Deep Run Roots: Stories and Recipes from My Corner of the South

By Vivian Howard

Book Overview

New York Times bestseller - IACP Cookbook of the Year - A landmark work of culinary storytelling with 250 recipes celebrating the flavors of North Carolina's coastal plain by Vivian Howard, star of PBS's A Chef's Life and Somewhere South.

This new classic of American country cooking proves that the food of Deep Run, North Carolina--Vivian's home--is as rich as any culinary tradition in the world. Organized by ingredient with dishes suited to every skill level, from beginners to confident cooks, Deep Run Roots features time-honored simple preparations alongside extraordinary meals from her acclaimed restaurant Chef and the Farmer. Home cooks will find photographs for every single recipe, alongside a storytelling voice that "will keep your soul fed for weeks" (Garden and Gun).

In 2006, Vivian opened Chef and the Farmer and put the nearby town of Kinston on the culinary map. But in a town paralyzed by recession, she couldn't hop on every new culinary trend. Instead, she focused on rural development: If you grew it, she'd buy it. Inundated by local sweet potatoes, blueberries, shrimp, pork, and beans, Vivian learned to cook the way generations of Southerners before her had, relying on resourcefulness, creativity, and the traditional ways of preserving food.

Deep Run Roots is the result of years of effort to discover the riches of Eastern North Carolina. Like The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, The Art of Simple Food, and The Taste of Country Cooking before it, this is landmark work of American food writing.

Recipes include family favorites like Blueberry BBQ ChickenCreamed Collard-Stuffed PotatoesFried Yams with Five-Spice Maple Bacon CandyChicken and RiceCountry-Style Pork Ribs in Red Curry-Braised Watermelon And show-stopping desserts like Warm Banana Pudding, Peaches and Cream Cake, and Pecan-Chewy Pie. You'll also find 200 more quick breakfasts, weeknight dinners, holiday centerpieces, seasonal preserves, and traditional preparations for all kinds of cooks.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316381101
• ISBN13: 9780316381109
• Release Date: October 2016
• Publisher: Little Brown and Company
• Length: 576 Pages
• Weight: 4.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.0" x 8.3" x 10.2"

Customer Reviews

One of the best written cookbooks ever!

If you never cook anything in this book, it is still a very enjoyable read. Vivian Howard is an exceptional writer who conveys not only her love of cooking but also her deep love of family and friends as well as her appreciation for locally grown ingredients and her loyalty to the people who produce them.

One of the best cook books I've read in years!

I have been following Ms Howards career via TV for several years and was thrilled to read that her book had been published. I recently acquired it and am happy to have it in my collection. As a former chef and restaurant owner I have acquired many cook books over the years and I am often somewhat disappointed when reading chef written books, often containing recipes few, even the bravest of us would try. Not so with this book! Not only is it warm, personal and well written it exposes old style, regional cooking and ingredients brought up to date from a part of rural America I was totally unfamiliar with. At first I wanted to go to her restaurant and just eat and eat, instead I'll be trying the recipes, perhaps having to substitute a local ingredient here in south Florida. I urge that you add this important cook book to your collection. When I am this fond of a cook book I usually get two, one for reading and one for the kitchen as I am not the neatest of cooks. Enjoy!