From Rome to Home: My life in Mobile, Alabama: Jam Bolaya!!!!!

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Jam Bolaya!!!!!

According to an essay written by Andrew Sigal (sigal.org), the first reference to the word "Jambalaya" in the english language was in a recipe published in the American Agriculturalist in 1849. The recipe was written by Solon Robinson while in Mobile during a tour of the American South. The first cookbook to publish a recipe for "Jam Bolaya" was the Gulf City Cookbook that was published in Mobile in 1878. Perhaps not coincidentally, the second reference to "Jambalaya" in a cookbook was in What Mrs. Fisher Knows about Old Southern Cooking. Though published in San Francisco in 1881, Mrs. Fisher had moved to California from Mobile.

Of course I love cooking the food I grew up with in Italy, but, I also love cooking the traditional gulf coast fare and one of my favorites is Mobile's own Jam Bolaya!

8 comments:

Claudia FabianaJuly 3, 2011 at 1:04 PM
Nice blog...follow each other?

ciao from Newport BEach
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BuddyJuly 3, 2011 at 4:03 PM
The reference to Jambalaya in the "American Agriculturalist" can be found at this link in google books: http://books.google.com/books?id=sHoYAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA161&dq=american+agriculturalist+jambalaya&hl=en&ei=afQQTt7JBpO3tge1loDfDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

You can actually download the entire book in a PDF book and read it at your leisure. By the way, I am in Mobile now. Let me know if you guys are up to anything over the long weekend.
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DrickJuly 6, 2011 at 5:00 PM
Yes, thanks to David, I mentioned all of this with a recipe a good while back in a pos I did, hey, somehow I missed the aroma of this waffling around...
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MargueriteJuly 6, 2011 at 6:29 PM
Lovely blog and post! Thanks so much for stopping by and for following! I see you already know my buddy, Drick! Now that man CAN cook! :)
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SimonaJuly 6, 2011 at 7:11 PM
Marguerite, thanks for being one of my first followers! I love your blog! Drick is my next door neighbor, how lucky is that?
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SimonaJuly 7, 2011 at 10:44 AM
Drick, Dave said that was the best jambalaya I have ever made. I bring you some next time, and it won`t be on a disposable plate! By the way it looks like I fixed the technical problem I had when posting comments!
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Mike HebertSeptember 18, 2012 at 1:09 AM
Good information on the food! Many of my French ancestors came from Mobile and other parts of Alabama. Great blog.
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Simona's Top 10 things to do while in Mobile, Alabama

#1 Take a walk Downtown on Dauphin Street. There's a lot of great architecture and places to eat. Don't miss the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and the Bishop Portier House. Bienville Books is one of my favorite haunts and dinner at Wintzell's Oyster House is a must before leaving Mobile.

#2 Tour Mobile's Greek Revival Public Buildings. Buildings of note include Barton Academy and the Presbyterian Church on Government Street and Christ Episcopal Church at the corner of St Emanuel and Church Street (near the Fort Conde Visitor Center). The Mobile City Hospital and Marine Hospital on St Anthony Street and the Washington Fire Station on Lawrence Street are also worth a visit for the architectural enthusiast or history buff.

#3 Walk through the De Tonti Square Historic District. This is one of Mobile's oldest neighborhoods and includes architecture ranging from raised Creole Cottages to brick Federal and Italianate Townhouses. Just outside De Tonti Square, monthly jazz jambalaya's are held by the Mystic Order of the Jazz Obsessed at the Old Gulf City Lodge.

#4 Tour the Oakleigh Garden District. Stops should include a tour of the Oakleigh House Museum, a stroll through the camelias and under the oak shaded canopy of Washington Square, and dining at Callaghan's Irish Bar. When you need a break, stop by the newly renovated Cream and Sugar Coffee House.

#5 Visit Spring Hill College. The architecture and landscape of the southeast's oldest catholic university provide for a pleasant stroll through the grounds. Stewartfield is an excellent example of an antebellum home that is on campus but don't miss other notable homes in the area including the Marshall-Eslava house on Tuthill Lane, the Gaillard House on Myrtlewood Lane, and Carolina Hall on Yester Place.

#6 Travel along the Old Dauphinway. On your return from Spring Hill, along Spring Hill Avenue, the Old Shell Road, and Dauphin Street you'll find many exceptional old homes. The Gates-Davy House on Dauphin, the Bragg-Mitchell Mansion on Spring Hill Avenue, and the Calef House on Old Shell Road are a few of my favorites. For a special treat, stop by the Visitation Monastery on Spring Hill Avenue where the nuns have been selling their delicious "Heavenly Hash" since the 1950's.

#7 Go back in time in Church Street East and Fort Conde Village. Back downtown, make sure to check out the on-going renovations in Fort Conde Village and visit the Conde-Charlotte House Museum. Church Street East has a range of architectural styles including many turn of the 20th century shotgun homes. The replica Fort Conde includes great colonial-era artifacts collected at the site and the nearby Museum of Mobile provides additional insite into Mobile's History. No visit to Mobile would be complete without visiting the Mardi Gras Museum on Government Street which celebrates Mobile's oldest tradition.

#8 Take a Cemetery Tour. Mobile has many old cemeteries and three of them should definately be on any travel itenerary. The Church Street Grave Yard dates to 1820 and includes separate sections for the interment of catholics, protestants, and strangers. Yellow fever quickly helped to fill up the Church Street Cemetery so Magnolia Cemetery, 1838, and the Catholic Cemetery, 1848, were created.

#9 Go for a Bike Ride. Mobile has a couple of very active bike groups with group rides available for the novice to the pro. The relatively mild weather through much of the year, flat terrain, street layout, and the many less travelled roads provide excellent biking opportunities. "Mobilians on Bikes" can be found on facebook and provides information on all the rides.

#10 Tour the Mobile-Tensaw Delta. The Mobile-Tensaw Delta is the second largest delta in the United States and provides many opportunities for boating, fishing, kayaking, and nature watching. Eagles, Osprey, and Alligators are some of my favorite sites. The Bottle Creek Indian Mound is a treasure hidden deep within the delta.