For the first time in a beautiful, gift-quality hardcover, the beloved cookbook by the Food Network superstar–with 5 million copies in print!
Down-home and downright delicious, the recipes in The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook have become classics of their kind–Southern meals from the heart of Georgia and the heart of their wonderful creator. Paula H. Deen has owned and operated The Lady & Sons restaurant for almost twenty years–and the tastiest starters, main courses, and desserts on her menu are now available in a stunning keepsake edition of her bestselling cookbook.
The Lady & Sons is more than an institution; it’s an inspiration. Paula started the place newly divorced and with the creditors closing in. Enlisting the help of her devoted sons, Jamie and Bobby, she turned it into a runaway success and a symbol of pluck, perseverance, and plain hard work.
Here are the delicious fruits of their labors–hearty appetizers from Pecan-Stuffed Dates to Pickled Okra Sandwiches; mouth-watering dinners like Red Snapper Stuffed with Crabmeat and Foolproof Standing Rib Roast; and such devilishly good treats as Praline Pumpkin Pie or Tunnel of Fudge Cake. Plus breads, sides, sauces, and more . . . complete with mouthwatering color photographs.
For family suppers, parties, or picnics, these easy-to-follow recipes will be hard to resist–just like the elegant new edition that contains them.
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In his enthusiastic introduction, John Berendt, author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, writes: "Authentic Southern food is not about pretension." Sure enough, this book by the proprietor of The Lady & Sons restaurant in Savannah, Ga., doesn't put on any airs. A great many recipes unabashedly list prepared foods among the ingredients. As an appetizer, Garlic Cheese Spread includes an eight-ounce package of cream cheese and an eight-ounce jar of Cheez-Whiz. Shrimp or Lobster Bisque contains, in addition to seafood, a can each of condensed tomato soup and condensed mushroom soup. The restaurant's most popular dessert is Gooey Butter Cakes, which starts with a box of Duncan Hines yellow cake mix. Still, some of the recipes attain a high level of regional authenticity: Georgia Cracker Salad is made with crushed saltines, tomato, scallions, hard-boiled egg and mayonnaise; Southern Fried Chicken acquires its crispy coating with a batter of eggs and self-rising flour. Readers concerned about high fat content should skip this book. But those looking for some distinctively American comfort food?and in a mood for some decidedly anti-nouvelle regression?might want to take a peek. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Plastic Comb
edition.
From Library Journal
Savannah's popularity as a tourist destination has increased dramatically in the months that John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil has been on the New York Times best sellers list, and in his introduction to this cookbook, Berendt says Deen's restaurant is one he recommends to visitors as exemplifying "the very heart of Southern cooking." Deen (the Lady) says Southern cooking is "comfort food," and she and her two sons serve homey, completely unpretentious food at their popular downtown restaurant. Many of the recipes she includes here rely on convenience foods (canned soup, Cheese Whiz) and some have been perennial favorites in "community" cookbooks since the Fifties or Sixties. Area libraries will want copies; most others can skip. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Plastic Comb
edition.
Paula Deen was born and raised in Albany, Georgia. She later moved to Savannah, where she and her two sons, Bobby and Jamie, started the Bag Lady catering company. The business took off and evolved into The Lady & Sons Restaurant, which is located in Savannah's historic district and specializes in Southern cooking, as well as Uncle Bubba's Seafood, which co-owns with her brother. Paula is the author of Paula Deens Kitchen Wisdom and Recipe Journal, Christmas with Paula Deen, Paula Deen: It Ain't All About the Cookin', Paula Deen & Friends, The Lady & Sons Just Desserts, The Lady & Sons Too!;and The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook. She publishes a bimonthly magazine, Cooking with Paula Deen and is a regular guest on QVC, where she sells her books and food products.
OK, I admit that I am a Paula Deen, Food Network groupie...I love her warm, upbeat manner and I'm impressed with her Cinderella story which has been recounted by countless other reviewers. Her charm is found all through this title and its sequel and reading the stories behind the recipes is just as enlightening as the recipes themselves. Paula writes the way she speaks, and you can even hear her easy Savannah drawl as you read. The recipes are down-to-earth, mostly pretty simple, and decadently satisfying. Those doing Atkins or Weight Watchers need not apply here...we're talkin' SERIOUS cheese, butter, and cream (yep, the real stuff!). After making the basic meat loaf, sesame chicken strips, pot roast (my husband RAVED!), Southern fried chicken, and baked spaghetti (this, actually from the 2nd book), I was convinced that hearty Southern cooking would become a regular part of my usually less calorie-laden California fare! Fun and delicious!
This is a fine compendium of southern recipes most of which are served at Ms. Deen's highly regarded Savannah restaurant. The book is spiral-bound so it will lay flat, the print is large and the margins are wide. The author doesn't mind a short cut or two, and neither do I. The recipes are not taxing, but many are ingenious. When making meatloaf, Ms. Dean lines a jellyroll pan with slices of bread that soak up all that nasty fat. When the meatloaf is done, discard the bread. I was so grateful she didn't demand I use the soggy bread for something I had no intention of making; I decided she was my kind of lady right there.
Her recipe for tomato pie was a hit with my family:
4 tomatoes peeled & sliced, 8-10 fresh basil leaves chopped, ˝ c chopped green onion, one prebaked 9-inch deep pie shell, salt & pepper to taste, 2c grated mozzarella & cheddar combined, 1 c mayonnaise (Hellman's or make your own)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Layer tomato slices, basil, and onion in pie shell. Add salt and pepper. Mix together grated cheese and mayonnaise. Spread on top of tomatoes. Bake 30 minutes or until lightly browned.
This is an excellent side dish and a good helper when you have planted a "few" tomato vines only to find you have wheelbarrows full come July. I would have given the book five stars except a few recipes listed garlic powder as an ingredient. Don't use it! Fresh garlic is cheap and doesn't have a chemical taste. With this small quibble, I recommend the book highly.
I have made many recipes from this book and have eaten at her resturant several times (I've met her also- she's very nice). I have never once been disappointed. Some may be turned off by some of the convenience products used (ie cream of mushroom soup) but since I'm on a budget and a new mom I have found her recipes to be cost effective, easy, fast, and delicious (there are a few that are more challenging/expensive that I haven't tried yet). I've never brought home leftovers. The strawberry and cheese ring was a hit (even people who were at first wary of strawberries and cheddar cheese combo). The spinich-artichoke dip, hoecakes, and cobblers are great as well. The recipes are well tested and detailed. This is one of the first cookbooks I turn to when I have company coming (which seems to happen a lot with a new baby!) or for luncheons at work. Most of these recipes are also very kid friendly. If you like to cook non-fussy foods that everyone enjoys, you'll like this cookbook. ps. The desserts are fabulous!
We spent a week on Hilton Head Island, SC and thankfully stopped in Savannah for a day. We ate at The Lady & Sons and would have to say that of the all the restaurants (most of which were overpriced) this was the best. Her food is fantastic and the recipes are all there, except for a wonderful pecan pie that she said will be included in her upcoming cookbook (my husband described it as the only pecan pie he's eaten that afterward he wasn't gasping for a cup of coffee). The greens are fabulous as is her melt-in-the-mouth fried chicken and macaroni and cheese and, and, and. I wanted to buy the book while in Savannah, but the town was sold out. This is a must-have for every kitchen.
It's seldom one finds two themes meshed in a book about cooking. However, Paula Deen's "The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook" marries a rags-to-riches success story with the notion that good, wholesome food--and its preparation--do not have to be intimidating to anyone.
Everyone loves the American success story, and the reader gets a warm dose of 'feel good' after discovering Deen's rise to the top of Savannah's culinary tradition--having started nine years ago with $200, a brand-new divorce after 27 years of marriage, a Mt. Everest-high stack of bills--and two sons to feed.
The reader discovers that work--hard work--creativity, and the way to a person's heart through their stomach can translate into the American Dream. An added bonus is a book with easy-to-follow and prepare southern traditional recipes with many unique examples of Deen's culinary presentations from her famous historic district restaurant in downtown Savannah.
Having eaten in her restaurant, I was surprised to find Deen a warm, real woman who makes her customers feel as if they are guests in her home. Walking the restaurant with a platter of southern hoecakes and cheese biscuits, Deen shares her recipes, tips and kitchen advice with customers eating platters of piled-high southern traditions. Her cookbook share the hoecake and cheese biscuits recipes, as well as her rich, meaty crabcakes--a signature dish in both the cookbook and restaurant.
The noted writer, John Berendt, was so taken with Deen and her story, as well as the restaurant and her food, that the "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" author enthusiastically penned the forward, referring to Deen as a "Steel Magnolia.
..."
The reader, too, will embrace his assessment while preparing warm, wholesome recipes which bring to mind those days-gone-by when family truly enjoyed the mealtime as a focal point to share the day's experiences while eating good, simply-prepared food.
Again, having visited her restaurant and having purchased her cookbook, I am definitely a fan, and hope to hear more of her in the future.
