Soul Food: Classic Cuisine from the Deep South

by Sheila Ferguson

Book Overview

"Soul food is just what the name implies. It is soulfully cooked food . . . good for your ever-loving soul . . . the shur-'nuf kinda down-home cookin' that I grew up on," writes Sheila Ferguson. Abundant in flavor and variety--ranging from classics such as barbecued spare ribs, fried chicken, cornbread, and collard greens to less well known but equally sumptuous recipes such as sweet potato biscuits, grits souffl?, and wild fox grape wine--soul food...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802132839
• ISBN13: 9780802132833
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Grove Press
• Length: 161 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Good food and a good read too!

I've had this cookbook for several years and have referred to it numerous times for a refersher on stuff my grandma used to cook. If you're unfamiliar with southern cooking you'll find the directions easy to follow. If you're pretty comfortable with the style but need suggestions on how to improve a recipe or remember what basic ingredients are needed it's great. Additionally, the book tells the story of this family. My husband, who is from south Georgia, found himself getting homesick and hungry just reading it. Enjoy!

Outstanding in every way

You might call this a "complete" book on authentic soul food cooking. Sheila Ferguson outlines the history and origins of soul food, and the importance it placed in the Southern home. She gives intriguing historical details, as well as mildly entertaining anecdotes of her family, and their traditions. Best of all, Ferguson has a wonderful sense of humor, and the delightful exaggerations of expressions are charmingly all in good fun. The recipes themselves are explained with breezy enthusiasm, and are carefully outlined, so that the novice on soul food cooking is led in all the right directions. Everything I've made has proved outstanding; the buttermilk biscuits recipe is the best ever - they were high, light and fluffy. And by the way: unlike many other Southern type cookbooks, which disappointingly advocate using only chemically altered, bland shortening in recipes, Ferguson freely uses lard, bacon fat and butter. It's unbelievable how much better, and lighter textured biscuits and pie crusts are with lard. The BBQ sauce is the best I've ever had, flavorful, rich and satisfying. It was good to know about how to cook greens, and Ferguson certainly espouses their value highly. When it comes to fried chicken one won't find a better guide than here: nothing is left to chance, and the cook won't go wrong following these pointed instructions. In short, this book "sold me" and then some, on soul food - highly recommended.

A Cooks Companion!

I have many cookbooks and this is one of my new favorites! My step-mom bought the last store copy as a Christmas present for my sister. After flipping through its pages, my step-mother and I decided we each MUST have this book...I ended up getting it for Christmas from someone else and now I'm buying it for my step-mom. With that being said, the best Red Beans and Rice recipe that I ever made, came from this book! The only way to make cornbread is by baking it in a cast iron skillet and although I have a great recipe of my own, Ms. Ferguson's recipe is superb!

Mmmm! Mmmm! Good!

Read through the book the day I got it and it set my mouth to waterin'! Delightful reading and good lookin' recipes, too. It's so fun to actually SEE a recipe for chitlens, sweetbreads, and POSSUM! Also full of lip smackin', down home cookin' I'd be glad to cook up any ol' day. Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm!

My second favourite cook book

The best BBQ sauce recipe I've ever found! Full of inspiration. I'm not one for following recipies -- I prefer to cook 'by the seat of my pants' -- but there are loads of them here that I've used over and over, and many more that have inspired other dishes I've done.