Bill Neal's Southern Cooking [Paperback]

Bill Neal (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1989

Southern cooking, the most interesting and complex regional cuisine in America, remains a mystery to many professional cooks and southerners. With a stellar collection of recipes, Neal reveals the background and subtleties of southern foods. He uses imaginative new ways with old standards to make the recipes more accessible, but he never resorts to shortcuts or processed ingredients. He also shows how the meeting of Native American, Western European, and African cultures has created this cuisine.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A marvelous piece of work, beautifully written and rooted in a sense of history.

House & Garden

Authentic and lovingly written, Bill Neal's Southern Cooking does much to untangle the mystique and complexity of this outstanding American cuisine.

Bon AppŽtit

[Mixes] the best of the South's classics . . . with a contemporary, light approach to cooking.

Vogue

Plain good cooking. . . . The book overflows with riches.

Food & Wine

This is a book from which the whole country can learn about southern cooking. It was much needed.

Cook's Magazine

About the Author

The late Bill Neal founded the restaurants La Residence and Crook's Corner, both landmarks in Chapel Hill. He was author of Biscuits, Spoonbread, & Sweet Potato Pie; coauthor of Good Old Grits Cookbook: Have Grits Your Way; and editor of Through the Garden Gate, a collection of gardening essays by the late Elizabeth Lawrence.

Product Details

• Paperback: 219 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press; Rev Enl edition (October 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807842559
• ISBN-13: 978-0807842553
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 0.6 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #267,508 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Sine Qua Non of Southern Cooking November 14, 2001

By H. B. Baker

Format:Paperback

No sense going into a long, elaborate and flowery review of this well-educated, native southern boy's book. If you're really interested in doing authentic, down-home southern cooking -- not the Yankeefied stuff some try to foist off as southern food -- then just buy this book.

Trust me, I know real southern cooking when I taste it: My mother learned to cook from my grandmother, who was born and grew up in Kentucky. I grew up on their cooking, but didn't have sense enough to record the recipes. Wasted a small fortune on wantabe southern cookbooks. Then I found this book, cooked a bunch of the recipes and they were exactly like back home at my mother's and grandmother's tables.

Just buy Bill's book. The price is right. You'll never regret it.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Southerners Rejoice! August 15, 2001

By "ddtea"

Format:Paperback

My husband and I have had this cookbook for several years, and given many copies of it as gifts. Bill Neal hasn't simply listed recipes, he has written a historical summary of many traditional southern foods. All are interesting, and most shed light on how certain recipes came into being.

That said, the 150+ recipes themselves are terrific! Our favorites are Herb Crust Pork Loin with Onion Gravy (much requested by frequent visitors!) and the famous Shrimp and Grits, Crook's Corner Style... Crook's Corner was Bill Neal's restaurant in Chapel Hill, NC. Living ten minutes from it means we have been able to enjoy the "original" Shrimp and Grits, which is unique and outstanding. Neal claims the restaurant serves that dish 10,000 times each year! Fortunately, the recipe is fairly easy to make at home as well, and just as tasty.

The book includes such southern basics as spoonbread, Brunswick Stew, gumbo, peanut soup, crab cakes, and fried chicken. Most of the recipes are not complicated, but some do require effort and time. Devoted cooks will recognize that the results are well worth the effort! Some of the recipes are quite simple, however, like the Raspberry Fool... with divine results! Neal is quite detailed in his instructions, so they are not hard to follow, as well as including some serving suggestions and recommended equipment.

There are no photographs in this cookbook, but they are not needed. (This from a die-hard "all my cookbooks must have color photos" fanatic!:) Bill Neal paints a complete picture of what the dish should be. Your imagination and taste buds will do the rest.

Happy Eating!

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars shrimp and grits September 26, 2005

By Alexanderplatz

Format:Paperback

Bill Neal's Southern Cooking is a great cookbook for Southern foods. These are recipes to make in a cast iron skillet, not a microwave. The recipe for shrimp and grits, the signature dish at the late author's restaurant in Chapel Hill, NC, is itself worth the cover price. Somewhat like Carol Field's "Italian Baker," this book offers some insight into the history of the recipes but is not full of fluffy digressions. My copy is dog-eared and bears a few sauce stains after years of use. It is nicely organized into sections such as soups, breads, rice, vegetables, fish and shellfish, meats and desserts. Besides shrimp and grits, I'm very fond of the recipes for chess pie and Sally Lunn bread. Like THE JOY OF COOKING, this book offers precise directions on the finer points of cooking that make a difference between a good dish and a great one. Highly recommended.