat in butter in large skillet (or Dutch oven). Add onion, celery, green pepper, garlic, and seasonings. Mix ingredients well. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender. Add rice and parsley, mix lightly. Garnish with parsley, if desired. Serve immediately. Serves 8.
Author’s note: If you prefer a less spicy version, reduce the amount of ground red pepper by half.
Acknowledgments
Several years ago, I had a conversation with my good friend, Katrina Burtt, who’d stumbled upon a website that listed the last words of Texas death row inmates prior to their executions. She mentioned that some entries also noted what the men asked for as their last meals. One young man asked only for two boxes of Frosted Flakes and a pint of milk. We talked about the poignancy of that image, and how inmates’ last requests have more to do with memory and loss, than they do of hunger and pleasure. I remember texting Katrina a week later and saying “I have to write a book about last suppers.” She said, “Go for it.” So I did. Katrina is the reason I told Ginny’s and Roscoe’s story, and she has my love and gratitude always.
The book wouldn’t have been possible without J.L. Stermer, my agent, and John Scognamiglio, editor in chief at Kensington Publishing. Their enthusiasm for the manuscript (and their insistence that Dot should have a larger role) makes me smile to this day. And I am beyond honored that John chose The Last Suppers as the first book released by the John Scognamiglio Books imprint at Kensington.
The only person who’s read The Last Suppers as many times as I have is my invaluable critique partner, Micki Browning. She and I started our publishing journeys about the same time and we’ve had each other’s backs since then.
So many people read and offered their insights on the book: Hunter Knox, Mari Clark, Kathleen Costello, Kathy Watkins, Evie Bromiley, and Camm Dougherty. Thank you.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge my grandmothers, Marie Mikulencak and Lena Skrovan. They instilled in me my lifelong passion for baking and served as inspiration as I researched recipes that Ginny and Dot would have prepared in Louisiana from the 1930s to the 1950s.
And last, but certainly not least, thank you to my husband, Andy, who reminds me every day that I’m doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing—and that I need to start writing that next book. I couldn’t ask for a more passionate supporter of my writing.
A READING GROUP GUIDE
THE LAST SUPPERS
Mandy Mikulencak
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
The suggested questions are included to enhance your group’s reading of Mandy Mikulencak’s The Last Suppers.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. As a daughter of a prison guard, Ginny had been a part of the Greenmount Penitentiary since she was a little girl. How does her childhood and father’s murder impact her decision to return to the prison as a cook?
2. Ginny becomes obsessed with the preparation of the last meals for death row inmates. In what ways does Ginny come to understand the reasons for the obsession?
3. What do you think motivates inmates to request the last meals they do? Do you believe Ginny cares about their motivation?
4. Discuss the central role that food plays in the novel. Why is it important for Ginny to involve the inmates’ families?
5. What role does Dot play in Ginny’s life? Do they allow society to dictate these roles?
6. Roscoe said on more than one occasion he didn’t do enough to improve conditions at the prison. Do you believe that?
7. How does the time period for the novel (1920s-1960s Louisiana) affect the actions of the characters? Would they have made the same choices today?
8. What purpose does Ginny’s scrapbook serve?
9. Roscoe once told Ginny that seeing her at the execution of her father’s murderer brought him more sadness than the death of his best friend. Why do you think that’s so?
10. What are some of the reasons you believe Ginny began a relationship with Roscoe? Why is it so important that Roscoe say the words “I love you” out loud?
11. Why do you believe Miriam’s relationship with Ginny is so difficult? How is it further affected by Joe’s death and Ginny’s relationship with Roscoe?
12. In uncovering the truth of her father’s death, Ginny upsets the lives of many people including Silas Barnes’s widow and son. Are her actions justified?
13. After learning about Roscoe’s past, Ginny wants her mother “to share something profound” that would help explain how Ginny could still love him. Why do you think Ginny needs to justify her feelings? And why does her mother’s opinion matter?
14. Did reading The Last Suppers change your views on the death penalty?
15. Was Ginny’s compassion for the inmates and their families an insult to the victims and their families?
ethis-inline-share-buttons">share
The Last Suppers Page 24
