The Gift of Southern Cooking: Recipes and Revelations from Two Great American Cooks: A Cookbook

This book meets every criteria of a first rate cookbook. (1) The recipes are uniformly well tested and good tasting; (2) The directions are clear and easy to follow; (3) The production value is high with large type, excellent pictures and easy to read bright white coated paper; (4) When combination of dishes such as Country Captain Chicken and Coconut Rice are appropriate, they are recommended; and (5) It authoritatively addresses its subject - Southern Cooking. Very few books meet all of these criteria. The authors and the publishing house are to be congratulated for their achievement. I have tried a number of recopies from this book and while I can recommend them almost without exception, I would like to suggest two of them to start with. For a wonderful Sunday dinner make Country Captain Chicken and serve it as suggested with the Coconut Rice. I use chicken thighs instead of cut up chicken. It's easier to control the cooking times when all the pieces are the same size. It has always been a smash hit with company or when my children and grandchildren come to visit. I do cheat and use the Goya canned coconut milk. For a picnic make the Southern Pan-Fried Chicken and serve it cold together with the Potato Salad made with homemade mayonnaise. Brine the chicken for both of these recipes - it does make a difference. As for the lard question - just like Coconut milk I am not going to make it myself! I am into cooking but not that much. Also, my wife would take strong exception to my tying up the stove for three days to render lard. Go to your local grocery store. If they do not carry it, ask them to order it for you or go on the net and find some. Buy this book and cook from it for one month. If you are like 99% of the people in this world, you will learn to appreciate a whole set of tastes.

On the surface, this book bears a strong resemblance to the volume by James Villas and his mother, Martha Pearl Villas, entitled `My Mother's Southern Kitchen', as it is written by a younger man and an older woman, both of whom have serious culinary chops, and where the younger man does most of the actual writing. The differences between the two books, however, are much more instructive.First, in this book, both authors are professional restaurant chefs who both grew up eating southern cuisine and who specialize in cooking it. In the Villas' book, neither are professional chefs. This means that there is just a bit more fussiness about the methods and ingredients in the Lewis / Peacock recipes. One example is that while both pair of authors endorse homemade mayonnaise, Lewis and Peacock go an additional step by recommending and giving a recipe for homemade baking powder, especially for use in making biscuits. Skeptics, please note, I have made biscuits with my White Lily flour and homemade baking powder, and the homemade stuff does make a difference in eliminating the faint metallic aluminum taste in the stuff from Clabber Girl or Count Rumsfield.Second, in this book, the two authors are originally from two very different parts of the south. Edna Lewis was raised in rural Virginia and Scott Peacock grew up in Alabama. Both now work in urban Georgia. The Villas' are native of low country North Carolina. Therefore, this book is much stronger in discussing regional differences between, for example, the peanut oil cooking Alabama and the lard cooking Virginia. While the Villas' book deals with some regional issues, such as the dispute over the source of Brunswick stew, it is largely oriented around the cuisine of a single North Carolina low country household and extended family.Third, in the Lewis / Peacock book, the authors are not mother and son, so there is no chronic family sniping over who is the better cook. Peacock defers to the older Lewis, but they clearly approach the task as equals.The upshot of all these differences is that our Lewis / Peacock book is at the same time more true to its rural, old South roots while presenting these traditions with a very professional interpretation. A perfect example of this is the interpretation of fried chicken in the two books. Jimmy Villas says his mother's fried chicken has gotten great response from the likes of Craig Claiborne, Pierre Franey, and Paul Bocuse, yet it is obviously the kind of recipe which would be done in a 20th century home, using Crisco and an electric fry pan. On the other hand, the Lewis / Peacock recipe is clearly more rustic and one which would suit a large restaurant with its hotel pans and walk-in refrigerators. It uses lard, and both a brining and an overnight marinade in buttermilk before breading and frying.I believe this means that if you want to learn a lot about classic southern cooking techniques, our Lewis / Peacock recipe is the preferred volume. This dedication to true

I happened on this book several weeks ago at a neighborhood bookstore and was instantly hooked. This is so much more than a cookbook. The stories and recipe introductions evoke so many memories. Edna Lewis is the godess of southern cooking and she and her co-author are in rare form here. Do by all means try the brining methods, especially brining chicken. The results will make you feel like you're eating your mama's fried chicken. This cookbook is a classic; simple, earthy, stick-to-your-ribs food presented lovingly by one extraordinary cook and her friend and protoge.

This collaboration of a descendant of slaves born before 1920 and a white son of modern rural Alabama, celebrates the variety and richness of southern cooking from Red Pepper Catsup to Catfish Stew. Arranged by course, from condiments to desserts (three chapters!) this book reflects the serious authority of its authors, particularly Lewis ("The Taste of Country Cooking"), who has won numerous awards over the years.From Blackberry Cordial and Smoked Pork Stock, Old Fashioned Boiled Dressing and Wilted Salad, to Slow-Cooked Oxtails, Spicy Collards in Tomato-Onion Sauce, Corn Pudding and Buttermilk Biscuits, the authors encompass the range of time-honored dishes, each prefaced with a touch of history or a word on technique.Emphasis is placed on quality of ingredients and, with the south's long growing season, the natural match of seasonal foods. This is a book that's nearly as nourishing to read as it is to cook from and comprehensive and elegant enough to be the only Southern cookbook you need.