B. Smith Cooks Southern-Style

by Barbara Smith

Book Overview

In B. Smith's Southern Cooking A-Z, she explores the rich and diverse cuisines of the American South--from Cajun to creole, Soul food to "New Southern." Laced with engaging anecdotes about culture and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416553541
• ISBN13: 9781416553540
• Release Date: November 2009
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 326 Pages
• Weight: 1.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 8.3" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Southern Style is Yum Yum Good

I got this book and started leafing through it, but I stopped when I came upon the recipe for Apple Mint Jelly--Marinated Lamb Chops. I'm not the world's best cook. In fact, truth be told, I'm probably right down at the bottom of the heap as far as cooks go. I buy a lot of frozen dinners. My idea of spaghetti with marinara sauce is to take a can of diced tomatoes, add a dash of hot sauce and mix it with the spaghetti. However, when I've a mind to, I can follow a recipe and turn out a fair meal. So, I went to the store, got what I'd need, came home and the next day, Sunday, I made the meal, followed the recipe to a T and it was good. I had my sister over, and she can cook, we're twins, look alike, but we've got different skills, that's for sure. She praised my lamb chops. Then I showed her the book, which she took home with her. Only for a while she said, which was okay with me, because the next day she made up the Bourbon Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce, which she marinated chicken breasts in and was it ever good. I've got the book back now and who knows, maybe along with a couple other good cookbooks I've gotten lately, it'll turn me into a pretty good cook. It could happen.

A top recommendation, peppered with color photos throughout

B. Smith Cooks Southern-Style is a top pick for any Southern cooking collection and comes from a famous African-American restaurateur and author who packs her book with the best. From Warm Cabbage Cashew Apple Slaw to Bourbon Street Bread Pudding with Sweet Bourbon Sauce, this is a top recommendation, peppered with color photos throughout.

An interesting cookbook for those who've never had Southern cooking...

This seems like a pretty good cookbook for those wanting to sample the Southern home-cooking style. I don't know how comprehensive a "Southern" cookbook it is. But it seems to pick a number of highlights of Southern-style cooking and run with them. In a few cases there are multiple variation on the same dish or sauce. In all everything looks quite tasty. Though a few of the dishes seem to require quite a bit of prep and/or time...

Lip-Smacking Good Southern-Style Cooking

My husband and I spent four months before Katrina in New Orleans. Fortunately we left months before the hurricane and fortunately we got introduced to Southern cooking in a big way. Let me tell you and I'm telling you true, they know how to eat down south. They really do. Sometimes you just have to forget about that diet and just enjoy. And Barbara Smith has infused her book with recipes to die for. Most of them. I have to admit I passed on the Country-Style Alligator Sausage Patties. Something about eating something that wants to eat me. So no Alligator. However, I did make the recipe with Pork Roast and it was delicious. For Thanksgiving we decided to throw caution to the wind, fat and calorie wise and we did the Fall Holiday Turducken. Like Ms. Smith suggested, I started a week ahead of time and followed her directions. This was a bit of work for me, but oh it was good. Sinful, but good. So far we've had a dozen or so recipes from this book and every time we sit down to eat, we're reminded of the wonderful time we had in New Orleans. Ms. Smith may be from Pennsylvania, but she sure knows her Southern-Style Cooking. Reviewed by Vesta Irene

Southern Goodness, from start to finish

My family is from the South. I fondly remember my grandmother and aunt cooking good old fashioned family dinners that included the best of Southern cuisine when I was a child. As an adult, I thought those days were gone for good. I would find a recipe here and there, but nothing like they made in the past. I always longed for some good old fashioned Southern foods. I knew the basic (and a few not-so-basic) dishes, but nothing like what they used to whip up. I decided to give this book a try. Southern food has traditionally been high in fat and and rich ingredients. I can remember watching my grandmother nonchalantly toss an entire stick of butter or huge scoops of lard into her dishes. The author discusses this topic and reveals that she took traditional Southern dishes and attempted to modernize them by making them healthier and less fattening. She accomplishes this, for the most part. However, there are still plenty of rich dishes for those who want to go all out (cheese grits anyone?) The dishes themselves offer a nice variety. There are the more exotic: (alligator, turtle soup, poached quail eggs), the less exotic: (chitterlings, chicken livers), and the normal: (grits, cornbread, okra, gumbo, hash, catfish, etc). Recipes are offered for brunch, appetizers, breads and dressings, soups and stews, salads, meats, poultry, seafood, side dishes, sauces and condiments, desserts, and beverages. There is a nice diverse mix of dishes to satisfy every palate. I admit, I haven't tried all of the dishes offered in this book (and doubt I will ever try some, such as the gator), but there are more than enough dishes available that remind me fondly of my roots. The author even throws in welcome little familiar touches that I had grown accustomed to, like tossing a little sugar in the cornbread mixture to make a sweeter bread. Some of my favorite dishes from the book: cheese grits, smothered chicken livers, lobster grits, buttermilk biscuits, cornbread, corn fritters, seafood gumbo, jerk spiced beef tenderloin, marinated fried chicken, chicken fried steak, bacon wrapped scallops, spiced catfish with black eyed pea gravy, southern styled collard greens, and ALL of her desserts! For good measure, a few cocktail mixes are tossed in. Both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are offered. The recipes are clear and easy to follow. Even inexperienced cooks should have little difficulty preparing them. The book is hardcover. The pages are mostly standard grade black and white text. There are several b/w pictures throughout and there is a 16-page full color glossy section in the middle that features some of the highlighted recipes. It's not the fanciest cookbook around, but it gets the job done. What is true "Southern" cooking is a subjective topic. Some consider southern cooking the traditional "soul food" while others consider it a little more exotic like raccoon & gator (One of these I actually ate. Hint, it wasn't the gator). There