"tennessee" news and stories

Like many other states, Tennessee has seen its food stamp applications surge since the economy faltered. But the state's found an especially novel way to deal with the deluge: Tennessee's Department of Human Services has hired more than 1,500 food stamp recipients to help process the applications.

"It's really been win-win," says department spokesperson Michelle Mower Johnson. "People aren't waiting months to get their benefits, and it gives the workers something to put on their resumes."

Sugar is sneaking into some Southern cornbreads, an organizer of the National Cornbread Festival reports.

The annual festival -- which this month returns to South Pittsburg, Tenn. -- draws 10,000 people with its cornbread-eating contests, Miss Cornbread pageant, cook-offs and cornbread-sampling stations. Spokesperson Beth Duggar says this year's cornbread lineup includes brown sugar cornbread, strawberry cornbread and M&M cornbread, all clear edible violations of the longstanding Southern tradition of unsweetened cornbread.

Festival judge Elizabeth Heiskell, author of the forthcoming Somebody Stole the Cornbread from My Dressing, puts the edict against sugared cornbread in a uniquely Southern context. "When I was in school, one of the things we talked about was the Civil War, which was a very hard subject, very emotional," she says. "And my professor said, 'Honestly, I believe the reason the Civil War was fought was because the North wanted us to put sugar in our cornbread'."

Tennessee whiskey. Photo: Flickr / jpenglert

Tennessee whiskey, which has long been the exclusive province of Jack Daniels and George Dickel, may soon be welcoming some new faces to the fold.

The Tennessee legislature this month passed a law permitting the distillation of spirits in 44 counties instead of only the three in which it is currently legal. It's a move some legislators say should generate needed tax revenues for the state and new jobs for its residents.

Artisan distillers predict the relaxed restrictions could also spur a Tennessee whiskey renaissance. The term "Tennessee whiskey" denotes whiskey filtered through sugar maple charcoal, a step known as the "Lincoln County Process" in honor of the county where Jack Daniel pioneered it. In addition to Lincoln, Moore and Coffee are the other two counties where distillation has long been legal.

While the new law allows distillers to produce any sort of legal liquor they choose, Andrew Webber, owner of Kentucky's Corsair Artisan Distillery, suspects many of the dozen or so artisanal spirits makers reportedly eyeing the Volunteer State will experiment with Tennessee whiskey.

Moonshine and more after the jump.

True to cliché, countless failed country stars stream out of Nashville with their money spent, spirits broken and nothing but a nasty hot chicken habit to show for their Music City sojourn. It's an addiction many twangsters say they just can't kick.

"Lorrie Morgan turned me onto it," recalls Rocky Lindsley, a former back-up drummer for country music stars including the popular blonde singer. "I was paying a guy money to bring me that chicken [from six hours away]."

Veterans of the Nashville scene are partially responsible for a burgeoning hot chicken diaspora, introducing the city's fiery, tastebud-melting dish to brave eaters across the South. Lindsley, who now owns Rocky's Hot Chicken Shack in Asheville (east of Nashville), doesn't hesitate when asked to name his influence: "As a musician, I'm going to say who inspired me, whether it's Led Zeppelin or whatever, and I was inspired by Prince's."

Learn the bizarre side effects of hot chicken consumption after the jump.

A woman in Tennessee claims that her 89-year old mother found a mouse in a can of Campbell's Bean and Bacon soup. Campbell's representatives say that they would like to examine the mouse and the can in question, both of which have been stored by the family who made the allegations. The company says that it is unlikely that a mouse could have gotten into the very rigidly monitored packaging system at their plant. Casting further doubts on the legitimacy of the claim is the fact that the woman's mother reportedly ate some of the soup before noticing that there was a mouse in the can.

To give you an idea of the sizes, though the article does not specifically state what size can of soup the woman purchased, a regular sized can of Campbell's soup is 10.5-ounces and an adult mouse is about 1-ounce. The woman must have been eating directly from the can, as she would mostly likely have seen the mouse (if it was, in fact, in the can) had she decanted the soup.

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