NEW SOUTHERN COOKING

by Nathalie Dupree ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 17, 1986

Recipes from the author's Public Television series form the basis for a book of the same name. The book purports to go beyond the traditional by offering a ""new"" approach to Southern cooking, but this is a disjointed collection of recipes, ineffectively presented, which fails to carry the theme. Southern food originated as nourishment for the black South and became everyone's fare in the poor South after the Civil War. Such foods as fried catfish, black-eyed peas, collards and turnip greens, fried okra, grits, hush-puppies, cornbread and sweet potato pudding exemplify traditional Southern cooking and are amply represented here. Additionally, techniques to marinate venison, stuff chicken with peanuts, fry corn, bake and stuff snapper or barbecue with a beer-and-lime marinade provide interest. The author offers more corn than the recipes do. Pointing out that in the South a recipe is always named for the person who gave it to you, the titles credit Lucille Hill Walker, Jewell Hoefer, and Sam Goolsby, among other benefactors. Further, each recipe is preceded by a commentary which often combines bits of unnecessary folklore and gossip with an occasional insight (e.g., ""turnips are a much misunderstood vegetable""). Undoubtedly, there is no end to things Southern cooks can do. This book wanders, at times aimlessly, in, about and through the many variations of Southern cooking accompanied by an often distracting commentary.

Pub Date: Dec. 17, 1986

ISBN: 0820326305

Page Count: -

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1986

Categories: NONFICTION