The Blue Willow Inn Cookbook: Discover Why the Best Small-Town Restaurant in the South Is in Social Circle, Georgia

by Jane Stern and Michael Stern

Book Overview

Chicken and Dumplings, Fried Green Tomatoes, Cornbread, Collard Greens, and Sugared Pecans By any measure, the Blue Willow Inn in Social Circle, Georgia is as southern as you can get. Proprietor BillieVan Dyke says that no one is allowed to leave hungry, and certainly no one should after feasting on a variety of Southern salads, meats, vegetables, breads and desserts and, of course, sweet tea, the "Champagne of the South," and lemonade. Housed in...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1558539913
• ISBN13: 9781558539914
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 1.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.8" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A review from a True Southerner

I just received this book and am giving it to my mother-in-law as a Christmas present. After flipping through it, and reading quite a few excerpts out loud to my husband, I just wanted to give my impression of the recipes. I was quite impressed with the 'true southern flavor' of this book. Having been raised in eastern NC, I have been eating "Southern Cuisine" all my life, and am quite frankly fed up with all the "southern" cookbooks that I see on the shelves. They all seem to put weird ingredients in the dishes just to make them photograph better, or to appeal to the mass markets. This cookbook tells it like it is -- no low-fat, vegetarian dishes. All the veggies have fat-back in them, and most have butter and cheese added. Most of the congealed salads have graced my family's table over the years. For the reviewers that have critized this as a full-fat, Cheese-Whiz, Cream of XXX soup, cookbook -- I say yes, you are correct. But these recipes are time-tested, good, basic recipes to feed your family on. If you are looking for good authentic Southern recipes for your table, this is a great place to start. The recipes are simple, but not boring, and the instructions are very clear. As a side note, the stories are a great read too!

Too Yummy to pass up!!

My mom gave me this book for Christmas. I have tried numerous recipes. We have loved them all! I cooked for numerous family and friends during the holidays. They all raved and wanted the recipes. Some of them are so simple and they surprise you how incredibly good they are. It doesnt have to be hard.

Childhood revisited!

The bad reviews this book has gotten here are from non-Southerners, thus a lack of appreciation for the simplicity of home-cooked food, food without the frills and put-on's of "entertaining" dinners and wines that are used to IMPRESS others rather than to love,appreciate, and serve them. These recipes are of down home, Southern bred, God-loving and God-fearing people, the people who are most in touch with life as God meant it to be lived. Get this book and re-live your childhood as Grandma meant it to be. Though I really don't think my grandmother would have used canned green beans, but that's beside the point. :)

Lots of fun looking at the photos and reading the commentary

This book is a cookbook with one recipe per page but more than that it tells a lot about the people and history behind this small-town Georgia restaurant. The cooks and owners get interviewed, and many photos of both the restaurant and the food they serve are in the book. Some of the recipes are for basic things like Deviled Eggs that you may not need, but others are interesting Southern specialties like Tea Sandwiches and Coca-Cola Cake with Peanut Frosting! I enjoyed just reading about Southern dishes like Fried Okra and Chicken-Fried Steak, which I've never had.

A culinary wealth of recipes

The Blue Willow Inn (owned and operated by Louis and Billie Van Dyke) is located in Social Circle, Georgia, and is about as southern as you can get, having been voted the best small-town restaurant in the South by the readers of "Southern Living" magazine. In The Blue Willow Inn Cookbook, regional food experts Jane and Michael Stern have collaboratively compiled a culinary wealth of recipes for drinks, breads, sandwiches, salads, appetizers, side dishes, main courses, and desserts -- plus occasional anecdotes drawn from the history and patronage of the Blue Willow Inn. From Angel Biscuits; Spinach Cornbread; Sugared Pecans; and Fried Green Tomatoes; to Baked Pineapple Casserole; Orange Pecan Glazed Chicken and Wild Rice; Banana Pudding; and Coca-Cola Cake with Broiled Peanut Butter Frosting, The Blue Willow Inn Cookbook is a perfect celebration of Southern dining and a wonderful addition to any kitchen cookbook collection.