Sunday With the Stitts

For most Southerners, tradition and food are inextricably bound. Even the simplest family meal renews one's connection to the recipes and rituals of generations past.

Frank Stitt, the Birmingham chef hailed by Gourmet as "the culinary king of Alabama," is no exception. His new cookbook, Frank Stitt's Southern Table (Artisan, $40), is an autobiographical ode to the South's rich culinary traditions and includes a collection of recipes that represents not only his harmonious blend of Southern food and French technique but also his staunch belief in using seasonal, organic, and locally grown ingredients.

In celebration of the book's publication, Frank and his wife, Pardis, invited friends for a relaxed, midday Sunday meal cooked, as always, from the heart and soul.

The tradition of Sunday lunch is as Southern as Frank himself. Born in Birmingham and reared in Cullman, Alabama, the award-winning chef cherishes his memories of lunchtime at his grandparents' farm. "Sunday was the day when families looked forward to getting together," he says. "Special care was taken in the preparation of a substantial meal, and we gave thanks for the bounty of the garden."

It is this remembered atmosphere of familial warmth and, equally important, a heartfelt connection to the foods on the table that Frank hoped to share with his guests. "Nowadays, Sunday is the one day that the phone isn't ringing and the television is off. We can make time for friends that we never have time for during the week," he says. "And lunchtime is the best time of day to enjoy good food and wine because the senses are more acute."

"One joy of entertaining," writes Frank in his book, "is the power to orchestrate pleasure." For this particular occasion, the chef treated friends to an array of delicious, seasonal delights with all of the inspiration and subtlety that typically emerges from the kitchens of his restaurants, Chez Fonfon, Highlands Bar and Grill, and Bottega.

In keeping with his professed love of pomp and ceremony, he greeted guests with flutes of Piper-Heidsieck Champagne. "I always like to start with Champagne or sparkling wine. It wakes everyone up and creates excitement," he says. Along with the bubbly, Frank offered a few starters -- flavors "to coax the appetite, not satiate it."

Heaping spoonfuls of crabmeat on crostini is one of his favorites. "I love Gulf Coast crab," he says. "It's a luxurious ingredient, but used like this, a little goes a long way." Herbed cottage cheese dip served with crudités, a recipe based on an Eisenhower-era hors d'oeuvre that his mother used to make, acted as a savory, unpretentious counterpoint.

The Stitts' French refectory table, set with simple, oversize plates, crisp linen napkins, and mis-matched antique sterling, also pays homage to Frank's childhood -- he learned the importance of ceremony at an early age. "I love sitting down to beautiful china and great silverware," he says. "It reminds us to be happy just being alive."

Guests helped themselves to a hearty autumn beet salad with spiced pecans, pears, and blue cheese, as well as a flavorful Southern staple: Lowcountry red rice with grouper. "We are rather informal at our house," says Pardis, who likes the ease of family-style dining. "It makes the meal relaxed, and everyone eats at their own pace."

After lingering over glasses of "a crisp, 'minerally' Austrian white" (Frank's selection to complement the meal), guests awaited dessert: a classic pear-and-almond tart (see: Snapshots From the Stitts' Table). "The combination of Bartlett pears, sweet almonds, and frangipane with a buttery crust is wonderful," says Frank. His appreciation for such seasonal delights is equal to his gratitude for the simple rituals of a Sunday meal: "They remind us to savor the time that we have together," he says.