The South

Please note, that the emphasis is on the word NEW! I wrote this in response to Susan's ramblings in the following review. The book clearly states on the front cover that this is "New American Cooking". It is the first book in a 6-part series covering the diverse regions of the United States, meant to represent how we as a nation have evolved in our culinary traditions. In fact the author of the book jokingly describes contemporary Southern cuisine as "something old - something new - something borrowed - and something roux!" Southern cooking is a mix of traditional cuisines influenced by the recipes, cooking methodologies, foods, and spices of Africa, Spain, France, Great Britain, India, and the Caribbean. This book also traces the history of certain foods, for instance, the Vidalia onion, hot-pepper sauces, rice & crawfish, barbecue sauces, and salt-cured country ham. It addresses the reason why the South is known for their light-as-air biscuits and cakes (it has to do with the type of flour used), the difference between a sauce, gravy, and a roux, and that amzing grain, corn, not only used to make grits but also bourbon, the only corn-based distilled liquor to originate in the United States. There is an exceptional glossary at the end of the book. It is interesting to note, this book, written in 2000, has a recipe for Mojitas, the Cuban-based rum drink that first invaded southern Florida in the late 50's and was soon afterwards mostly overlooked, except in that area. In 2002, it was named one of Saveur magazines top 100 trends in the nation, so needless to say, this book was before it's time! Sure, some of the recipes are not the tradional one's you might find at a family gathering. That was not the author's intent. The recipes all use traditional ingredients but elevate them to a higher dimension: Fried Green Tomatoes with Goat Cheese, Grits and Greens Souffle, Sour Cream and Chive Spoonbread, Peaches Foster, Key Lime Bars, Sweet Potato and Cracked Pepper Biscuits, Angel-Light Beignets, Grilled Chicken with Vidalia Onion Marmalade, Crab Cakes with Key Lim Aioli, Cheddar Benne Seed Wafer, Coconut Layer Cake with Raspberry Filling, Buttermilk-Cornmeal Fried Chicken, Braised Cabbage with Tasso, Sally Lunn Rolls, Shrimp Brochettes with Cheese Grits, Roast Chicken with Molasses and Cider, Classic Southern Pralines...I could go on, but I think you are hungry by now. The best thing, all the recipes have pictures and are easy to prepare, some more than others, but with a bit of organization, they all can be. The recipes call for using fresh ingredients but I have fudged a bit and used canned and/or frozen when time was an issue. I have one thing to respond to Susan's review: R-E-A-D the book and it's content before you W-R-I-T-E a review. The review you penned is very M-I-S-L-E-A-D-I-N-G. I live in the South, and I enjoy the traditional foods and recipes but this book puts a new spin on the old classics!

This book is part of a series of six, covering the different regions of the USA, the others are California, the Pacific Northwest, the Heartland, the Southwest and New England. All of them are really well done and interesting, with lots of information about regional produce and special traditions. The recipes, however, are quite new and up-to-date, even if they still can be classified as "regional". Almost all of them are illustrated in a picture, which I find very important in a cookbook, and all have a nutritional analysis chart (which is not as good if you have look at the calories!)And now let's talk about this specific book. It is wonderful! I think it is the one I prefer out of the six. The recipes I tried so far are so tasty! Right tonight we made Hot Pepper Jelly Glazed Pork Roast: it's so yummy that you can hardly believe you used so few ingredients! It's just pork loin, hot pepper jelly, cider and little more. We all loved it, even if I have to admit that I added an apple too with the pork. The grilled chicken with onion marmalade was juicy and perfect.The Sally Lunn Biscuits were wonderful too and quite easy and I could go on like that for a while, but I'm sure you got the idea.However, there is a drawback: once you try the recipes in this book you will end up with the whole series! The others are just as good, I tried the Blackberry Barbeque sauce in the "Pacific Northwest" and it's just to-die-for and so on and on and on...Last word: buy it, you won't regret it!

This book is like a special gift to those of us transplanted Southerners. I now live on Long Island and miss the summers spent on my grandparents farm in rural Tennessee. This book brought back so many fond food memories (with updated twists inspired by the creative author, Ray Overton). It is a beautifully photographed book (in fact I bought 2, one for my kitchen, and one to display on my coffeetable). For anyone who loves comfort food at it's best, and those longing for a bit of nostalgia at the table, this is the book to buy. So, loosen your belt and have another helping .............

As a native of Athens, GA., i was delighted to find this book. The recipes are mostly familiar, but updated and photographed so as to inspire...Beginners will not have any difficulty w/ the recipes, which are very accessible. The book has interesting mini-articles, about Winter-wheat (White lily flour, the secret to flaky biscuits) and tabasco sauce, are but two of the examples. All in all, this book makes you want to get in the kitchen and start whippin' up some Sally lunn, collards and red velvet cake! i look forward to the entire series.