Product Description

More than a cookbook, this is the story of how a little girl, born in the South of Yankee parents, fell in love with southern cooking at the age of five. And a bite of brown sugar pie was all it took.

"I shamelessly wangled supper invitations from my playmates," Anderson admits. "But I was on a voyage of discovery, and back then iron-skillet corn bread seemed more exotic than my mom's Boston brown bread and yellow squash pudding more appealing than mashed parsnips."

After college up north, Anderson worked in rural North Carolina as an assistant home demonstration agent, scarfing good country cooking seven days a week: crispy "battered" chicken, salt-rising bread, wild persimmon pudding, Jerusalem artichoke pickles, Japanese fruitcake. Later, as a New York City magazine editor, then a freelancer, Anderson covered the South, interviewing cooks and chefs, sampling local specialties, and scribbling notebooks full of recipes.

Now, at long last, Anderson shares her lifelong exploration of the South's culinary heritage and not only introduces the characters she met en route but also those men and women who helped shape America's most distinctive regional cuisine—people like Thomas Jefferson, Mary Randolph, George Washington Carver, Eugenia Duke, and Colonel Harlan Sanders.

Anderson gives us the backstories on such beloved Southern brands as Pepsi-Cola, Jack Daniel's, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, MoonPies, Maxwell House coffee, White Lily flour, and Tabasco sauce. She builds a time line of important southern food firsts—from Ponce de León's reconnaissance in the "Island of Florida" (1513) to the reactivation of George Washington's still at Mount Vernon (2007). For those who don't know a Chincoteague from a chinquapin, she adds a glossary of southern food terms and in a handy address book lists the best sources for stone-ground grits, country ham, sweet sorghum, boiled peanuts, and other hard-to-find southern foods.

Recipes? There are two hundred classic and contemporary, plain and fancy, familiar and unfamiliar, many appearing here for the first time. Each recipe carries a headnote—to introduce the cook whence it came, occasionally to share snippets of lore or back-stairs gossip, and often to explain such colorful recipe names as Pine Bark Stew, Chicken Bog, and Surry County Sonker.

Add them all up and what have you got? One lip-smackin' southern feast!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18254 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-16
• Released on: 2007-10-16
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 464 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Anderson, author of more than 20 cookbooks, dedicated almost four years to creating her latest collection of 300 uniquely Southern recipes—and her hard work, dedication and passion are evident throughout this extensive book. Along with classic dishes, Anderson shares stories about the South's culinary history (such as the creation of Coca-Cola syrup in Atlanta, and the legend behind Tabasco sauce) and important food figures like Maryland native Frank Perdue and Krispy Kreme Doughnut founder Vernon Rudolph. Appetizer, soup, main course and dessert sections include popular favorites like Shrimp Gumbo, Smothered Pork Chops and Baked Virginia Ham. But the insider recipes like Shirt Tail Pies (fried apple turnovers), Tidewater Peanut Soup, Charcoal-Grilled Shad Roe and East Tennessee Stack Cake made with bourbon are what truly make this book special. Anderson's instructions are easy to follow and The Language of Southern Cooking section is helpful, giving definitions of commonly used ingredients. (Oct.)
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Baton Rouge Advocate
"Readers, whether from the South or not, will love the warmly written and carefully researched A Love Affair with Southern Cooking. . . . The 434-page book includes 200 classic and contempoarary recipes, plus anecdotes and personal reminiscences, all smartly told." (4 stars -- Outstanding)

John T. Edge, author of Southern Belly: the Ultimate Food Lover's Companion to the South
A tome that will win over workaday cooks and budding food scholars alike.

Customer Reviews

Best Southern Cookbook on the market
This is a fantastic cookbook for those who want to know how to cook "Southern-style." I bought this book because I was trying to duplicate some of the recipes my mother and grandmother cooked (and which I failed to get from them and now its too late). This cookbook did not disappoint. I've bought other Old South cookbooks, but none of them compared to the comprehensive nature of this book. Also, the history behind the recipes and foods was an added bonus. Since buying my copy, I have purchased other copies of this book as gifts for friends. To a person, they have indicated that they were sure it would become one of their most cherished cookbooks.

wonderful-!
I have fallen in love with this cookbook-I am originally from NC, and this brings back so many special memories-I love the inserts about Coke, Cheerwine, Little Debbie, Lance nabs, etc- and the recipes are super. They taste good, plus the directions given are very clear. ---I have ordered 4 more for gifts-I think friends will really enjoy this special cookbook.

The One Cookbook Treasure that You Will Talk About
I saw this cookbook being advertised on GMA during the "shopping holidays". I thought this would be an ideal gift for myself and my mother since she too is a gifted cook. I have not been able to put this book down! The historical content dating back to 1513 thru the present alone is a diamond alone.
My dad who is "not in the kitchen" he does the outdoor grilling, has taken this book and won't give it up to my mom just yet.This book tells you about every origin of cooking in the America's, who created it, the synopsis of the creator, including back stories of Jack Daniels, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts,etc. along with whimsical anecdotes. It tells of our Forefathers,African-American History, Native American History, the list goes on. This book has original heirloom recipes on how some foods were prepared dating back to the 1500's. Anyone want to cook a racoon or just remembering days of the past such as real fresh homemade food in the public schools kitchens-fried chicken, banana pudding,ambrosia?

I want to tell everyone out there, that I have been collecting cookbooks for 35 years. I can look at a recipe and know whether it will work or not and if not, jot down beside a recipe what ingredients to erase and what to add. I've made the Angel biscuits and Black-Eyed Pea Salad so far and neither had to be altered. I've skimmed over most of the recipes in this book and can honestly say that the recipes can stand alone.For the seasoned gifted cook, you can add your own spin,but that's all.

I know this was a lengthly review, however I Know every cook out there or not, will fall in love with this book.