Pip Arrives in Savannah

Posted on by Teagan Riordain Geneviene

Last weekend I had another lovely visit with Suzanne at A Pug in the Kitchen.  I pos-i-lutely enjoy our joint posts, so I’m re-sharing it here today.  It includes another little vignette from the “universe” of my character Paisley Idelle Peabody, aka Pip.  But more about that shortly, because to me, the main attraction is Suzanne’s marvelous cooking!

Suzanne’s place settings and photos are always a delight to behold. I can easily imagine these being in Granny Phanny’s home.  So let me introduce you to the star of this show, Suzanne’s sensational souffléd macaroni and cheese.  Take it away, Suzanne!

***Suzanne Debrango

We wanted to do something involving comfort food and when I think of comfort food one of the first things that come to mind is macaroni and cheese.  In keeping with the 1920’s flapper theme of the story this recipe is from that era from another feisty and very talented woman named Clemantine Paddleford.  The recipe is fantastic, light and flavorful really a wonderful change from the traditional macaroni and cheese.

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Souffléd Macaroni and Cheese

Makes 4 servings

Recipe by Clemantine Paddleford

1 1/2 cups scalded whole milk

1 cup soft bread crumbs

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese Note: I used 2  cups cheddar cheese

1 cup cooked macaroni

3 eggs separated

1/4 cup diced pimentos

1 tbs chopped parsley

1 tbs grated onion

1 tsp salt

3 tbs butter melted

Pre heat oven to 350 degree’s Grease a casserole Note: I baked at 375 degree’s

Pour milk over soft bread crumbs, add cheese. Cover and let stand until cheese melts. Add macaroni. Combine and add beaten egg yolks, pimento, parsley, onion, salt and buttter. Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry and fold into the mixture. Note: I sprinkled the top of the mac and cheese with breadcrumbs and grated some cheddar and gruyere on top.

Pour into prepared casserole. Bake uncovered for 25-35 minutes.

***

Deee-lish!  Suzanne, I know Pip would be drooling.  She was already jonesing for some of Granny’s mac & cheese.

This bit of a story would happen after The Three Things Serial Story.  It’s inspired by Suzanne’s souffléd macaroni and cheese.

Pip’s dad didn’t appreciate her escapades in that novella. So now she’s been sent to her grandmother, to learn to cook!  I hope you’ll enjoy this tidbit.

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Pip Arrives in Savannah

The breeze that rustled through the fronds of tall palm trees was tinged with salt.  I inhaled deeply as I walked out of the tall arched door at Savannah’s Union Station.  I heard the bell of a streetcar, which had gone past a moment before.  I stretched to see the trolley, but barely got a glimpse of its back-end.

With a loud Bronx cheer I dropped my suitcase to the curb of West Broad Street.  I thought the Jazz Age slang for the rude noise I made was appropriate, since my Pops was continuing on the train to New York City.

Pops said I needed to be reigned-in, and Granny insisted that I needed to learn to cook.  Neither of them would admit that I was a modern woman.  No self-respecting Flapper needed to cook!  Anyhow, Pops had unceremoniously dumped me off the train, saying he’d visit with Granny and me on his way back.  I blew another raspberry at the streetcar that I had just missed — and at my wretched situation.

Union Station Savannah, GA

The ringing of the streetcar’s bell faded into the distance.  The first time I ever saw a trolley was during a visit to my grandmother, there in Savannah, when I was a very little girl.  I slipped away from her and Pops, and scampered onto a streetcar.  I didn’t get far, but Granny Phanny was mad enough to spit. 

This time, I had done the opposite.  Instead of getting on a trolley when I shouldn’t have, I had missed the one I was supposed to ride to get to her.  Now Granny would be waiting to meet me at some Chinese restaurant downtown, but I wouldn’t be on the trolley.  Horsefeathers!  She would be in a lather.

A nearby news vendor walked away from his stall, probably headed for a bite of lunch.  I called out and waved as I hurried toward him, my suitcase bumping along at my side.

“Hey Mac!  Was that the trolley that goes to Pearl Street?” I called out, but he didn’t hear me over the blast of a train whistle.  “Enjoy your lunch,” I grumbled and my empty stomach answered in kind.  “I sure could do with some of Granny’s macaroni and cheese.”

“Did you miss the trolley, sweet cheeks?” a clear tenor voice asked.

I didn’t see him until he moved forward.  He had been leaning against the opposite side of the newsstand.  He wore a suit and hat, but they had flair.  He cast a furtive glance over his shoulder, but then tilted his head back and blew a smoke ring into the air.

Applesauce!  He looked pos-i-lute-ly like the kind of character I had always been told to avoid, but he was as sexy as the Sheik of Araby.  Then his cigarette smoke drifted to me and I sneezed.  So much for me being a sophisticated Sheba.  I had to agree with Pops that smoking was a nasty habit.

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“You’re new in town, huh?  I’m Floyd.  I can take you where the giggle water flows aplenty.  It’ll be a real blow,” he said with a smile and a wink that made him even handsomer.

“Says you,” I countered coyly, thinking he was joking around.

“At least let me drive you over to Pearl Street.  Stick around until my pal gets back.  He’s picking up something for me,” he added gazing up and then down the street, as if looking for his friend.  Stay right here and I’ll get my machine.  It’s a sweet ride.  You’ll love it,” he called over his shoulder as he rushed away.  “Don’t move.  Promise.  I’ll be right back.”

I stood baffled, gaping at Floyd’s retreating form.  I was also feeling flattered by his interest.  There was an intensity about him that I found exciting.  Not to mention the fact that I was relieved that I might avoid Granny’s wrath over me missing the streetcar and leaving her waiting.

“Signorina, do not be going with that man.  It would be a bad thing for you.  Trouble comes,” a voice, heavily accented with Italian, said from behind me.  “There will be other transportation.”

Turning, I saw a portly man in odd looking chef’s clothes.  He lifted his brimless toque and bowed.  A jalopy backfired so suddenly and so loudly that I jerked around to face the noise.  When I turned back, the chef was gone.  I didn’t see him anywhere.  It was as if he disappeared into thin air.

I quickly forgot about the odd occurrence when a wooden crate fell off a passing truck.  The driver pulled to the curb beside me.  Without thinking I went to help.  He had not been traveling fast, so little damage was done.  A few oranges rolled from a broken crate.  I started picking up the wayward fruit.1920s delivery truck

An Asian looking guy with a quasi-British accent jumped out of the driver’s door, apologizing even before his feet hit the street.  He gingerly hopped over the tailgate and began re-positioning the crates.  A couple of them looked ready to fall.

I noticed lettering on the truck proclaiming Wong’s Chinese.  Was that the name of the restaurant where I was supposed to meet Granny?  I was so resentful about being sent to Savannah that I hadn’t even paid attention to what she said.  I knew there wouldn’t be more than one Chinese restaurant on the street.

“Your place isn’t on Pearl Street by any chance, is it?”

“Yep, that’s Wong’s,” he replied with a grin, stopping his work.  “Hey, are you Pip?  Miss Phanny will be looking for you.  I’m Alastair Wong,” he bent from the truck bed and shook my hand.

I sighed with relief.

Then a brand new Ford stopped and gave a long blare of the auto’s horn.  “Hey! Move it,” my Sheik of Araby from moments before shouted angrily, and followed that with a racial slur.

Floyd got out of the automobile, moving toward us in a menacing posture.  I stood up, a smashed and dripping orange still in my hand.

“This cake eater’s bad news, Pip.  You don’t want to have anything to do with him,” Alastair Wong whispered as he stepped in front of me protectively.

In the distance a police whistle trilled.  The guy’s eyes widened and he looked over his shoulder.  Before I knew what was happening, he had hit Alastair in the head with the butt of a pistol.  I shrieked as he dragged me into the open Ford, my arms and legs flailing.

I could hear the coppers coming toward us, shouting and blowing whistles.  Suddenly the Ford was blocked between the delivery truck and police vehicles.  Alastair lay unconscious on the street.  The busted orange dripped juice all over my skirt.  The guy waved his gun around excitedly.  A maniacal gleam came to his eyes when he looked at me.

1920s Police car

An over eager copper fired his gun.  I heard the whiz of the bullet pass by my head.  Startled, Floyd jerked toward the policemen.  Movement from the delivery truck caught my eye.  A catawampus crate started to wobble.  Suddenly that crate and another one tumbled down to land on the windshield of the Ford.  Floyd started screaming and cursing, waving his pistol even more.

When he turned back to me, on sudden impulse I stuck the busted orange in his face and smeared it into his eyes.  By then the coppers had reached us.  They grabbed him before he could do any damage with the gun.

A copper helped me out of the Ford.  I ran to Alastair as another cop helped him stand.  Across the street I saw Floyd’s pal, the news vendor being held by a policeman.

“What just happened here?” I demanded.

A paddy wagon rolled up and the policemen pushed Floyd into it, along with his pal.

“Bootleggers,” a copper told me.  “As if we didn’t already have enough of those around here.”

“So Pip,” Alastair said while he held a handkerchief to his bloodied forehead.  “How do you like Savannah so far?”

I chuckled despite everything.  At least he had a sense of humor.

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“Well, I was afraid I would be bored to tears here,” I told him with a dramatic sigh.  “But I suppose it will be interesting enough.  So far I’ve learned three things.  Don’t take any wooden nickels.  Don’t get into Fords with handsome men.  And Wong’s Chinese is the right place to go.” 

Alastair laughed.  “That’s a good slogan, doll face.  Mind if I use it?  How about we get you to the restaurant.  Miss Phanny will be getting impatient.”

And so began my adventures in Savannah.

The end

***

Thanks for visiting, everyone.  Especially thanks to Suzanne at A Pug in the Kitchen for the wonderful comfort food!

 

Copyright © 2017 by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene

All rights reserved.

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87 thoughts on “Pip Arrives in Savannah”

  1. Good to see this post here too, Teagan. I already read it over at Suzanne’s blog and commented there, so I won’t repeat, repeat, repeat… Sorry, needle got stuck. 😁

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  5. What a brilliant recipe for the soul in both food and story line.. I am sure Teagan you have lived in another era lol .. You captured me from the start.. And I loved this line of description “An Asian looking guy with a quasi-British accent ” 🙂 I just love the way you describe in detail the small things too.. Like the crates falling from the passing truck. You weave magic pictures in the mind.. xxx 🙂

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  8. Oh Teagan, thank you so much. It was thrilling for me to make this mac and cheese for our collaboration and you know I have a special fondness for Pip and would like to imagine Granny Phanny making this and serving a generous portion to your heroine. Thank you for the opportunity and here’s to many more!!

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    1. It was absolutely my pleasure, Suzanne. It’s music to my ears for you to say that. I’m looking forward to the next one. You’ve given everyone a big case of the hungries for this macaroni and cheese. I’ll toast it with a glass of Malbec! Mega hugs.

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  9. Oh! Oh! Oh! So excited and intrigued and hungry and well, just generally over the moon to read this, dear Teagan, you made my day, scratch that, weekend!
    Gee, wonder what I’m going to have for supper (minus the onions, not allowed and with a few substitutions, but the spirit of the dish will remain in tact). Thanks you and Suzanne for the delish dish and dish, doll faces.
    Hope the week ahead treats you kindly.
    Mega Pip Pip Hurray! Hugs xoxoxo

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    1. My dear delightful Donna — I’m so glad to see you. It gives me a huge smile that you enjoyed both parts of this joint post.
      Next weekend I have an all new Valentine story from Atonement, TN.
      I hope this Fire Rooster year turns around right now, and starts treating you well. Because no one deserves it more than you. Mega hugs right back.

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      1. OK, now I just want this week to fast-forward!!! 😉
        No luck yet with 2017, but we’ve got some time. Hope your week goes well, dear Teagan (and one thing ‘cancels’ out some others lol). 😉
        Mega hope your year brings you lots and lots of cheer hugs xoxx

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          1. That’s so funny/weird, Teagan, I just started rewatching ‘Toy Story’ the other day (haven’t seen those movies in years), I forgot how much I liked them. Back to you as well, if only we could fix or run the world on hugs, it would be a much better place, for sure. xoxoxo

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    1. It’s great to see you Kirt. Tee-hee! It tickles me when anyone spots Maestro Martino in this story. Since it was a joint post with Suzanne (her delicious mac & cheese), and she was such a fan of that character — I couldn’t resist giving him a cameo. Not exactly “good writing,” but what the heck! (He didn’t get introduced until the third serial.)
      Thanks so very much for taking time to read and comment.
      Next weekend, a Valentine from Atonement, Tennessee. Mega hugs!

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    1. Hello Adele — it’s great to see you! Thanks very much for reblogging, and for taking time to comment. I’m delighted I could introduce to Suzanne. Her culinary skills never cease to amaze me — and then to be able to photograph the results so beautifully…
      Haha! I was having the same reaction as I wrote this vignette. Pip all starry eyed over a handsome man… (I was shaking my head.) But it just never works out for her to get swept off her feet. Mega hugs right back!

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  14. Good morning dear Teagan….Macaroni Cheese is also one of my all time favourites – this particular take on it sounds fantastic. I love Pip’s story and I LOVE Savannah….I think it’s one of the most dreamy towns in the USA….except I can’t go there during the summer months…just too hot and humid for me…but oh what a glorious place. As for Bad Boys like Floyd….aren’t they always the most attractive! 🙂 A dear friend of mine over here always says that she can walk into a room of a hundred men, and if Jack the Ripper is present…he’s the one that she will find the most attractive……On that note, I hope that you are enjoying a lovely relaxing Sunday. Sending loads of magical hummingbirds in your direction….remember the unseen magic. janet. xxx

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    1. Ha!!!! Your friend sure knows how to make a vivid statement. 😀 Love it.
      Thank you for visiting, Janet. It means a lot to me. And thank you for the hummingbirds. Yes, I need to be reminded of that unseen magic.
      I’m working on a special Valentines story for next weekend. Bringing some characters from Atonement, Tennessee. Mega hummingbird hugs. ❤ 🙂

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  20. Teagan, reading one of your stories is like a shot of adrenaline. Pip cracks me up! The more I read of her, the more I suspect she’s your alter ego. My newest protagonist, Phoebe, is mine; and how I delighted in writing her. I sense you derive the same pleasure from writing Pip. Oh, and I adore macaroni and cheese! 🙂 💜

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    1. Good morning, Tina! Your comment delighted me. I have a lot of fun writing Pip. In a way she’s the teen/young adult that I never got to be, but always wished I could be. She definitely has some of my audacious side (that I learned to suppress for business).
      More of my own “reactions” and attitudes are in Ralda Lawton (Atonement, Tennessee).
      As for pure fun, I think I had the most writing the relationship between Felicity (the Woman in Trousers) and Cornelis Drebbel (the Alchemist) for “Copper, the Alchemist, and the Woman in Trousers.”
      Suzanne’s mac & cheese (heck, everything she cooks) looks and sounds so good, I’d love to have a plate of it for breakfast right now! LOL. Many thanks for taking time to visit today. Mega hugs!

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      1. Teagan, I think a lot of authors write themselves into their characters, don’t you? It gives us free rein to express and experience all we hope and dream and, perhaps, dare not express otherwise. As I read your reply, my stomach growled. Must be the mention of mac and cheese! I do wish I lived with a cook . . . 🙂 Oodles of hugs coming to you from California ❤❤❤

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        1. I (at least used to) actively try to make sure I did not put “Me” in my characters. Atonement, Tennessee was a NaNoWriMo project so I knew to write fast enough I would have to let Ralda have some of my reactions. Otherwise… I don’t especially think I do. An expert in psychology might disagree if they analyzed me. (Shrugs.) But I tend to be pretty open about expressing myself. I’m more than a little direct (though I do try to be polite and diplomatic about it). o_O
          Interesting conversation, Tina. I enjoy your visits. More hugs!

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    1. Hi Colleen — I’m always so happy to hear that! Thanks for visiting. You’re sort of getting a “taste” of how the next serial went. After the original Three Things Serial, I turned the next 2 into “culinary” mysteries. So the three things for them were food related.
      Anyhow, over time Suzanne and I have done a few joint posts, bringing that aspect back. We hope to do them regularly. Have a satisfying Saturday. Mega hugs.

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      1. I love your stories and the recipes, Teagan. They are like “cozy adventures.” Perfect for reading to relax. Your books are my calgon take me away reads. 😀 ❤ Perfect with a glass of wine. ❤

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  23. Pip’s re-emergence is a real treat Teagan. She’s always in the thick of it.
    Some of your comfort food Suzanne. I’m surprised you’ve not got your own restaurant next to Wong’s.
    xxx Massive Hugs xxx

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    1. Ooooooh now there’s an idea, David. If I could work it into a 1920s serial, I surely would. Suzanne is easily a good enough chef to have a five star restaurant.
      And Pip, LOL. she doesn’t have directions to anywhere that is not in the thick of it. 😀
      Thanks so very much for visiting today, David. Mega hugs.

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    1. Welcome Jo! I’m delighted to meet you (via Inese’s blog). Tee-hee, I’ll join you for seconds on the mac & cheese! I’m delighted that you enjoyed both parts of this joint post. Hopefully Suzanne and I can make a habit of them. Have a wonder-filled weekend. Mega hugs!

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  25. Pip’s first day in Savannah wasn’t boring for sure. I wonder who is that guardian angel in toque. Great story, and thank you for the comfort food – it arrived just in time. Have a lovely day xx

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    1. Oh you picked up on that! Marvelous. Suzanne was Maestro Martino’s biggest fan (but he didn’t happen until the 3rd serial)… so I couldn’t resist working him into this joint post. I hope your weekend is beautiful, Inese and that comfort of all sorts abounds. Mega hugs.

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    1. I’m delighted you liked the orange, John. When Suzanne and I first discussed doing this post she was deciding between this recipe and a cake one that included oranges. As soon as she described it, I thought of good old “Wong’s Chinese”… so I ended up going both ways with the story. Thanks for this feedback, John. Have a fabulous Friday. Mega hugs!

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    1. Why thank you Tess. You’ve made my day. I often think I’ve missed my era (multiple eras actually). Although I do like modern conveniences and doubt I would give them up, even if time travel became possible. However…
      😉 You’re wonderful to take time to read and comment. Mega hugs!

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    1. Hi Jacquie. It’s huge fun to write as Pip with the 20s slang and her feistiness. I can’t imagine anything from Suzanne’s kitchen that didn’t turn out delicious, but that mac & cheese has to be one of the best! I’m delighted that you took a moment to visit! Mega hugs.

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    1. You’re so kind, Dan. It’s been around a bit. Since it was a joint post Suzanne and I did, it was at her blog last weekend. I waited until to day to re-share it here. A wonderful weekend to you and yours as well. Huge hugs.

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  36. I’m sorry everyone. I meant to push out the scheduling of this post until tomorrow, so that it wouldn’t be quite so close to my Thursday post… but I got busy and forgot — about 4 times…
    So I hope you don’t mind. Suzanne’s wonderful dish deserves full attention. Mega hugs!

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