Customer Reviews

New Southern Cooking

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4 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book of southern recipes has changed my life. Nathalie Dupree's two-hour turkey has taken the stress out of Thanksgiving. Her turkey scallopine has made me a legend in my kids' minds. Anticipation of her cheesestraws has made my friends practically drool. Her pineapple upside-down cake is what dreams are made of. The New Southern Cooking recipes are the perfect combination of simplicity and delight.

I practically grew up watching Nathalie Dupree on PBS. (Actually, if the food network had been around then, I don't think my mom would have been able to pry me away from the tv.) I really enjoyed watching her cook. My mom & I used to call her "Miss Messy" since every time she made something, she usually managed to get a good portion of ingredients outside of the bowl or off the plate. This of course makes me feel better now when I'm baking and look down at the flour all over my now big pregnant belly. Buy this book, make a mess and enjoy these great recipes! My favorite is the peanut roasted pork tenderloin! (For more info on the chef & to buy an autographed copy, go to www.nathalie.com)-Mrs. S. King (I grew up in the South but now live in New England.)

I have several of her cookbooks. All are wonderfull and are part of my families traditional receipes. I have learned many shortcuts and "new" ways to prepare Southern favorites. Thanks Nathalie!!

I have all of Nathalie Dupree's cookbooks. I think she is one of the
best in the business. Her recipes are ones you can actually cook.
I wish she had DVD's available from her books.
If you want a cookbook that is wonderful, this is it!!!!!!!!!
It is fun to read, too.
I love it.....

Combining regional recipes that reflect both traditional and original culinary dishes, Nathalie Dupree has compiled "New Southern Cooking", a compendium of truly extraordinary dishes that are as thoroughly 'kitchen cook friendly' as they are palate pleasing and appetite satisfying. Ranging from Asparagus Topped with Scallops; Sausage and Apple Overnight Casserole; Mushroom, Pumpkin Seed, and Lettuce Salad; and Fried Spicy Cheese Grits Pieces; to Barbecued Quail; Fast Unstuffed Turkey with Peanut Dressing; Sweetbreads and Turnip Greens with Tomato-Lime Sauces; and Moravian Cookies, "New Southern Cooking" offers 345-pages of superlative recipes suitable for any dining occasion from simply family meals to elegant celebratory feasts. Simply stated, "New Southern Cooking" is an enthusiastically recommended addition to personal, professional, and community library cookbook collections!

I fell in love with Nathalie Dupree when she appeared in New Southern Cooking on public television. Her cookbook is great, but what is exceptional about Ms. Dupree is that she makes you willing to try things you never would. I still remember her encouraging watchers to make pie dough -- how much can it cost, 50 cents? -- and I was encouraged to the point of learning how to make scratch pie dough and even biscuits. These many years later and now in my early 60s, there are still days when I go to make a pie and still pretend I'm Nathalie, having a great time cooking and knowing it doesn't matter if I spill something. The book reflects this attitude and I'd recommend it to anyone.

Nathalie Dupree is an adoptive Southerner -- she was born in New Jersey. Now there's nothing wrong with that; we welcome everyone down here, but she is not Southern and she is decidedly not "country folk." Anyone with a certificate from Cordon Bleu who owned a restaurant in Social Circle, GA, is not Daisy Duke.

I don't know how Ms. Dupree came by her vaunted reputation. When I watched her PBS series in 1986, I could not believe what a mess she made of her kitchen. Dirt and grit from leeks flew like gnats, landing on the countertops and the floor. The cake batter she accidentally poured through the handles of a Dutch oven spilled all over the counter. While making a half-hearted effort at cleaning it up, she said to the camera, "I'm sure you'll do better when you make it at home." Ya think?

The grits roll which sounds so good, and which Ms. Dupree claims won somebody $6000 in a cooking contest, does not work. ALL chess pies are made with a little cornmeal -- she seems stunned that her friend's recipe calls for it. OK, so the ham biscuits work, and are tasty. The homemade applesauce is very good. But two decent recipes out of 200 is nothing to brag about.

I was born and raised in North Carolina, and have lived here all my life. I thought it was just me, but over the past 20 years I've made a point of asking practically every Southerner I meet this question, and we all agree: NO ONE eats chicken gravy on cantaloupe. I have no idea where that came from.

A bright, fledging cook of 12 or 13 can tell you that if you throw the butter, flour and milk in a saucepan all at the same time and start whisking, you are not going to get a cream sauce. Most good home cooks can tell you that you cannot freeze a chicken dish made with cucumbers.

I could go on, except I haven't gotten to why I think Ms. Dupree is a snob. There are numerous recipes in this book which she prefaces by saying, "this recipe is from my dear friend/former student/cooking teacher... it's *wonderful,* but here's *my* version." There's even a recipe called "Puff Pastry MY WAY." P.S. It's no better than puff pastry made anybody else's way.

I'm glad I didn't spend any money on my copy; it was a gift. I'll stick with my files of my grandmothers' recipes, Mrs. Dull's 1928 "Southern Cooking" and the 1950 "Southern Cookbook" from the UNC Press.