The Gift of Southern Cooking: Recipes and Revelations from Two Great American Cooks

5 Responses to “The Gift of Southern Cooking: Recipes and Revelations from Two Great American Cooks”

1. B. Marold says:

   June 29, 2010 at 12:38 am

   Review by B. Marold for The Gift of Southern Cooking: Recipes and Revelations from Two Great American Cooks
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   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.
2. Wayne Fogel says:

   June 29, 2010 at 1:08 am

   Review by Wayne Fogel for The Gift of Southern Cooking: Recipes and Revelations from Two Great American Cooks
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   This book meets every criteria of a first rate cookbook. (1) The recipes are uniformly well tested and good tasting; (2) The directions are clear and easy to follow; (3) The production value is high with large type, excellent pictures and easy to read bright white coated paper; (4) When combination of dishes such as Country Captain Chicken and Coconut Rice are appropriate, they are recommended; and (5) It authoritatively addresses its subject – Southern Cooking. Very few books meet all of these criteria. The authors and the publishing house are to be congratulated for their achievement.

   I have tried a number of recopies from this book and while I can recommend them almost without exception, I would like to suggest two of them to start with. For a wonderful Sunday dinner make Country Captain Chicken and serve it as suggested with the Coconut Rice. I use chicken thighs instead of cut up chicken. It’s easier to control the cooking times when all the pieces are the same size. It has always been a smash hit with company or when my children and grandchildren come to visit. I do cheat and use the Goya canned coconut milk. For a picnic make the Southern Pan-Fried Chicken and serve it cold together with the Potato Salad made with homemade mayonnaise. Brine the chicken for both of these recipes – it does make a difference.

   As for the lard question – just like Coconut milk I am not going to make it myself! I am into cooking but not that much. Also, my wife would take strong exception to my tying up the stove for three days to render lard. Go to your local grocery store. If they do not carry it, ask them to order it for you or go on the net and find some.

   Buy this book and cook from it for one month. If you are like 99% of the people in this world, you will learn to appreciate a whole set of tastes.
3. Lynn Harnett says:

   June 29, 2010 at 1:43 am

   Review by Lynn Harnett for The Gift of Southern Cooking: Recipes and Revelations from Two Great American Cooks
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   This collaboration of a descendant of slaves born before 1920 and a white son of modern rural Alabama, celebrates the variety and richness of southern cooking from Red Pepper Catsup to Catfish Stew. Arranged by course, from condiments to desserts (three chapters!) this book reflects the serious authority of its authors, particularly Lewis (“The Taste of Country Cooking”), who has won numerous awards over the years.From Blackberry Cordial and Smoked Pork Stock, Old Fashioned Boiled Dressing and Wilted Salad, to Slow-Cooked Oxtails, Spicy Collards in Tomato-Onion Sauce, Corn Pudding and Buttermilk Biscuits, the authors encompass the range of time-honored dishes, each prefaced with a touch of history or a word on technique.Emphasis is placed on quality of ingredients and, with the south’s long growing season, the natural match of seasonal foods. This is a book that’s nearly as nourishing to read as it is to cook from and comprehensive and elegant enough to be the only Southern cookbook you need.
4. Anonymous says:

   June 29, 2010 at 2:42 am

   Review by for The Gift of Southern Cooking: Recipes and Revelations from Two Great American Cooks
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   That is,if you are a southerner or you appreciate southern food. OK,so the reviewer from New Jersy is upset because he doesn’t get a recipe for lard and thinks the writer chefs should have spent more time out of the South-Miss Lewis spent a lifetime in NYC but thankfully,it didn’t ruin her cooking.The recipes are easy to follow,make sense,don’t “weird-up” the classics by doing things like adding lemongrass to grits and the text is interesting.There are recipes for many different kinds of dishes. No,its not low fat but who cares? You gotta love these two for reminding me of when people dared save their bacon grease in a can!The two chefs have a sweet relationship that was recently profiled in the NY Times.It comes through in Chef Peacocks writing.This book resonated with me in an emotional way. If you grew up with traditional southern food,or wish you had,buy this book!
5. James Means says:

   June 29, 2010 at 3:15 am

   Review by James Means for The Gift of Southern Cooking: Recipes and Revelations from Two Great American Cooks
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   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.