Based on a pop-up event at the Brooklyn home of Jason Vance, as he transported us to his hometown in West Virginia through foods, songs and stories of his childhood.
Art: Andrew Benincasa.
story
The Event
We came to know Jason Vance via Brooklyn Music Factory while my son and I took our respective music lessons. Jason would talk about his big, amazing family reunions in the mountains of West Virginia that he looked forward to each summer, and gush about the music and the food that was such a bit part of these celebrations. I would daydream abut what it was like down on his ma-maw’s porch, eating potato soup and bopping to the music and energy all around me.
Unable to travel down to West Virginia, I did the next best thing: I invited him to collaborate on an event here in Brooklyn, bringing the rich tastes, tunes and tales of Bradshaw Mountain to New York.
He excitedly agreed because he had already been working on a storytelling + songs show about Appalachia. He wanted to offer an alternative to the misrepresentation (and a does of the truth) of the people and traditions from that region – including his family – and how that misunderstanding hurts us as a country.
As we planned the event, I learned of the the Vance Family cookbook, a 200 page compendium or recipes, stories, household tips and jokes. It is an incredible treasure that I had the opportunity to hold on to for a couple weeks both for recipe testing for the event, and just to enjoy.
After having to be rescheduled due to some particularly difficult deaths in Jason’s family, we finally hosted this event in March 2019, when more than 30 people braved the unseasonably cold weather in Brooklyn, to be taken on an immersive, virtual journey to Bradshaw Mountain,
We were treated to five courses of tasty food from the Vance family cookbook prepared by Megs (per the taste specifications of Jason). These were passed around at certain times during Jason’s stories and songs, giving us an actual taste to go along with the stories and songs he was sharing.
But it was not all sitting, listening and eating! Jason had us up flat-footing and also taught us how to play spoons!
Through sharing the food, music and stories of his family, Jason expanded our appreciation of the rich culture Appalachia prides itself on. More than one person told us they were dreaming of actually traveling to West Virginia to attend the next Vance family reunion on Bradshaw Mountain in person!
A selection of the songs, recipes, stories are included here, along with a fun lesson in playing the spoons so that you can replicate this journey at your own home, .
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The Vance Family’s Appalachia
Over the course of two hours, Jason had us on the edge or our seats listening, laughing, learning, and even shedding a tear with him.and also out of our seats, trying out some flat footing, and how to play the spoons.
Jason told us so many small tales that all came together to paint the picture of his family and his upbringing in West Virginia, and these stories brought us through a wide range of emotions. We laughed so hard from his stories like that of his grandma’s “PTA shower,” and how not to make the same mistake as him when jamming on spoons with Appalachian musicians. We grew sad at tales of loss, frustrated at the fraught history that maligned people like his family and continues to be an issue in this country today, but also joyous from the stories that exuded love. The songs he sang (while simultaneously playing played banjo, suitcase percussion, and harmonica), were deeply felt – both in our hearts and our bodies – as we bopped our heads and clapped along.
We were also educated. Jason provided a brief history of how misconceptions and divisions arose, a classic divide-and-conquer in our own backyard that has devastating repercussions even today. “When you grow up in Appalachia, long, long, long ago, at the Southern aristocratic urgings, Southern poor whites and mountain whites became “white” in this ;divide and conquer strategy.’ And then you become white.So then, the force is you have your own culture that is pure and beautiful as it is, but your culture is a lesser version of this culture that is ‘uber’ white and this forced assimilation is always present.” – Jason Vance So instead of taking the news media’s word for it, step into the experience of a family that has been thriving on Bradshaw Mountains for more than 160 years, by listening to the music of these playlists, cooking some of his family recipes, sharing the stories and of course, how to play the spoons! Then maybe you can tell your friends, and the misconceptions about the people and rich culture of Appalachia can be overcome.
music
Event Playlist
It’s your lucky day: a two-for-one special for this Cultures Capsules portrait!
This first, free Spotify playlist captures the essence of that cold night in March. It includes some of the songs he played that night, plus some extra songs to continue the grooves. He chose to end the evening in the same way the Vance Family reunions do: with all attendees in a circle, singing lively versions of “Amazing Grace” and “Will the Circle be Unbroken.” Not included are some very moving original songs that you will have to experience the next time we host this show.
Following “Will the Circle be Unbroken” are some songs he recommended to keep the vibe going for your recreation of this experience. Generally, he also recommends these albums for further listening pleasure: Genuine Negro Jig and Leaving Eden, and Dona got a Ramblin’ Mind, all by the Carolina Chocolate Drops; The Cold Mountain Soundtrack; and O.C.M.S. by Old Crow Medicine Show.
music
Bonus Playlist
Next up is the playlist Jason provided to accompany the cooking for our recipe testing cooking. I hadn’t had these dishes before, never mind tasted his family’s versions, so he and I, and some lucky friends of his got to enjoy the fruits of our delicious testing, with this playlist on, helping to give the flavor of Appalachia all the while, of course.
“Will the circle be unbroken
By and by, lord, by and by
There’s a better home a-waiting
In the sky, lord, in the sky.*”
* Chorus of “Will the Circle be Unbroken,” an old standard hymn, a high-energy version of which is played following “Amazing Grace” at the conclusion of Vance family reunions each year.
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The Menu
Vance family events were always full of delicious food, so it was hard to narrow down what he wanted to share that night. Jason finally decided on the below menu for that cold March night in 2019:
- Appetizers: Cheeseball, Salami & Crackers
- Entrees: Potato Soup, Cornbread Salad
- Desserts: Banana Pudding, Dirt Pudding
- Drinks: Punch
Each dish included here is a staple of Vance family gatherings. The recipes included here are come directly out of the Vance Family cookbook, a 200 page compendium or recipes, stories, household tips and jokes.
The Vance family cookbook was compiled by Jason’s dad with submissions from across the large family. Truly, it is an absolute treasure.
It includes all sorts of classic family recipes, and even to how to make fried crickets! There are tips on how to clean certain items, funny jokes, and memories of loved ones. Pure gold. Maybe someday I’ll find the time (and compatriots) to compile such an archive for my own family (or in a way, is that what I’m doing here… I just have to turn the lens on my own family more! But I digress….)
recipe
Cheeseball!
No gathering of Jason’s family is complete without a cheeseball.
Cheeseball!
From Carol Goss
Ingredients
- 2 packs of 8 oz cream cheese
- 1/4 cup creamy Italian dressing
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
To serve:
- 2 boxes crackers, to serve
- 1-2 dried sausage varieties, sliced
Instructions
- Soften cheese. Mix with dressing and return to fridge to harden.
- Shape into “ball” (or 1/2 a sphere on a plate) and roll in the chopped pecans to coat the ball.
- Return to fridge until ready to serve, alongside crackers and salami.
recipe
Dale Vance’s Potato Soup
Dale Vance’s Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 9 cups russet potatoes, peeled* & diced (~4 lbs potatoes)
- 3 cups diced yellow onion (~1 large one)
- water, to cover (~8 cups)
- 2 tsp salt
- ground pepper, to taste
- 1 12 oz can evaporated milk
- 1 stick of butter
- optional: celery, or cream of celery soup
For serving:
- 24 oz bacon (traditionally it was Bacon Bits, but we cooked/crumbled our own for the recipe testings and event)
- 18 oz grated cheddar cheese
- 1 box Saltine crackers
Instructions
Make Soup
- Cook bacon until crispy and allow to cool on a paper towel.
- Wash, peel and dice vegetables.
- Toss into a large pot and just barely cover with water. Put temp to high, add salt and a bit of pepper and cook until potatoes are cooked thru (potatoes easily prick with a fork; ~15 minutes), being careful to stir often so that potatoes don’t stick to the bottom. Reduce heat slightly if it begins boiling over.
- Meanwhile, crumble or chop the cooled bacon, and grate the cheddar (if necessary), putting each in separate serving bowls and keep aside.
- Once potatoes are fully cooked, reduce heat to medium and add condensed milk and butter, and continue to cook, stirring frequently to combine, being careful that it doesn’t boil over. Taste for salt and adjust accordingly.
Serve
- Serve with Saltines, bits of bacon and grated cheddar cheese.Before you take a bite, imagine yourself with Jason, on the porch of one his family members in West Virginia. You're rocking in a rocking chair, surrounded by new friends, and banjos, spoons and voices are combining into beautiful music. Now you can take a bite.
Notes
music
Time Lapse of Potato Soup
Here’s a video of the potato soup as it’s being made, and you can hear not only the food cooking but the music that helped it along, from the second playlist here. If only you could smell it, too. So simple, and so delicious.
recipe
Cornbread Salad
Oh, that Cornbread Salad!
Vance Cornbread
Ingredients
- 2 cups self-rising corn meal
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 cup buttermilk finish making with water
- 1 tbsp shortening or etc.
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together. Bake at 450{[F] degrees until done.
Notes
- We had to replace shortening with butter, and buttermilk with regular milk
- We didn’t have self rising flours, so we added 3 tsp baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon of salt.
- Jason also asked me to skip the sugar, owing to the note about wanting it to be more savory (and crouton like) than sweet and bread-y.
- Done means very golden brown, ready to be broken up into crouton-ish bits and be smothered by beans or cornbread salad dressing.
Vance Cornbread Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 lg pan of cornbread, broken into bite-sized pieces
- 1-2 cups onions, chopped
- 1 cup drained, chopped dill pickles [pickle juice reserved!]
- 1 lb bacon, fried and crumbled
- 2 cans Luck's pinto beans
- 1 cup green pepper, chopped
- 2 cups chopped tomatoes (fresh)
Dressing
- 1 cup pickle juice
- 3 cups mayonnaise
Instructions
- Layer cornbread, beans onion, pepper, pickles, tomatoes and bacon.
- Mix pickle juice and mayonnaise. Pour over top of layers.
- Take fork, making holes so dressing can seep through layers.
- (hand written note in cookbook: 9×13 casserole dish, put all in there, tomatoes last, then juice last)
Notes
- Vance cornbread recipe here
- Shaking the dressing in the probably emptied pickles or mayo makes easy work of mixing.
- It is best if you make your own cornbread, which should not be sweet, and should be closer to a crouton than soft cornbread you may find in a breadbasket.
recipe
Banana Pudding
Fun fact: when testing recipes, we happened to eat this still warm, and Jason’s mind was a bit blown. He’d only ever eaten it cold! He hadn’t said as much so I had just left it on the counter while we all ate our cornbread salad. I’ve now had both ways, and both are great, but Jason is likely to want to eat his warm from now on (and I wouldn’t disagree).
Vance Banana Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 can cream [condensed milk]
- 2 cans water
- 4 egg yokes [sic]
- vanilla to taste
- 1/2 cup self-rising flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 box vanilla wafers
Meringue [sic]
- 3 egg whites room temperature
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Arrange in a 9 x 12 baking pan, layers of sliced bananas and vanilla wafers. Set aside.
Filling:
- Combine water and cream in a large sacuepan over low hear.AVOID SCALDING, STIR CONSTANTLY!!! Combine approximately 1 cup of hot liquid with remaining ingredients. Mix this with mixer on medium speed. Pour mixture back into hot mixture and bring to a boil. Pour over bananas and wafers.
Meringue:
- In small mixing bowl, combine vanilla and egg whites. Mix on high speed until peaks form. Gradually add sugar until desired consistency. Add to top of pudding. Broil in oven until golden brown.
Notes
- We didn’t make the meringue for the event . We used a can of whipped cream instead.
- We served it cold, as he would have had it at family events, but for our recipe testing beforehand, he ate it warm and it rocked. It was accidental – there was no room in the fridge, so we just left it out as we had the cornbread salad. We’d recommend you try it warm, but cold is fab, too.
One final note on the Banana Pudding: the recipe in the Vance Cookbook calls for making a meringue to top it with, but per Jason’s memory and taste, he requested canned whipped cream, so you may want to grab some of that.
recipe
Dirt Pudding
And the creamy, crunchy, sweetness that is Dirt Pudding!
“Dirt” Pudding
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 8 tbsp margarine, softened
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
- 5 oz Instant french vanilla pudding 2 packages)
- 3 1/2 cups milk
- 16 oz Cool Whip or 12 oz, per package sizing
- 16 oz Oreo cookies
Instructions
- Cream: cream cheese, margarine and confectioners sugar.
- Mix in a separate bowl: Instant pudding mix and milk. Add to cream mixture and blend well.
- Add 1 large container of Cool Whip. Blend entire mixture until smooth.
- Crush Oreo cookies and alternate layers of cream mixture and oreos.
- For "Sand" Pudding, use Vanilla Wafers instead of Oreo Cookies.
Bonus
Jason’s Spoons Lesson!
Here is an actual clip from the event, featuring Jason Vance teaching us all how to play the spoons!
Grab your wooden spoons if ya got ’em! Otherwise, get two matching metal spoons (preferably with wider ends on the handle side), which will help you control them.