621673 Thu May 21 13:03:51 -0700 2009 14 31 Home Cooking 0 4704340 Because of some posters, I have been taken with Southern Cooking (Thanks Gio et al) I have been looking at the Southern Living cookbooks (on line--Amazon) and there are quite a few including annual recipes (2006-7-8) Any recommendations? Come on ladies, help an old man spend his hard-earned pension cheque. To date I have two. Bon Appitit Y'all and Screen Doors. Thu May 21 13:03:51 -0700 2009 251167 billieboy 1 4704661 Being a southerner myself, I feel confident in telling you that some of the very best and most authentic southern recipes you'll ever find are in the Jr. League cookbooks of Atlanta, Savannah, Jackson, Little Rock, Memphis, Charlotte, etc., that have been passed down through generations. I have almost all of the Southern Living cookbooks dating back to the early '80's, and although they are very good, I find them jam packed and not half as enjoyable to read as so many other southern cookbooks that have beautiful pictures of old front porches with swings, magnolia trees in bloom, and lovely and nostalgic stories that accompany many of their chapters. I don't know if this helped at all, but it's just the opinion of a true southern foodie. Thu May 21 14:41:39 -0700 2009 4704340 268376 terineal 1 4704703 bb - did you see where Screen Doors won the James Beard award! Yes! I'm a born and bred southerner and I love the SL cookbooks, the annuals and the special ones. One of my most used is SL Slow Cooker - good stuff. Two other books you might consider (I love them) are Crescent City Cooking by Susan Spicer, and Come On In! Recipes from the Junior League of Jackson, MS. Every time I read Come On In! I get nostalgic and teary with the stories told inside. Crescent City Cooking is simply one of the best cookbooks I've ever owned - it IS Susan Spicer, after all. It's one of the ones I pack up in prep for hurricane season. Happy spending! Let us know what you do. Thu May 21 14:56:17 -0700 2009 4704340 253735 bayoucook 2 4704729 Hi Paula. Yes, I see that Screen Doors won. That was one of the reasons I bought it and you guys talking about it. I may get Susan Spicer's book later just to have it, but it is not much good to me up here in the Great White North. I cannot get even 1/10 of the seafood necessary to cook N'Awlins style food. Much to my regret. Thu May 21 15:04:15 -0700 2009 4704703 251167 billieboy 3 4706080 Susan Spicer's book has a LOT of non-seafood recipes - to name a few favorites: Roasted Chicken with Olives, Lemon, and Garlic Pan-Roasted Quail with Dried Cherries and Pinot Noir Sauce Roasted Duckling with Orange-Cane Syrup Sauce Jalapeno-Roast Pork Pork "Saltimbocca" with Marsala Sauce Filet of Beef with Herbed Cream Cheese Filling and Bordelaise Sauce Crispy Turkey Piccata plus many soups, sandwiches and other mains and sides. LOVE it. Also - Frank Stitt's Southern Table - have you looked at that one? Great book. So glad you're into Southern cuisine - it a mix of many cultures, isn't it? And so good. Of course I was raised on it, but it seems to be evolving these days...fun stuff! Fri May 22 06:37:34 -0700 2009 4704729 253735 bayoucook 4 4706117 I took Susan Spicer's book out of the library about a year ago and returned it without having made a thing from it. It wasn't that the recipes didn't sound tasty, more that it struck me as a fusion book, sort of her take on what else to do with traditionally southern ingredients. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Just that it's more of a chef's book than I wanted at the time. Interestingly enough, I found the same to be true of Frank Stitt's book, although that one I've cooked from a bit and will return to at some point. The few recipes I made just weren't all that spectacular, but there are others that definitely do appeal. Perhaps it's time to go back and review the COTM threads on that one. Here's the link, billieboy, if you're interested in doing the same: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/485291 Fri May 22 06:52:25 -0700 2009 4706080 11407 JoanN 5 4706133 And, FWIW, I enjoyed a lot of the recipes I made from Stitt's book, though I agree that they are a bit "fusiony". Fri May 22 06:57:44 -0700 2009 4706117 10985 MMRuth 1 4704882 the annual southern living cookbooks are not as good, imo, as the special focus ones, like "company's coming" or "southern living entertains" (iirc). ones like that. if you live near a goodwill or thrift store, there are tons of those sl annual cookbooks -- those and microwave cookbooks. ;-). Thu May 21 16:16:01 -0700 2009 4704340 105717 alkapal 2 4706085 Hi alkapal! One reason I like the annuals is that they are a complete compilation of the year's recipes, plus, in the beginning, they compile them by staff favorites, etc. I've subscribed to Southern Living magazine since I was 25, but still enjoy the annuals. Heck, truth be told, I just love me some cookbooks!! Fri May 22 06:40:03 -0700 2009 4704882 253735 bayoucook 3 4706104 hey there, bayoucook! oh yeah, i have many annuals, too. (but my subscription lapsed a while back, because i felt the magazine's quality had slipped). but if one is choosing, i'd rather have a theme book. the advantage of the annuals, on the other hand, is that the recipes are grouped seasonally (month-by-month). Fri May 22 06:46:19 -0700 2009 4706085 105717 alkapal 1 4705870 Take a look at "A Love Affair with Southern Cooking" by Jean Anderson. A friend just gave it to me so I haven't had a chance to cook from it yet, but I have a number of other Jean Anderson books and her recipes are thoroughly tested, well written, and invariably reliable. The book is also loaded with history and lore; a really fun read. Jean has a list in the book of what she considers to be the best of the Junior League cookbooks (culled from her collection of more than a thousand). But rather than trying to track them down one by one and trying to figure out how one differs from another, you might consider "A Gracious Plenty" by John T. Edge. The book is a collection of the best recipes from various church and community cookbooks published under the auspices of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Tennessee. It also contains delightful reminiscences by southern authors and cooks. Fri May 22 04:54:29 -0700 2009 4704340 11407 JoanN 2 4705980 Thanks Joan. I have the Jean Anderson book on my wish list for the end of the month. I will investigate the others. I have a feeling I am going to go overboard on this "southern cooking"..... Strikes a chord in my soul. Fri May 22 06:01:17 -0700 2009 4705870 251167 billieboy 1 4706115 billieboy and alkapal - I've pre-ordered the new John Besh cookbook - have you seen it? I met him many years ago at Provence, his restaurant near my MIL's house. Very nice, very talented. What do you think? Fri May 22 06:52:10 -0700 2009 4704340 253735 bayoucook 2 4706127 i haven't seen his book, but i saw him and some of his dishes on createtv just before mardis gras. his recipes/dishes looked so delicious. he really loves new orleans and the gulf foodways. the love shows in his food, i think. this thread had some links to the show he was on, chefs a'field: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/598045 Fri May 22 06:56:29 -0700 2009 4706115 105717 alkapal 3 4706169 Thanks - I'll enjoy looking at those. Fri May 22 07:12:31 -0700 2009 4706127 253735 bayoucook