Anny's Red Plate: Summer Blackberries

CROSS CREEK BLACKBERRY FARM

If asked to choose my favorite food/recipe/dish from each of the three most important women in my family, I would likely begin with Mammy Lott's Blackberry Cobbler. Let me just say, it was heaven. I wish I had the old pan in which she baked this amazing summer pastry. It was a long rectangular pan that was blackened on the outside from years upon years of use. Mammy kept the interior pristine and shiny; she was a stickler for clean. But when she brought it out of the oven, piping hot and filled with the hands-down best cobbler I've ever had, it was a rich, dark-purple color from the blackberry juices bubbling through the golden, sugared, lattice crust. It was a culinary triumph. Mammy had serious pastry chops. And for those of us around the dining table, it was food magic. She served us luxuriant scoops from the old blackened pan, and adorned the piping hot cobbler with chilled fresh cream, not whipped, simply poured over in liberal dollops. Hot, cold, sweet, crispy, tart, creamy, all part of its deliciousness.

So when I heard recently of a blackberry farm a few miles from home, my mind began wandering back to Mammy and Pappy's dining room, and that blackberry cobbler. My friend Lisa and I drove up this morning bright and early to the Cross Creek Blackberry Farm (find them on Facebook). Oh my gracious, that place is a beautiful example on how to grow and sell blackberries. I'm sharing with you a few photos I snapped in between picking those black, delicious orbs. Such a treat, and definitely worthy of another trip! Y'all should check them out. You won't be disappointed. Lovely folks!

Now my plan for tomorrow is to make Mammy Lott's Blackberry Cobbler, and share the recipe and pics on this blog. So stay tuned! I know it could never be as delicious as my Mammy's, but I will surely think of her while I'm making it. Oh yum!