Classical Southern Cooking: A Celebration of the Cuisine of the Old South - Hardcover

Fowler, Damon Lee

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 051759353X ISBN 13: 9780517593530

Publisher: Crown, 1995

Synopsis

Damon Lee Fowler valiantly preserves an endangered cuisine--Classical Southern--in this winning and evocative compendium of the food of the Old South. This is Southern cooking before pecan pie, before the food processor, and before the Colonel. Written in an affable style and brimming with recollections and lore, Fowler's book is a delightful celebration of Southern culture and cuisine. Line drawings..

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wler valiantly preserves an endangered cuisine--Classical Southern--in this winning and evocative compendium of the food of the Old South. This is Southern cooking before pecan pie, before the food processor, and before the Colonel. Written in an affable style and brimming with recollections and lore, Fowler's book is a delightful celebration of Southern culture and cuisine. Line drawings..

Reviews

Architect and cooking teacher Fowler writes lovely, imagistic prose?the expansive chapter introductions and chatty margin notes packed into this affectionate, well-researched book are terrific. Although his recipes can be vague (Lettice Bryan's Almond Cones call for "3 egg whites, more or less"), this delectable document?drawn mainly from four mid-19th century cookbooks?is a valuable source book of ideas for practiced cooks. Among the offerings are Groundnut Soup with Oysters, Sauteed Ham with Red-eye Gravy, Maum Peggy's Breakfast Fry Breads and Annabella Hill's Deviled Crab. Fowler's loquaciousness results in occasional repetitiveness (we are reminded twice, for example, that hot tapwater contains trace chemicals) and some incongruous references to Italian cuisine and the author's friendship with Marcella Hazan. Yet his enthusiasm for his subject is irresistible. The chapters on vegetables, poultry and game, and "The Southern Baker's Art" are of special interest for both history and recipes.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Each of these authors offers a different perspective on Southern cooking, but all are determined to clear up some misconceptions about the food that is their heritage. And although little has been written until now about the African contribution to Southern cooking, these books make apparent the tremendous effect of slave cooks on the food of the South. Fowler, an architect-turned-food writer and cooking teacher, went back to the "golden age" of Southern cooking to refute those myths about pork fat and overcooked vegetables. The authors of four cookbooks published in the mid-1800s became his main resources, and with those women as guides, he has written an authoritative and fascinating cookbook and culinary history. Most of his recipes come from early cookbooks, with generous excerpts from their texts; all have been adapted if necessary for modern kitchens: Celery Bisque with Oysters, Fresh Pork with Sage, Annabella Hill's Stewed Tomatoes. Fowler has strong opinions but a sense of humor as well, and his narrative is absorbing; his cookbook/ reference is highly recommended. Novelist Sanders (Her Own Place, LJ 3/15/93) was raised on one of the oldest black-owned farms in South Carolina, near where she and some of her nine brothers and sisters run their farm and now-famous farmstand. Her homey recipes?e.g., Fresh Corn and Tomato Stew, Cantaloupe Peach Conserve?are organized around family stories and events. Sanders has a sly sense of humor, and her observations make engrossing reading. Recommended for most collections. Low-fat soul food may sound like a contradiction in terms, but Carter, a journalist who writes about health, shows there's more to the cooking she grew up on than cream gravies and bacon grease. She includes many recipes from her great-grandmother and grandfather, two of her greatest culinary influences, along with her mother and grandmother?Codfish Cakes, Cucumbers in Peppered Vinegar, Old-Fashioned Biscuits?as well as other Southern specialties and her own more upscale creations. She has lightened some traditional dishes, and while some may prefer to stick to the real thing, there are still lots of good recipes here. For most collections.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Fowler makes his imprint on southern cuisine by extensively documenting the traditions and recipes associated with both ante^-and post^-bellum cooking. Not only does he picture the classic southern kitchen by describing the oven and other equipment, he also discusses such topics as lard, drippings, and clabber, among many other ingredients. The recipes command most of the reader's attention, and Fowler is both gracious and humorous in sharing his expertise. Barbara Jacobs

Edition details

• Publisher: Crown
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 051759353X
• ISBN 13: 9780517593530
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 420