Deep South Staples: or How to Survive in a Southern Kitchen Without a Can of Cream of Mushroom Soup [Hardcover]

Robert St. John (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 9, 2006

A lively cookbook for Southerners who wish to recapture the tastes, smells, and memories of their youth -- and for fans of Southern cooking everywhere

Food in the South is a religion. Yet the problem with a lot of Southern cooking is the ever-present can of cream of mushroom soup. In this lively, humorous cookbook, Robert St. John shows Southerners (and all fans of the cuisine) how to indulge in the ideas and tastes that inspired Southern cooking, without resorting to ingredients like that canned soup in the recipe. The classic dishes are all here; they just taste better! Sections include cocktail party fare, funeral food, breakfasts, salads and soups, summer suppers, cakes, vegetables, chitlins, desserts, sides, and much more. Recipes include Buttermilk Chicken, Pecan Crusted Redfish, Fried Catfish, Cajun Popcorn, Corn Fritters, and lots of other Southern classics.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Southern author and restaurateur St. John (My South: A People, A Place, A World All Its Own) offers up his relatively faithful take on southern cuisine in this collection of traditional recipes. His approach is to take a traditional dish such as macaroni and cheese or deviled eggs and prepare it as a chef would, so deviled eggs benefit from a pinch of white pepper and white balsamic vinegar, while macaroni and cheese is jazzed up with white pepper, onions and a can of sweetened condensed milk. (St. John even offers up a béchamel version of cream of mushroom soup.) There are still plenty of recipes for purists: fried chicken, greens and chicken pot pie are all prepared with just a handful of ingredients, and there isn't a truffle or slice of foie gras to be found. Even the most complicated recipes are well within the range of the average cook, since the book's emphasis is on taste rather than technique or exotic ingredients. In addition to the recipes, the book is peppered with handy tips such as how to handle raw chicken to avoid contamination (use a metal colander) and preserve overripe bananas (freeze, then thaw when ready to use). St. John also includes meditations on such uniquely southern topics as sweet tea and chitlins. While there is little new culinary ground covered here, those looking for an overview of southern cooking could do worse.
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About the Author

Robert St. John has been Executive Chef/Owner of the Purple Parrot Café and Mahogany Bar in Hattiesburg and Meridian, Mississippi. He writes a syndicated food column for several newspapers and hosts a monthly television cooking show. He lives in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 2nd printing edition (May 9, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401308384
• ISBN-13: 978-1401308384
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #99,259 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, fun choice, February 7, 2007

By 

S. K Repasy (Fairborn, Oh United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Deep South Staples: or How to Survive in a Southern Kitchen Without a Can of Cream of Mushroom Soup (Hardcover)

I found this gem while wandering thru my library. I thought I'd try a few recipes and if I liked it, would go ahead and buy it. Well, I've had it about a week. I've made the meatloaf twice (once for a carry-in at work), the beef vegetable soup and today I am trying my hand at the Chicken tetrazzini. I am also buying a copy for me and another for a friend!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Choice, January 12, 2007

By 

Allison Nieto (Wilmington, NC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Deep South Staples: or How to Survive in a Southern Kitchen Without a Can of Cream of Mushroom Soup (Hardcover)

I received this book for Christmas last year and have used many of the recipes in it on a weekly basis. Although some of them require quite a few more ingredients than I normally use, I love them so much that I'll take the extra time to prepare or buy those ingredients. My family particularly enjoys the maccaroni & cheese, scalloped potatoes and meatloaf recipes - but our all time favorite has to be the redfish recipe...it is amazing!

Having grown up in Mississippi, I would highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a true taste of the South. You will not be disappointed!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommend, December 11, 2007

By 

Eadie - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deep South Staples: Or How to Survive in a Southern Kitchen Without a Can of Cream of Mushroom Soup (Hardcover)

Robert St. John is an excellent chef, and his recipes in this book reveal that. His ingredients are easy to obtain. I have fancy cookbooks with great recipes, but they call for ingredients that I can't find. Good home cooking is what this cookbook is all about: the basics with flare. Everytime I cook something from this book, people go on and on about how good it is. I'd love to take the credit, but it all really belongs to Robert St. John.