Customer Reviews

Puttin' on the Grits: A Guide to Southern Entertaining

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
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Was Scarlet the first, the first Southern Belle to win us with her beauty, spunk and determination? Perhaps for many. She's been followed by the Steel Magnolias and a host of others. These gals are always witty and winning. Then along came Deborah Ford with "The Grits (Girls Raised in The South) Guide to Life," and we're reminded once again how irresistible women raised in that part of our country are.

Now, Ford reads "Puttin' On The Grits: A Guide to Southern Entertaining," an entertaining serving of everything one needs to be the perfect Southern hostess. Listeners will hear about gatherings large and small, recipes (wet and dry), and tips for making every guest feel like a king or queen.

The author shares all - offering advice on what and what not to wear, as well as appropriate table setting for backyard and banquet. (Yes, even a tailgate party deserves special accouterments.) When it comes to gracious thank you notes, well, Southern belles have written the book on that topic - not too sweet, always sincere.

Mint Juleps are a mainstay, and charm seems to be a birthright. Y'all listen and enjoy.

- Gail Cooke

I thought this was a delightful and entertaining book. This book is packed with many different southern traditions and customs. Deborah Ford, writes with much passion and love for many of the southern manners, and social expectations. I really enjoyed that she packed this full of vital recipes such as how to properly make sweet tea, a must have if you live in the South. She also included many other recipes for gifts and other things you may want to have in your freezer just in case.

Puttin' on the Grits was a delightful book, with all sorts of illustrations, and tips. I thought she did a wonderful job of capturing the spirit of the South in the modern world. Deborah also gave many wonderful suggestions for learning all about Southern manners and those unwriten expections for those of us who may now live in the South. I would recommend this book to those who may want to learn more about what makes the Southern culture so unique.

If y'all want to know how we Southerners entertain, and learn a tad more about how important family and friends are to us, you need to read this book. Miss Grits can always be counted on to entertain, and I can tell y'all, no nicer or classier lady has ever existed. "Miss Grits" is no act, she's the real deal!

I was born and raised in Philadelphia Pa. in a southern household. My Mom was from N.Carolina, my Dad from S. Carolina. I was a misplaced Pearl girl who spent every summer in the South and the winters in my own little southern world in the north. I am a Pearl girl and my daughters have been raised in that tradition. The book was my life. It brought back my family and my young life.

I did not totally like this book. I am orginally from the North and have been in the South since 2000. The women I have met here are great. They are warm, traditional, Christian-minded and hard working! This book made them look like flakes and somewhat unintelligent. I bought this book since my husband is Southern and I wanted to really be able to provide him with great southern cooking and entertaining. Some of the information was useful...but anyone could have gotten the information from any other Southern entertainment book. Some parts of the book were amusing and even some of the recipes were interesing. But overall this book wasn't a great book.

EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SOUTHERN SOIREES....PRECIOUS PARTY PLANNING....JUST THE CUP OF TEA FOR A BELLE IN THE KNOW

Book arrived quickly in great shape.

A cute book with interesting information.

GRITS stands for "Girls Raised in the South" namely Birmingham, Alabama. Well, I wasn't just raised here, I was born here in Tennessee. The first year of my marriage took place in Troy, Alabama, where I attended Troy State College (now University) and the art teacher wanted me to pose for his class, but wouldn't ask me himself. That's not the way they do things in the South; first, he sent a young woman teacher to 'visit' me; then, he has some female art students to approach me in the halls on my way to Bio-Scio classes. You want to know why I didn't -- I didn't have anything to wear! Now, that's funny!

We all saw Southern manners and Hospitality at its best in the Auntie Mame movie in which Lucille Ball starred. She was the best Auntie Mame and perfect as a Southern belle. Happy birthday to Bill Ross (8-11-32) wherever you are. Friends and family are the center of life in the South, or used to be -- in the old days. Now, you have to be the elite to enjoy that commodity. The poor are ever there, but they do no entertaining.

In Knoxville, it is the liquor they all go for at any event. Food can come as they have the time, but you won't catch those men and young women without a glass in their pretty hands. If you want to be 'the belle of the ball,' be sure to have plenty of 'spirits' of all kinds for your party. Elegance and wit is not what it is propounded to be; the women here are as dumb as those in the North with their noses in the air. I enjoyed the drawings in this little book and especially the pink pages.

Who but a gal from Birmingham would have been able to get away with that. In this town of my birth, purple is the color of choice, which perturbs me no end. Pink is girlish and easy on the eyes. I love to wear blue, but do get more attention in pink. Is it true that all women are 'pretty in pink' and 'all brides are beautiful,' or is that just a Southern thing?