Customer Reviews

Marion Brown's Southern Cook Book

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I glanced through a copy of this 2001 newest edition, and felt the book lacked the "heart" of my old 1951 paperback edition of The Southern Cook Book by Marion Brown. I went home, flipped through the yellowed pages of my friendly old paperback, and fell in love with it again!

The 1951 version is one of THE classic books of Southern Cooking, and at 57 years old, is still alive with Marion's voice and the spirit of her quest to gather up many old recipes before they were lost.

There is a place for the new edition, with recipes using items not cooked from scratch, and it records how "fast"er foods are used by some cooks today for a newer taste. I can buy a Rachael Ray book, or google recipes by cooks not even born in 1950, 1960, or 1970 and learn some of these trendier New Southern recipes with ingredients such as ginger, foie gras, shaved truffles, all nicely stacked up. Thanks, but I'll pass on most of these dishes, just the same.

If you are serious about Southern Cooking, get the 1951 copyrighted version of The Southern Cook Book, Edna Lewis's 3 books, and try some of the newer Southern cooking styles as well, with Ronni Lundy, Camille Glenn, Frank Stitt's Southern Table, John Martin's books, many fine New Orleans cookbooks, and experience all that is "Southern Cooking", from cooks and writers from Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and up through Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Better yet, taste today's cooking as a yardstick of comparison at the vanishing "Mom and Pop" tiny restaurants (for "meat and three"'s) and sample regional variations (Vinegar, tomato, mustard bases etc) at numerous BBQ throughout the South.

Try Charleston's Justines and the shrimp and grits at Middleton Plantation, sample the more upscale restaurants as well, such as Charleston Grille and McCready's in Charleston. Try BBQ at Sgt. White's Diner , and surprisingly tasty food at Gilligan's, both in Beaufort, SC. You MUST go to Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House in Savannah to try 35 different try Southern dishes at one setting, and pass on by the less authentic steam table foods at Lady and Sons, despite lovely Paula's humor and accent!

DO visit the Beautiful monuments and stunning trees of Bonaventure cemetery just outside Savannah, and toast all those who cooked, laughed and loved before us.

I acquired my first copy (paperback) of this cookbook and have drug it halfway around the world and back several times. I have used it (loved it) almost to death: its old, yellowing pages are loose and falling out. I decided to get a new copy. Fortunately I did not throw out the old copy as I find, just at first check, that two of my most favorite recipes are not included in this latest printing. Example #1: I use/used the "Dora & Jim's Hushpuppies" which uses onion & most importantly makes a quantity for about 8-10 people. The recipe that was kept for hushpuppies is one that does not include onion and it makes a quantity for about 50 people!!! How often does anyone make hushpuppies for 50 people?! Example #2: I'm Southern born and every pecan pie made in my family has always used Karo or similiar 'cane syrup'; so I always used a variation of two recipes in the old cookbook: Mrs. Clarks Karo Pies, and Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie. Both are missing from the new printing, and what's left may well make a good pie. But it's not the recipes I liked best; and it doesn't use Karo syrup...it uses brown sugar....sounds almost Yankee to me!

My father, who is now 93 and was an excellent cook in his day, gave me a hard bound edition of Marion Browns Southern Cookbook in 1971 while I was in college in Stateboro, GA. It was my first cookbook, and I have used it extensively during the past 38 years. While the new version is ok, I'll stick with my classic edition.

This cookbook from the early '50s holds up remarkably well given changes in taste and diet over the years.

We particularly like the stuffing recipe but there's a wealth of palatable dishes here.