True Grits: Tall Tales and Recipes from the New South [Hardcover]

Inc. Junior League of Atlanta (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 9, 1997

A collection of regional recipes, inspired photography, and lively, charming stories by renowned southern authors - people like Anne Rivers Siddons, Lewis Grizzard, Terry Kay, and Eugenia Price. Finalist in the 1995 James Beard Cookbook Awards. First Place Winner of the 1995 PMA Ben Franklin Cookbook Award. A 1995 National Winner of the Tabasco Community Cookbook Award.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Junior League of Atlanta; 1st edition (July 9, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871974258
• ISBN-13: 978-0871974259
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #490,384 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars True Grits: Tall Tales and recipes from the new south, May 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: True Grits: Tall Tales and Recipes from the New South (Hardcover)

This book is a winner! It is not only full of beautiful pictures, but also contains fabulous menu suggestions for any occasion. I have received rave reviews from all of my guests. You must try the chicken pecan quiche and the spinach and strawberry salad. It has become the first book that I turn to every time!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five's not enough -- make it 10 stars., July 17, 2002

By 

R. Tiedemann "Sunnye" (Bellevue, NE USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: True Grits: Tall Tales and Recipes from the New South (Hardcover)

Jr. League cookbooks have come a long way since the first little spiral-bound paper products of some 40 or 50 years ago. I don't know if the Atlanta Jr. League was the first to come up with the cookbook moneymaker project, but I do know their cookbooks have been much respected over the years -- venerated, even.

In this one, though, they've outdone themselves. Even if the recipes were awful (and they're not), there's still enough entertainment in this book to make it worthy of the price. And that's not counting the gorgeous illustrations that place it firmly in coffeetable display status.

It's the stories by famous Georgia writers that kick this volume into the stratosphere of pleasure.
Ferrol Sams's double-take as he watches Katie Couric brave a glass of horse's milk on the Today Show, for example, is bound to split a stitch or two.
Then there's the late Lewis Grizzard on his prowess at the grill. "I come from a long line of outdoor grillers," he says, "My Uncle Jerome still holds the American record for consecutive days grilling out, 178."
Reconstructed Yankee Bill Diehl holds forth on how he came to love the South. He quotes his mentor, Ralph Gill of the Atlanta Constitution, "We must work to make a better North, South, West or New England, because in so doing we make a better America."
The inimitable Anne Rivers Siddons holds forth on the difficulties of finding a bowl of real Southern grits while on book tour in the great Fly-Over Land.
Stuart Woods, Eugenia Price, and Valerie Richards Jackson are just a few of the star-studded literary lights who shine in these pages. What a great idea to showcase Georgia's finest literary talents along with its best culinary talents!

I'll vouch for the recipes, too. I've been married to a full-fledged (and also reconstructed) Yankee for more years that you can count on all the digits of several people and when his side of the family came to visit recently, of course they expected Southern food from the only bona-fide Southerner in the family. So I served Crème Fraiche Biscuits with Chevre and Country Ham Butter, Spicy Grits Casserole and German Pancake with Peach Compote when they converged on me for a reunion brunch. They loved the food, asked for recipes and when I showed them the cookbook, they enthused over that, too!

Every recipe I've tried from TRUE GRITS has been delicious and has garnered raves from my family and friends. Therefore, I can unequivocally give it the highest recommendation from a cook's point of view as well as from one who values -- indeed, treasures -- a good read.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars True Grits - the title says it all, November 4, 2001

By 

"walker1000" (Marietta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: True Grits: Tall Tales and Recipes from the New South (Hardcover)

This book is one of my favorites. I've cooked about 75% of the recipes and the vast majority have turned out wonderful. There are a few that sounded good, but didn't turn out well, but those are few and far between. If you're from The South, you'll instantly bond with it. And if you're from anywhere else, it will give you a comprehensive and current view of southern cuisine. Enjoy and eat well! P.S. The bourbon pound cake - it will make you cry. Yum.