By Davis Houck

Ingrid Gerda Holzinger entered a war-torn world in Wiesbaden Germany in 1943. Some of her earliest memories were seeking out her family’s precious cream supply in the middle of the night to take inconspicuous sips. As an elementary school girl, she and her younger sister Astrid were sent to a rural German eating camp, such was their deprivation.

Later, as Ingrid Hatten, she immigrated to the United States and became a wife and a mother to two precocious children, RJ and Leslie. Her mother-in-law taught her how to cook, and she took to her new avocation like an oyster to fresh- and saltwater.

Over many years in her well-stocked kitchen, Ingrid learned the recipes of the world: delicious bouillabaisse and rouladen, and always reisfleisch, an assortment of roasts, and raw seafood. She delighted in an extended dinner party with laughter, wine, and multiple courses. Her frequent cravings ran from steak tartare and a wheel of triple-crème brie to jelly donuts and yes, Twinkies, during the curious cravings of chemotherapy treatments.

As Ingrid Houck, she spoiled and fattened up her husband, Davis. He, in turn, showed her the wonders of Mississippi, its geography, history, people, and yes, always its delicious food. This new books series—the Ingrid G. Houck Series in Food and Foodways—honors her memory, how deeply she is missed, and how sumptuously she lived.