Southern Cuisine

As I made my way through Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly I was reminded of my paternal grandmother and the food I knew she cooked.  Southern Appalachia and the people who live there are in kind to where my father came from, to the food and customs.  Distant eastern cousins I’d venture to say. I found this book comforting in many ways. 

It is not a book of high cuisine; in fact I think I can correctly say it’s all about low cuisine and that’s a good thing. Author, Joan E. Aller, a transplant to southern Appalachia fell in love with the place once she was there. Wanting to preserve a lifestyle that she saw quickly changing she set about collecting the best recipes southern Appalachia had to offer by traveling around the area and gathering up recipes, stories and histories from the area’s inns, hotels, bed and breakfasts, restaurants, taverns and cafes.

This review comes with instructions: #1. Buy the book. #2. Turn to page 112. #3. Make the recipe “Slow Cooker Pot Roast.” Now, to be as un-journalistic as I can be: OMG! If you like pot roast you’ll love this recipe. It is so easy to make (as long as you own a slow cooker), and the end result is a truly magnificent braised meal. Perfect for the winter months. The recipe worked to a ‘T.’ The beauty of this dish for me? All I had to to do was buy the boneless chuck roast ($13.47 at Whole Foods). Happily, I already had the onions, carrots and potatoes from my C.S.A. More beauty? I managed to get three meals from one roast. All the recipes I tried from Quick-Fix Southern worked very well. Author Rebecca Lang knows how to cook and this book reflects her talents.

I'm pie challenged. But I'm working on it. About a month ago, my mom and I spent an entire morning making pie crusts. Two weeks ago I took a class on pie making. And last week, I became the proud owner of Nancie McDermott's cookbook, Southern Pies: A Gracious Plenty of Pie Recipes, From Lemon Chess to Chocolate Pecan.

Whether you're pie-challenged like me or love baking pies (apparently there are people for whom the latter is true), you should have a copy of Southern Pies on your bookshelf.

Upon my first perusal, I was captivated by Leigh Beisch's stunning photography and the book's clean, simple design. When I began reading the recipe titles, I realized that I had never heard of many of them, despite the fact that I lived in North Carolina (McDermott's home) for nearly seven years.

Tell me. Have you ever heard of "Syrup Pie," which McDermott describes as "good and plain and pure, just like the syrup in the pitcher on the kitchen tables in many an old-time Southern home"? How about "Sweet Tea Pie" made with strong brewed tea and lemon juice? Or "Irish Potato Pie" made from mashed white potatoes seasoned with cinnamon and nutmeg?

When blogger Christy Jordan founded SouthernPlate.com in 2008, she never dreamed her posts about the classic comfort food she grew up with in northern Alabama would spark an internet frenzy of interest from foodies everywhere. Now, just two short years later, with millions of visits to her site, her blog has grown by leaps and bounds. And with that growth spurt, Jordan is taking the next step in her career as the darling of easy, no-fuss Southern favorites with the publication of her first cookbook, SOUTHERN PLATE.

In preparation for the book’s launch, Christy and her family recently sat down with reporter Donna Florio of Southern Living magazine.