Rating: 
Summary: Downhome Masterpieces
Review: Being from the south myself, I can truthfully state that this book is quinissential true southern cooking. No fluff, no fancy additions to simple pure dishes - this book includes straightforward and delicious earthy southern food recipes. The recipe for fried chicken alone is worth the price. Anyone who relishes hearty dishes dictated by the seasons and the harvest on the southern farm will be richly rewarded here. I own 30 or so cookbooks, but this one is by far my favorite. And the stories from the authors are wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: Downhome Masterpieces
Review: Being from the south myself, I can truthfully state that this book is quinissential true southern cooking. No fluff, no fancy additions to simple pure dishes - this book includes straightforward and delicious earthy southern food recipes. The recipe for fried chicken alone is worth the price. Anyone who relishes hearty dishes dictated by the seasons and the harvest on the southern farm will be richly rewarded here. I own 30 or so cookbooks, but this one is by far my favorite. And the stories from the authors are wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: Every recipe you ever wanted is in this book
Review: I am going to be honest with you, while The Gift of Southern Cooking is a beautiful cookbook, just be careful before picking it up. This one is certainly not for the health-conscious chef. I hate to even say that because I sound like an uptight party-pooper, but many of these recipes cook with lard or bacon fat--I was a little shocked. Needless to say, there isn't any nutritional information about these recipes either. That being said, this is a beautiful cookbook with many interesting and traditional recipes.
Rating: 
Summary: A Beautiful Book, But...
Review: I am going to be honest with you, while The Gift of Southern Cooking is a beautiful cookbook, just be careful before picking it up. This one is certainly not for the health-conscious chef. I hate to even say that because I sound like an uptight party-pooper, but many of these recipes cook with lard or bacon fat--I was a little shocked. Needless to say, there isn't any nutritional information about these recipes either. That being said, this is a beautiful cookbook with many interesting and traditional recipes.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Review: I cannot express how excited I am to have this wonderful cookbook. Having grown up in the north with southern roots, we had "southern" dishes when we visited my grandma who had grown up on the farm. But things being how they are I never really got into southern cooking thinking it was a diet consisting mainly of fried dishes and cornbread. They're both wonderful things but not to eat every day. I guess I would have to say, like the reviewer from NY, that I fell for the hype. However, I couldn't be happier. Granted, there isn't a recipe for lard. But if you're reading this review right now, you could go onto an internet search engine and find out how to render lard. Additionally, any grocery store worth its salt will provide pork fat to customers. I can pick it up for free at my local butcher. And I think anyone in any reasonably-sized city would be able to contact a butcher and figure something out. The stories that Miss Lewis and Mister Peacock share at the beginning of each chapter and at the beginning of each recipe drew me in, and I couldn't put it down. Dishes that have been successes in our house so far--Breakfast Shrimp for Supper, Creamy Grits, Bay-studded Pork Shoulder, Butter Beans in Cream with country ham and chives, Baked Eggplant with Peanuts, and the cornbread. I haven't tried any of the desserts yet, but am plannin on doing it soon. The index is also quite useful. You'll see, for instance, that they list substitutes for pork stock on a page among recipes that utilize it. Perhaps it should have been included nearer to the pork stock recipe, but if one has questions, the reader is directed to the correct page when he or she flips to where we were taught to look in elementary school when we had questions--the index. This wonderful book has gotten me excited about cooking in a whole new way. There are simple dishes. There are more involved dishes. But not one that I have tried has been a loser. I can't wait to try the tomato aspic, Country Captain, and lamb shanks braised with green tomatoes. Get cookin'!
Rating:
Summary: So much more than southern cooking...
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: So much more than southern cooking...
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: What A Gift This Book Is!
Review: Just when it seemed there was nothing else to be said about southern cooking, Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock print this outrageously wonderful book. All your favorite Southern recipes and then some are here-- from pimento cheese to pigs' feet to pecan pie to pound cake. This book is far more than a collection of recipes, however. There are tips on everything from the best cornmeal to use for different cornbreads to the use of peanut oil versus homemade lard. Most importantly, this book is the story of a friendship that transcends generations and race and distance. The color photographs by Christopher Hirsheimer are exquisite. Many of them approach art--particularly the photos of fruits and vegetables-- and should be enlarged and framed. This cookbook opens with the famous Scarlett O'Hara line: "As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again." She would if she read this cookbook. A great book to give to both those who cook and those who don't or to anyone interested in the rich heritage of Southern cooking.
Rating:
Summary: Great Survey of Classic Cuisine. More instructive than many
Review: 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 traditional methods even extends to stock making, where a smoked pork stock is as important an ingredient to southern vegetable and soup cooking as a good veal stock is to French soup making. Another illuminating Peacock basic is his methods for making chicken stock, one yielding poached chicken meat and one yielding a very fast stock from scraps. Another great traditional recipe is for cooked dressing for things such as cole slaw. I have not seen this in any other modern book, while it is a staple preparation in books by James Beard, for example. While the Lewis / Peacock book has a lot of well-known southern dishes, it also has many which are totally unfamiliar to us northerners. One of my favorite discoveries is 'Caveach', a cold fish salad which the authors speculate was named from a corruption of the Spanish 'escabeche', especially as the dish is prepared by marinading white fish in an acidic dressing. Another very nice discovery is skillet scallions, an exquisitely simple way of fattening up spring onions with butter. The variety of recipes for several common southern vegetables such as tomatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, corn, greens, and cabbage is a testament to the very vegetarian diet and long growing season. If I were looking for a dish for a classic southern recipe and I had these two books from which to choose, I would start with the Lewis / Peacock book. I have made several dishes from this book and all had methods which were very simple to follow and all of which give superior results. This even includes the recipes for preserves and pickles, as the professional chefs are more likely to have a far greater well of professional experience from which to draw than the talented amateur Villas clan. Be warned that this book does not deal at all with barbecue, grilling, Creole specialities or Cajun cuisine. For that, you will have to consult specialists in those fields. On the other hand, there are many little gems that are rapidly becoming better known to Americans at large through cable and PBS food shows. My finding a classic southern recipe for a 'BLT' salad makes me think that Alton Brown is really nothing more than a closet southern cook who tried to turn this salad into a Tuscan panzanella salad on his 'Good Eats' show about tomatoes. He would have been more honest and truer to his Georgia roots to confess that the salad was as American as his Weber grill. This is an excellent interpretation of traditional southern American cuisine as seen by two very accomplished professional chefs. Not every dish is famous and some are the authors' own creations; however, all are true to their roots, and none are more complicated than they have to be. A highly recommended source for home cooks and students of southern American cuisine.
Rating:
Summary: Great Survey of Classic Cuisine. More instructive than many
Review: 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 traditional methods even extends to stock making, where a smoked pork stock is as important an ingredient to southern vegetable and soup cooking as a good veal stock is to French soup making. Another illuminating Peacock basic is his methods for making chicken stock, one yielding poached chicken meat and one yielding a very fast stock from scraps. Another great traditional recipe is for cooked dressing for things such as cole slaw. I have not seen this in any other modern book, while it is a staple preparation in books by James Beard, for example. While the Lewis / Peacock book has a lot of well-known southern dishes, it also has many which are totally unfamiliar to us northerners. One of my favorite discoveries is `Caveach', a cold fish salad which the authors speculate was named from a corruption of the Spanish `escabeche', especially as the dish is prepared by marinading white fish in an acidic dressing. Another very nice discovery is skillet scallions, an exquisitely simple way of fattening up spring onions with butter. The variety of recipes for several common southern vegetables such as tomatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, corn, greens, and cabbage is a testament to the very vegetarian diet and long growing season. If I were looking for a dish for a classic southern recipe and I had these two books from which to choose, I would start with the Lewis / Peacock book. I have made several dishes from this book and all had methods which were very simple to follow and all of which give superior results. This even includes the recipes for preserves and pickles, as the professional chefs are more likely to have a far greater well of professional experience from which to draw than the talented amateur Villas clan. Be warned that this book does not deal at all with barbecue, grilling, Creole specialities or Cajun cuisine. For that, you will have to consult specialists in those fields. On the other hand, there are many little gems that are rapidly becoming better known to Americans at large through cable and PBS food shows. My finding a classic southern recipe for a `BLT' salad makes me think that Alton Brown is really nothing more than a closet southern cook who tried to turn this salad into a Tuscan panzanella salad on his `Good Eats' show about tomatoes. He would have been more honest and truer to his Georgia roots to confess that the salad was as American as his Weber grill. This is an excellent interpretation of traditional southern American cuisine as seen by two very accomplished professional chefs. Not every dish is famous and some are the authors' own creations; however, all are true to their roots, and none are more complicated than they have to be. A highly recommended source for home cooks and students of southern American cuisine.
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