Author: John Shelton ReedJohn Shelton Reed's Barbecue celebrates a southern culinary tradition forged in coals and smoke. Since colonial times southerners have held barbecues to mark homecomings, reunions, and political campaigns; today barbecue signifies celebration as much as ever. In a lively and amusing style, Reed traces the history of southern barbecue from its roots in the sixteenth-century Caribbean, showing how this technique of cooking meat established itself in the coastal South and spread inland from there. He discusses how choices of meat, sauce, and cooking methods came to vary from one place to another, reflecting local environments, farming practices, and history.Reed hopes to preserve the South's barbecue traditions by providing the home cook with fifty-one recipes for many classic varieties of barbecue and for the side dishes, breads, and desserts that usually go with it. Featured meats range from Pan-Southern Pork Shoulder to Barbecued Chicken Two Ways to West Texas Beef Ribs, while rubs and sauces include Memphis Pork Rub, Piedmont Dip, and Lone Star Sauce and Mop. Cornbread, hushpuppies, and slaw are featured side dishes, and Dori's Peach Cobbler and Pig-Pickin' Cake provide a sweet finish. This book will put southerners in touch with their heritage and let those who aren't southerners pretend that they are. About the AuthorReed, John Shelton: - John Shelton Reed lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Cofounder of the Campaign for Real Barbecue (TrueCue.org), his many books include Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue, coauthored with Dale Volberg Reed.

Read more less

Author: Michael W. TwittyAmong the staple foods most welcomed on southern tables--and on tables around the world--rice is without question the most versatile. As Michael W. Twitty observes, depending on regional tastes, rice may be enjoyed at breakfast, lunch, and dinner; as main dish, side dish, and snack; in dishes savory and sweet. Filling and delicious, rice comes in numerous botanical varieties and offers a vast range of scents, tastes, and textures depending on how it is cooked. In some dishes, it is crunchingly crispy; in others, soothingly smooth; in still others, somewhere right in between. Commingled or paired with other foods, rice is indispensable to the foodways of the South. As Twitty's fifty-one recipes deliciously demonstrate, rice stars in Creole, Acadian, soul food, Low Country, and Gulf Coast kitchens, as well as in the kitchens of cooks from around the world who are now at home in the South. Exploring rice's culinary history and African diasporic identity, Twitty shows how to make the southern classics as well as international dishes--everything from Savannah Rice Waffles to Ghanaian Crab Stew. As Twitty gratefully sums up, Rice connects me to every other person, southern and global, who is nourished by rice's traditions and customs. About the AuthorTwitty, Michael W.: - Michael Twitty is a culinary historian and author of the James Beard Award-winning The Cooking Gene: A Journey through African American Culinary History in the Old South.

Read more less

Author: Damon Lee FowlerWhile the hindquarters of swine have been preserved in salt the world over for thousands of years, there are only a few places on earth where ham is as celebrated or integral to the cuisine as it is in the American South. To begin to understand the place that this iconic food holds in the hearts of southerners, Damon Lee Fowler writes, one has only to step into the historic smokehouse of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and take a deep breath. More than a century after the last hams were hung to smoke in that chamber, the aroma of salt, smoke, and air-dried pork still permeates the rough masonry walls and clay floor, filling the air with its earthy perfume. Even after centuries of culinary transformations throughout the South, that fragrance lingers in kitchens throughout the region. Ham's 55 recipes bring home the love in just about every way--brine- or dry-cured, smoked or not, boiled, baked, glazed, honey-baked and spiral cut, thin-sliced and piled into biscuits and sandwiches, fried up with eggs, with grits, with redeye gravy, added for savor to soups, casseroles, poultry, seafood, and, yes, the vegetable pot. Fowler also includes recipes inspired by Chinese, French, Italian, and Spanish dishes, and provides a guide to basic terminology and cooking methods. About the AuthorFowler, Damon Lee: - Damon Lee Fowler is the author of nine cookbooks, including Essentials of Southern Cooking, Classical Southern Cooking, and Beans, Greens, & Sweet Georgia Peaches. He also is the editor and recipe developer of Dining at Monticello. He resides in Savannah, Georgia.

Read more less

Author: Nancie McDermottFruit collects a dozen of the South's bountiful locally sourced fruits in a cook's basket of fifty-four luscious dishes, savory and sweet. Demand for these edible jewels is growing among those keen to feast on the South's natural pleasures, whether gathered in the wild or cultivated with care. Indigenous fruits here include blackberries, mayhaws, muscadine and scuppernong grapes, pawpaws, persimmons, and strawberries. From old-school Grape Hull Pie to Mayhaw Jelly-Glazed Shrimp, McDermott's recipes for these less common fruits are of remarkable interest--and incredibly tasty. The non-native fruits in the volume were eagerly adopted long ago by southern cooks, and they include damson plums, figs, peaches, cantaloupes, quince, and watermelons. McDermott gives them a delicious twist in recipes such as Fresh Fig Pie and Thai-Inspired Watermelon-Pineapple Salad.McDermott also illuminates how the South--from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Lowcountry, from the Mississippi Delta to the Gulf Coast--encompasses diverse subregional culinary traditions when it comes to fruit. Her recipes, including a favorite piecrust, provide a treasury of ways to relish southern fruits at their ephemeral peak and to preserve them for enjoyment throughout the year. About the AuthorMcDermott, Nancie: - Nancie McDermott is a North Carolina native, cooking teacher, and author of thirteen cookbooks, including her latest, Southern Soups and Stews: From Burgoo and Gumbo to Etouffee and Fricassee.

Read more less

Author: Tema FlanaganWithout corn, Tema Flanagan writes, the South would cease to taste like the South. Her treasury of fifty-one recipes demonstrates deliciously just how important the remarkable Zea mays is to southern culture and cuisine. Corn's recipes emphasize seasonality. High summer calls for fresh corn eaten on the cob or shaved into salads, sautes, and soups. When fall and winter come, it is time to make cornmeal biscuits, muffins, cobblers, and hotcakes, along with silky spoonbread and sausage-studded cornbread stuffing. And the heaviest hitters, cornbread and grits, are mainstays all year round.Flanagan also surveys corn's culinary history--its place in Native American culture, its traditional role on the southerner's table, and the new and exciting ways it is enjoyed in southern kitchens today. Appreciating how this oversized grass is capable of providing sustenance in an astonishing array of forms, Flanagan organizes the book to reflect corn's versatility. Sections feature corn in its full glory: fresh on and off the cob, dried and ground, nixtamalized (soaked in an alkaline solution and hulled to make hominy) and popped, and mashed and fermented. From Sweet Corn and Poblano Chowder to Southern Skillet Cornbread, from Fresh Corn Tortillas to Classic Cheese Grits, and from Molasses Caramel Corn with Candied Bacon, Peanuts, and Sesame to New Orleans Bourbon Milk Punch, the dishes range from classic southern to contemporary to globally influenced. About the AuthorFlanagan, Tema: - Tema Flanagan is a farmer at The Farm at Windy Hill, a sustainable production and teaching farm in Alabama. She cowrote, with Sara Foster, Sara Foster's Southern Kitchen.

Read more less

Author: Fred ThompsonFrom the earliest days of European settlement in the South, as in many rural economies around the globe, cured pork became a main source of sustenance, and the cheaper, lower-on-the-hog cuts--notably, bacon--became some of the most important traditional southern foodstuffs. In this cookbook, Fred Thompson captures a humble ingredient's regional culinary history and outsized contributions to the table. Delicious, of course, straight out of the skillet, bacon is also special in its ability to lend a unique savory smokiness to an enormous range of other foods.Today, for regular eaters and high-flying southern chefs alike, bacon has achieved a culinary profile so popular as to approach baconmania. But Thompson sagely notes that bacon will survive the silliness. Describing the many kinds of bacon that are available, Thompson provides key choices for cooking and seasoning appropriately. The book's fifty-six recipes invariably highlight and maximize that beloved bacon factor, so appreciated throughout the South and beyond (by Thompson's count, fifty different styles of bacon exist worldwide). Dishes range from southern regional to international, from appetizers to main courses, and even to a very southern beverage. Also included are Thompson's do-it-yourself recipes for making bacon from fresh pork belly in five different styles. About the AuthorThompson, Fred: - Fred Thompson, well-known cookbook author and editor of Edible Piedmont magazine, is the author of Fred Thompson's Southern Sides: 250 Dishes That Really Make the Plate, among other books.

Read more less

Author: Cynthia GraubartWhile fried chicken may be the South's iconic dish, when it comes to southern foodways, there are a lot of ways to love America's most popular fowl. Preparations range from Country Captain to Carolina Chicken Bog to Chicken and Parslied Dumplings and more. Here, Cynthia Graubart celebrates the bird in all its glory, southern style and beyond. This little cookbook packs all the know-how that cooks need to make irresistible chicken dishes for everyday and special occasions, from shopping and selecting to cutting up, frying, braising, roasting, and much more. Ranging in style from traditional southern to contemporary to international, fifty-three recipes are organized to help easily match the cut of chicken to the perfect recipe. Be assured that Graubart includes instructions for making the best fried chicken ever--seven different ways. Graubart also brings together the chicken's culinary history with the popular culture and lore that surrounds chicken cookery in the South. She notes that the special Sunday Sabbath dinner was often built around a chicken--in fact, prior to the 1940s, chicken was sometimes more expensive than beef or pork. Today, the southern states lead the country in annual poultry production, and Kentucky Fried Chicken features throughout the American landscape. But you won't need take-out when you have Chicken in your kitchen. About the AuthorGraubart, Cynthia: - Cynthia Graubart is coauthor, with Nathalie Dupree, of Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking, which won a James Beard Book Award for American Cooking. Among Graubart's other books is Slow Cooking for Two.

Read more less

Author: Angela Knipple, Paul KnippleWhile many fish, from bream and crappie to bass, trout, and shad, are popular in the South, none of them has settled as thoroughly in southern culture as the humble, bewhiskered, bottom-dwelling catfish. For Memphis natives Paul and Angela Knipple, enjoying that steamy sweet white meat encased in golden crisp cornmeal was just a part of our childhoods. In this Savor the South(R) cookbook, the Knipples share their family memories of catching and eating this favored southern food. Painting a portrait of catfish's culinary and natural history, along with its place in southern foodways and the Delta fishing industry, the Knipples also provide clear instructions for how to select, prepare, and cook the fish.Showcased are fifty-six recipes highlighting catfish's remarkable versatility--from such southern classics as Catfish Po'Boys and Catfish Gumbo to the global flavors of Catfish Banh Mi and Nigerian Catfish Stew. Worth the price of admission are the recipes for fried catfish five ways, along with recipes for all the traditional sides, including slaw, hushpuppies, and tartar sauce--all you'll need to cook a plate worthy of a real southern fish shack. About the AuthorPaul and Angela Knipple are coauthors of The World in a Skillet: A Food Lover's Tour of the New American South and Farm Fresh Tennessee. Frequent contributors to Edible Memphis and other periodicals, they live in Memphis.

Read more less

Author: Jay PierceRecalling boyhood shrimping expeditions with his father and summoning up the aromas and flavors of a southern shrimp boil or shrimp fry, chef Jay Pierce brings America's favorite shellfish to center stage with fifty recipes for southern classics, contemporary dishes, and international delicacies. Pierce's lively introduction focuses on the South's fishing and culinary connections with shrimp, which are abundant in the estuaries and bays that line southern shores.Shrimp, he notes, are one of the last truly wild creatures that Americans consume in significant quantities. Pierce encourages today's cooks to support local shrimp fisheries in order to help ensure that future generations will continue to enjoy American-sourced shrimp in abundance, and he explains how to procure the freshest shrimp throughout the cycle of seasons. While shrimp is popular throughout the region for entertaining a backyard crowd, it is also a go-to ingredient for the special-occasion menu. Demystifying fancier dishes and offering everyday cooks step-by-step instructions for all stages of preparation, Pierce highlights just how deliciously versatile shrimp can be. About the AuthorPierce, Jay: - Jay Pierce is executive chef at The Marshall Free House in Greensboro, North Carolina. He has written for CNN's Eatocracy blog, Edible Piedmont, Savor NC, and Beer Connoisseur.

Read more less

Author: Debbie MooseDebbie Moose's Southern Holidays is a cook's celebration of the richly diverse holiday traditions of today's South. Covering big traditional holidays such as Christmas and Mardi Gras, this must-have addition to the Savor the South(R) cookbook collection also branches out into regional and cultural holidays that honor newer southern traditions, including recipes from real cooks hailing from a range of ethnic traditions and histories. The cooks' stories accompanying the recipes show how holiday foods not only hold cherished personal family memories but also often have roots in a common past that ties families together in a shared southern history. The cookbook's inclusive culinary vision is organized by the four seasons to mark the progress of the year. Featuring seventeen holidays and fifty recipes, it includes such classics as Coconut King Cake for Mardi Gras and Smoky Red Rice for Juneteenth, as well as southern twists on time-honored delicacies, from Cajun-Style Rice Dressing for Thanksgiving to Sweet Potato Latkes for Hanukkah. Southern Holidays also highlights how international holiday dishes have been adopted in the region over time, from Moravian Sugar Cake for Christmas to Vietnamese Spring Rolls for the coastal South's Blessing of the Fleet.   About the AuthorMoose, Debbie: - Debbie Moose is an award-winning food writer and author of many cookbooks, including Buttermilk: A Savor the South Cookbook.

Read more less

Author: Virginia WillisPassionate okra lovers crave this bright green, heat-loving vegetable, whether fried, grilled, steamed, roasted, boiled, broiled, pickled, raw, whole, sliced, or julienned. With Okra, Virginia Willis provides the key that unlocks the door of okra desire to okra addicts and newcomers to the pod alike.Topping eight feet, with gorgeous butter-yellow flowers that ripen into the plant's signature seed-filled pods, okra has a long association with foodways in the American South. But as Willis shows, okra is also an important ingredient in cuisines across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Featuring gardening tips, a discussion of heirloom varieties, and expert cooking directions (including a list of top ten slime-busting tips), Okra brilliantly showcases fifty delectable recipes: twenty-six southern dishes, ranging from Southern-Style Fried Okra to Gulf Coast Seafood Gumbo, and twenty-four authentic global dishes, from Moroccan Lamb and Okra Tagine with Preserved Lemons to Cuban Pork with Yellow Rice, Okra, and Annatto Oil. About the AuthorWillis, Virginia: - Chef and food writer Virginia Willis hails from Atlanta and is the author of Bon Appetit, Y'all and Basic to Brilliant, Y'all.

Read more less