The Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook [Hardcover-spiral]

Southern Foodways Alliance (Author), Sara Roahen (Editor), John T. Edge (Editor), Alton Brown (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2010

Everybody has one in their collection. You know—one of those old, spiral- or plastic-tooth-bound cookbooks sold to support a high school marching band, a church, or the local chapter of the Junior League. These recipe collections reflect, with unimpeachable authenticity, the dishes that define communities: chicken and dumplings, macaroni and cheese, chess pie. When the Southern Foodways Alliance began curating a cookbook, it was to these spiral-bound, sauce-splattered pages that they turned for their model.

 

Including more than 170 tested recipes, this cookbook is a true reflection of southern foodways and the people, regardless of residence or birthplace, who claim this food as their own. Traditional and adapted, fancy and unapologetically plain, these recipes are powerful expressions of collective identity. There is something from—and something for—everyone. The recipes and the stories that accompany them came from academics, writers, catfish farmers, ham curers, attorneys, toqued chefs, and people who just like to cook—spiritual Southerners of myriad ethnicities, origins, and culinary skill levels.

 

Edited by Sara Roahen and John T. Edge, written, collaboratively, by Sheri Castle, Timothy C. Davis, April McGreger, Angie Mosier, and Fred Sauceman, the book is divided into chapters that represent the region’s iconic foods: Gravy, Garden Goods, Roots, Greens, Rice, Grist, Yardbird, Pig, The Hook, The Hunt, Put Up, and Cane. Therein you’ll find recipes for pimento cheese, country ham with redeye gravy, tomato pie, oyster stew, gumbo z’herbes, and apple stack cake. You’ll learn traditional ways of preserving green beans, and you’ll come to love refried black-eyed peas.

 

Are you hungry yet?

Published in association with the Southern Foodways Alliance at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi. A Friends Fund Publication.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It's as much Americana as cookbook, an effort to preserve a vanishing part of our culture. Either way, it's an instant classic."—Time

 "The Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook is a tribute to standards of the Southern table as well as a showcase for the delicious handiwork of some notable contemporary chefs." —Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Each page herein delivers a strong sense of community; the contributions are from real people with real names; the collection is democratic, but with nary a sign of culinary chaos; and the food is just plain good. And here’s the best part, as far as I’m concerned: Regardless of whether it looks back into the past or ahead into the future, this book looks ever Southward.”—Alton Brown, from the foreword

“So why are we excited about yet another Southern cookbook? By sourcing recipes from spiral-bound community cookbooks and then testing and adapting them for modern kitchens, this collection of recipes has the potential to become the standard reference on the topic. Add to that the research power of the Southern Foodways Alliance and its director John T. Edge, and this book could be unstoppable." —Eater.com

"Includes of plenty of genuinely new and genuinely Southern food to prove that it's still a living, breathing cuisine."--Nashville Scene

About the Author

Sara Roahen is an oral historian and the author of Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at the New Orleans Table. She has written for Tin House and Food & Wine. John T. Edge is director of the Southern Foodways Alliance and Cornbread Nation general editor. He is the author or editor of more than a dozen books, including The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture: Foodways and A Gracious Plenty: Recipes and Recollections from the American South. Edge contributes to a wide array of publications, including the New York Times, Oxford American, and Garden & Gun. www.johntedge.com. The Southern Foodways Alliance documents, studies, and celebrates the diverse food cultures of the changing American South. It is a member-supported organization of more than 1,000 cooks, thinkers, academics, writers, and eaters. Atlantic Monthly called the SFA "this country's most intellectually engaged (and probably most engaging) food society." www.southernfoodways.org.

Product Details

• Hardcover-spiral: 296 pages
• Publisher: University of Georgia Press; Spi edition (October 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0820332755
• ISBN-13: 978-0820332758
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 1.2 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 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: #288,360 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Disagree! The binding is wonderful and so is the book! December 23, 2010

By KikiFlow

Format:Hardcover-spiral|Amazon Verified Purchase

I couldn't disagree more with the previous review that calls the binding of this cookbook "horrible." In fact, the binding is one of the best things about the book because it lays completely flat while you're cooking. I've been cooking for about four decades now and own a slew of cookbooks. Except for the local and community-based ones that generally have a spiral binding they're a struggle to keep open while you're cooking. It's even difficult to keep them open while you're copying a recipe. To save the binding on my books, after having broken a bunch of them (expensive!), I usually photocopy the pages if it's a long and complicated recipe. I've tried a variety of book clips over the years. They can be helpful but half the time they slip off plus you have to reposition them every darn time you turn the page.

The binding choice here eliminates all that hassle! In general the book has a nice feel. It's a good size and a good weight, the design is colorful and fun, the paper is high quality, and the recipes are laid out and written in a clear, straightforward manner. My one suggestion if there's another edition would be to list the recipes of each section on the first page of the section. It's a little cumbersome to search through the section for the recipe or have to go to the index each time.

There's a story with each recipe that tells something about the person who created it and the place they're from. I like it that these cooks who are not famous are given credit for what they do. So much attention goes to celebrity chefs these days. It's refreshing to learn from everyday people who are passionate about their cooking. I have learned a lot about the South too from this book. It's rich! The recipes from each region are really different.

I don't belong to the Southern Foodways Alliance but now I'm going to join. There's depth to what they're doing here. The book is quirky and sometimes kind of goofy fun. The "bacon forest" is an out-there concept (a lot of bourbon flowing that day?) but I can see it for a fundraiser celebrating local farmers. And, hey, Southerners, like the British, do love their pork.

I got this cookbook as a gift and it's a truly interesting present. I've made the fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, deviled eggs, spoonbread, beef stew and, finally, the caramel cake (heaven). Many of the recipes have a special twist to them (evaporated milk for the fried chicken, grits in the spoonbread). This is good for beginners and for experienced cooks.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, If a little whimsical. October 14, 2010

By Loulou

Format:Hardcover-spiral|Amazon Verified Purchase

The is a wonderful cookbook. It is a new focus on Southern traditional cooking. It will not replace my treasured Charleston Receipts and my many other traditional southern cookbooks, but it is refreshing.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars For the Thinking Cook November 2, 2011

By K. Bender

Format:Hardcover-spiral|Amazon Verified Purchase

Everyone who loves to cook should own this cookbook. The introduction by Alton Brown is inspired and the recipes read like chapters of a book. Even if you never cook with it, this book is an anthropological study for anyone who loves food in general and southern food in particular.