The Food of a Younger Land, by Mark Kurlansky

Subtitled “A portrait of American food — before the national highway system, before chain restaurants, and before frozen food, when the nation’s food was seasonal, regional, and traditional–from the lost WPA files,” you must at least read the extremely interesting Introduction to this treasure mine sampled from what remains in the archives of America Eats, five dusty boxes of manuscript copy on onionskin.  Here Kurlansky showcases the best of what he uncovered, just as writer Merle Colby had hoped when writing the final report before the unedited, unpublished manuscripts were tucked away in the 1940s: “Here and there in America some talented boy or girl will stumble on some of this material, take fire from it, and turn it to creative use.”

The entries are informative and amusing excerpts from food writing and recipes gathered regionally for a federally funded writing project that employed out-of-work writers.  When spending priorities changed after Pearl Harbor, the unfinished project materials were abruptly preserved in the Library of Congress, and we can thank Kurlansky for digging out its most fascinating gems for our enlightenment.

Among the southern and eastern sections where I focused my perusal, I really got a kick out of the anecdotes and details on preparing such delicacies as squirrel, [o]possum, chittelins, and corn pone, how the hush puppy got its name & why some forms of cornbread were once much lower in status.  Of course, Virginians will find some definitive yet highly opinionated historical notes on the famed Brunswick Stew.

The WPA (Works Progress Administration) was a government agency that sprung up as one of  many efforts to alleviate poverty in 1930s America.   Some WPA projects designed programs according to individual skill, field of study or expertise. Remarkably, these included plans for the fields of art, music, drama, and literature. The Federal Writers’ Project commissioned writers to research, write, edit, and publish works and series on particular topics, usually with American themes or interests in mind; writers employed included Zora Neale Hurston and Eudora Welty. Following the successful production of numerous travel guidebooks, the concept for America Eats provided a means for capturing the distinct regional and cultural uniqueness of food and how it was prepared, served, and eaten in an America on the cusp of immense change. America’s culinary differences were destined to be homogenized through the diverse means that food production would soon become so heavily industrialized and globalized.

If you’re one of the many readers eagerly devouring information on real food, whole foods, traditional foods, or even paleolithic foods, in what seems like a mass revolution against modern food (in which I’m still trying to figure out what works best for my lifestyle), you’ll find much to inform and inspire you in Kurlansky’s book.  Some will reminisce; others will find a lot of eye-opening and useful knowledge about the way we once were; all we be entertained.

Check the WRL catalog for The Food of a Younger Land

I read the title in the e-book version.

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Gran Cocina Latina: the Food of Latin America, by Maricel E. Presilla

Gran Cocina Latina (Great Latina Kitchen) is just that — big, rich, and fun to explore.  In over 900 pages this new, award-winning cookbook by restaurateur and food historian Maricel Presilla brings together the diverse cooking traditions of Central and South America and the Spanish-speaking countries of the Caribbean.

Beautifully laid out, with a balance of recipes, background and equipment notes, and photos, cooks and armchair travelers alike will savor this comprehensive collection of recipes from a geographically and culturally “big” region.

Recipes are not arranged by country, but are grouped according to ingredient or type of food.  Chapters introduce you to the layers of flavors that make up Latin America cooking.  Here you can explore  the variety of indigenous ingredients including chilies, squashes, corn, quinoa, beans, and potatoes that dominate the cuisine.  You can also learn about the unique types of dishes that come from countries such as Argentina, Peru, Columbia, and Cuba such as empanadas, secos, tamals,  ceviche,  ollas (soups), moles, and dulce latino (sweets).

So get beyond the familiar Tex Mex tacos, refried beans, and salsa and journey through the complex flavors — but not complex cooking — of Latin America.

Check the WRL catalog for Gran Cocina Latina

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The Apple Lover’s Cookbook, by Amy Traverso

When I was growing up in northern New England, I used to try wild apples. They could be found in the countryside and even deep in the woods, still growing in orchards abandoned 50 or 100 years before. Quite a few of these apples were “spitters,” but the good ones spoiled me for any supermarket commodity apple.

Amy Traverso’s book made me remember those old orchards, which are stark evidence of the collapse of diversity in American apple growing. One hundred years ago, about 15,000 named varieties of apples were grown in North America.  Today, most of them are extinct. Apple preservationists are working to reverse this trend, and thanks to their efforts, you can now buy heirloom varieties such as Black Oxfords, Roxbury Russets, and Yellow Transparents at farmers’ markets and specialty orchards. But what to do with them when you get them home? The Apple Lover’s Cookbook has it covered.

The heart of the book is a detailed guide to 59 apple varieties, all of which are currently grown somewhere in the country. Each type of apple gets a glamorous photo along with information about its history, best uses, availability, appearance and taste (e.g., “flavors of honey and pear” or “sweet, rich and spicy, with a mild aroma of cilantro”). The usual supermarket suspects are here, but never mind them. The fun is in learning about and desiring varieties that you have never heard of, with evocative names like Westfield Seek-No-Further, Esopus Spitzenburg, or Calville Blanc D’Hiver.

The most useful and clever thing about the guide is that each variety is assigned to one of four categories based on its taste and texture: firm-tart, firm-sweet, tender-tart or tender-sweet. Most of Traverso’s recipes call for apples by category, not by name, so you can use a supermarket apple or an heirloom, as long as it’s from the right category. However, if you’re just cooking with Granny Smiths, you’re missing the point.

This is probably the place to confess that what first attracted me to this book was a photograph of a doughnut. The beautiful pictures of dishes such as Apple-Stuffed Biscuit Buns, Dutch Baby, Apple and Mustard Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, and Pork and Apple Pie with Cheddar-Sage Crust will have you searching the kitchen junk drawer for your apple corer.

If this book has a hero, it is the Maine apple historian John Bunker, profiled in one of the brief articles scattered among the recipes. The story of how he tracked down and rescued the last known branch of Marlboro apples in existence is downright inspiring. In honor of people like him, don’t buy that pretty but soulless Red Delicious the next time you visit the supermarket. Put it back down, and see if you can find a Baldwin, a Gravenstein or a Northern Spy instead.

Check the WRL catalog for The Apple Lover’s Cookbook

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Eating Royally, by Darren McGrady

I’ve always wanted to take a peek behind the proverbial royal curtain—to see what life is really like on the other side of those British royal walls. I’m talking about food of course—life in the royal kitchen— as those who know me would assume! I’m not overly concerned about the grand banquets and the pomp and circumstance; the everyday minutiae interests me much more. What do the royals choose for a late night snack? Do they really prefer mac and cheese to roasted quail with truffles, cognac and prunes? Do they ever eat fish and chips the traditional way—out of a newspaper? So many questions…

I found Eating Royally to be an interesting mix of personal memories and great recipes. Chef Darren McGrady—who was the Royal Chef to Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana, Prince William, and Prince Harry for 15 years—gives us a glimpse into the private world of the royal family, along with sharing recipes for some of their favorite dishes. He includes interesting photographs, memorabilia, personal notes, and lots of anecdotal stories about the royal household. The stories are told with lighthearted humor and warmth. Chef McGrady obviously thoroughly enjoyed working with the royal family, and there was a mutual respect between them. Unlike others, he did not write about them to profit personally— in fact he gives 100% of the profits to Princess Diana’s charity.

The book is divided into chapters covering each of the royal residences— including the royal yacht. So, the reader gets a behind the scenes peek at all the royal kitchens, and an insight into the particular culinary characteristics and challenges of each location. Most recipes are preceded by an interesting tidbit. For example, regarding Royal Tea Scones: “While the Queen insisted on them as part of her tea, I suspect she didn’t actually like scones. I say this because she never, ever, ate them. Instead, at the end of her daily tea, the Queen would take a scone and crumble it onto the floor for the corgis. It seems the dogs quite liked them.”

Eating Royally is a great way to get an insider’s glimpse of how royals really live their day-to-day lives when they are out of the  spotlight, and to taste the very same dishes that have graced the tables of Buckingham Palace, Windsor, and Balmoral.  After all, wouldn’t you like to have your very own slice of Her Majesty’s Birthday Chocolate Cake? I know I would.

Check the WRL catalog for Eating Royally

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The Colonial Williamsburg Tavern Cookbook, by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

The downtown location of our library is a short walk from Colonial Williamsburg, the famous living history museum and re-creation of 18th century American life. An entire Colonial American town has been restored and re-created, and the interpreters wear authentic dress as they go about the many tasks carried out 300 years ago, such as the blacksmith working in the smithy. Our location leads to some amusing librarian anecdotes such as seeing Thomas Jefferson with a powdered ponytail and knee breeches coming in to check his email on the public computers. We also get odd reference questions on chilly, rainy nights such as “Where is my car parked? I know I left it by the field with the cart horses.” (And with the help of a tourist map and some local knowledge, my colleague was successful with that question).

Colonial Williamsburg is a great tourist attraction and tourists must be fed, so there are many restaurants, including re-creations of three historical taverns:  Christiana Campbell’s Tavern, Chowning’s Tavern and King’s Arms Tavern. The Colonial Williamsburg Tavern Cookbook was published in 2001 by Colonial Williamsburg’s governing body, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, to share the tavern food with interested cooks who have visited the taverns or those who live far away and can’t make it to Colonial Williamsburg. It doesn’t have actual authentic recipes. As the blurb says, “no need to to run out and get some suet in which to cook your mutton over the open hearth.” Rather, they created  ”foods suggestive of the past but that suit modern appetites” that were “inspired by old recipes from eighteenth-century Virginia.” They say that to create the tavern meals and the book they researched ”Deeds and other court records, insurance policies, estate inventories, comments in diaries and letters, financial accounts, newspaper advertisements, architectural details from surviving buildings and archaeological evidence [that] shed light on the lives of the individuals who kept these taverns and the customers who frequented them.”

The first section is Appetizers and First Courses, which is standard for many cookbooks, but the introduction points out that in Colonial Virginia the hosts and guests would have sipped punch or wine before their main meal, rather than eaten appetizers. It goes on to Soups, Salads, various types of meat, and most importantly, several types of baked goods and desserts.

I tried making King’s Arms Tavern Apple Cheddar Muffins as apple and cheese was not a combination that I was familiar with, but it sounded good. The recipe said to “serve at once” and this was good advice as they were warm, soft, rich and moist— mmmmmm. I used the scrag ends of Dutch cheese from the back of the fridge which gave them an intense cheese taste. Once they had gotten a bit stale I revived them in the microwave and added butter. One of my colleagues tried cutting one in half and toasting it. She said this refreshed it nicely and “it tasted much more cheesy.”

With lots of great recipes and dozens of crisp, color photos of both the food and Colonial Williamsburg,  The Colonial Williamsburg Tavern Cookbook will be of interest to cookbook enthusiasts as well as those interested in Colonial times.

Check the WRL catalog for The Colonial Williamsburg Tavern Cookbook

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Ladies, A Plate: Traditional Home Baking, by Alexa Johnston

Who really invented the fluffy meringue dessert, the pavlova? Usually the answer depends on whether you ask an Australian or a New Zealander, each claiming it as their own.  Alexa Johnston, in Ladies, a Plate: Traditional Home Baking puts it bluntly, “Now definitely proved to be a New Zealand invention, despite persistent Australian claims.” I think this statement confirms the provenance  of this book, rather than the provenance of the dessert!  Yes, Alexa Johnston is unashamedly a New Zealander, who has written a great cookbook.

The “Plate” of the title is the Kiwi way of saying that the event will be a potluck, perhaps the equivalent of the Southern phrase, “bring a covered dish.”  From my childhood I remember girls being asked to “bring a plate” and boys being asked to “bring a bottle” thus neatly covering both food and drink.

Alexa Johnston subtitled her book “Traditional” because she has researched the  sources for each recipe from old friends and in community and charity cookbooks like 450 Favourite Recipes from St Paul’s Presbyterian Church, Pahiatua, 1946 (Louise Cake, page 50).  I have been to Pahiatua on numerous occasions as it is down the road from where my grandmother used to live.  It is an interesting small town with the distinction (especially for small children) of having a playground with a World War II era plane with a slide coming out of it.  A cookbook from Pahiatua in 1946 is certainly an obscure source for American readers and cooks, but the Louise Cake is well worth knowing about as my colleagues can attest when I shared this at the staff meeting.

The book covers many other standards from down-under like ANZAC Biscuits (which I made for ANZAC day in April), cheese scones, and custard squares (vanilla slices in Australia).  Sadly, I did discover that if you shove the Chocolate Caramel Slice into the fridge at an odd angle, then the caramel will run out and be lost (and make a dreadful mess of the fridge!).

The measurements may be a little confusing for American cooks as Alexa Johnston lists two sets. She says the first set is how it was written in the original recipe and the second is metric. Many of the metric measurements are given as weights rather than the cup measurements Americans are used to, so cooks may have to do some conversion first.

The book is filled with gorgeous photographs of each treat, some of which are presented on unique and meaningful decorations such as Mrs. Marion Benton’s recipe for Afghans presented on a crochet-edged cloth that she made herself.

My own copy of Ladies, a Plate: Traditional Home Baking is already working up stains and grease spots, a sure sign of a well-used cookbook in my house, so I am glad my sister bought it for me on a trip to New Zealand.  Thank you, Elsa!

Check the WRL catalog for Ladies, A Plate

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Make the Bread, Buy the Butter, by Jennifer Reese

I like making food from scratch and I have been cooking almost all of my family’s meals from scratch for 20 years. My favorite cookbooks are splattered and grease stained–my favorite chocolate cookbook with a recipe for Black Forest Cake, even more than most. The finished cake is wonderful, but I am not sure if I am really willing to go to all the effort of melting, mixing and measuring for the finished product or the gustatory pleasures of licking out the bowl!

Cookbooks are perennially popular, and books about food (with or without recipes) are experiencing a boom. I like reading about food but find some of the recent books pretentious and sanctimonious.  Make the Bread, Buy the Butter: What You Should and Shouldn’t Cook from Scratch–Over 120 Recipes for the Best Homemade Foods doesn’t take itself too seriously and has some great recipes. I don’t agree with all of Jennifer Reese’s pronouncements on which items should be made and which should be bought (buy rice pudding?) but I can’t go past any book that says: ”Here in Northern California, where you can’t throw a Birkenstock without hitting an artisanal bakery, it’s still hard to find finicky butter-based pastries like the croissant. “

I decided to rise to the challenge of croissants since I currently bake most of our own bread (with the help of a bread maker) and made croissants from scratch many years ago. I had some difficulties with milk that was too hot for the yeast and an oven that was too hot for the bottoms of the croissants on the lower tray but the five petits pains au chocolat that I made were just right. As Jennifer Reese says, it was an “unbelievable hassle” but the results were worth it.

Since I firmly believe that chocolate cookies should be in a food group of their own, another recipe I found intriguing was for homemade Oreos. Growing up in another country, I came to Oreos as an adult. I find them tasty in small doses, but somehow artificial tasting. Homemade has to be better, right? I think my first attempt at Homemade Oreos was a resounding success. My kids and work colleagues pointed out that I didn’t make Oreos because “real” Oreos always come in a packet. But everyone, including me, thought my creation of a rich crumbly, deep chocolate cookie with a creamy filling was much better than anything “real.”

This book is great for people who are thinking of making more of their own food from scratch and need recipes. It is also full of entertaining tidbits that started out in Jennifer Reese’s blog, The Tipsy Baker. I enjoy her lack of pretentiousness. In one story she talks about one of her dearest family memories consisting of blobbing in front of the TV to watch The Lord of the Rings on DVD while eating Kentucky Fried Chicken. She compares it to an occasion when she proudly and successfully made delicious and healthy homemade fried chicken from scratch, imaging a Waltons-like family gathering, including “corn likker,”  only to see everyone eat and disappear to their own affairs like the meal was nothing special. The take-away message from this amusing book is make the bread from scratch when you can because it is cheaper, tastier and healthier, but don’t beat yourself up for needing to run into the supermarket to grab Wonder Bread.

Check the WRL catalog for Make the Bread, Buy the Butter.

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Irish Cookbooks at WRL

This week’s reviews are from our Outreach Services Division, and we start off with one from Janet.

Mention to someone who has been to Ireland that you are planning a first trip and you will hear raves about the natural beauty of the Emerald Isle and the friendliness of its people.  Everyone has a favorite spot – Aran Islands, Cliffs of Moher, Connemara, the Dingle Peninsula and the Ring of Kerry – and a favorite pub.  All paint a romantic picture of the verdant green landscape, the dramatic ocean views, and the ancient stone walls and ruins.  Advice is plentiful – “bring a rain coat and boots,” “pack layers,” “watch out for the sheep as you drive the narrow lanes,” and “spend less time driving and more time in a pub.”  When I ask about Irish food I most often get the same response, “don’t expect much other than meat, potatoes, and beer.”  Somehow I do expect more and so I checked out the library’s cookbook collection to bone-up on the flavors and delicacies that make up Irish cuisine.

Check out Country Cooking of Ireland, The Irish Pub Cookbook, and Irish Country House Cooking. Together they showcase the very best of contemporary Irish cuisine.  All provide gorgeous photos of the island’s rural and rugged landscape, recipes from some of the most celebrated pubs and manor houses in Ireland, and with a range of recipes that home cooks will find easy to follow.

There is plenty happening in the kitchens of modern Irish chefs well beyond the traditional lamb stew and colcannon.  Although the cuisine may still be a wee bit tough for a vegan, these new cookbooks profile foods that make use of an array of the finest artisan cheeses, fresh and smoked fish and seafood,  herbs and  hearty grains.

To explore Ireland’s food borrow a cookbook, get cooking, or hop on a plane for Dublin.

Check the WRL catalog for The Country Cooking of Ireland

Check the WRL catalog for The Irish Pub Cookbook

Check the WRL catalog for Irish Country House Cooking

 

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The Essential New York Times Cookbook, by Amanda Hesser

How can this be? The library’s copy of The Essential New York Times Cookbook is sitting on the shelf. Cooks of Williamsburg, you are seriously missing out.

Here are recipes that readers have clipped from the pages of The New York Times and treasured for decades. Amanda Hesser sifted through 150 years’ worth of food columns from the newspaper, and polled thousands of readers to compile a collection of about 1400 keepers. She looked for recipes that represented their era or that inaugurated a food fad, such as David Eyre’s Pancake or Jim Lahey’s No-Knead Bread. There are classic dishes (even one for tuna salad) and far out dishes (Eggs Suffragette). Above all, the recipes are interesting, varied, and thoroughly tested. Follow them and you will make wonderful food.

Not in the mood to cook? The book makes lively bedside reading. Hesser introduces most recipes with witty commentary about the history of the dish—or about the quirks of the food writer who originally published the recipe. Each chapter opens with a timeline tracing food fashions through the decades. The vegetable timeline includes

1880s—fried eggplant is a staple
1940s—the decade of spinach
1950s—nothing good is happening in veggie-land
2008—the year of the Brussels sprout

So far, I have made Amazing Overnight Waffles (they’re not kidding), Madame Laracine’s Gratin Dauphinois (the apotheosis of the potato), Boeuf Bourgignon I (incroyable), and Puree of Peas and Watercress (the greenest dish you will ever eat, and one of the most delicious).

So why is our copy languishing on the shelf? Could it be the lack of color photographs? Gorgeous pictures are de rigeur in today’s bestselling cookbooks. They’re not limited to photos of a finished dish—you’re just as apt to see a full-page glamor shot of a radish. I’m as susceptible to food porn as the next person, but after all, it’s just fluff. On sheer substance, Hesser’s book beats everything else out there—hands down.

Check the WRL catalog for The Essential New York Times Cookbook

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The Indian Slow Cooker, by Anupy Singla

Last night I made a lamb biryani that was as good as anything I’ve ever tasted in an Indian restaurant.

Do you know how awesome that is?

And! Not only did I make the best lamb biryani ever, I made it yesterday to serve to a guest without testing it beforehand. I was completely confident that it would turn out well, because the cookbook I’ve been using has worked like magic every time I’ve consulted it—which is to say, just about daily since Christmas, when Santa left it under the tree.

Anupy Singla has compiled fifty slow-cooker recipes for Indian food. Each recipe has directions for cooking in a three-and-half quart and a five-quart cooker. (I’ve been using my four- and six-quart cookers and everything’s been fine.) A few of the recipes call for the cook to do a bit of work on the stovetop first. (I haven’t tried those yet. When I get in front of a stove, the end result usually involves something charred and inedible, and also emergency rescue personnel.) Mostly, however, the recipes are super easy: you take the ingredients, dump them in the slow cooker, and mosey on back a few hours later to discover that dinner has cooked itself when you weren’t looking.

Many of the dishes will be familiar from menus at Indian restaurants. I’ve had luck with the chicken tikka masala, and I’ve made the palak paneer several times (that’s the spinach dish with the little cheese cubes) and I had to force myself to stop making the rice pudding quite so often. And then there are the lentils! There is a whole chapter for making lentil dishes and lentil soups.

For the most part, the spices are easy to come by: cumin, turmeric, garlic, ginger, peppers, and cilantro are the commonest ingredients in the book. Noticeably absent from the ingredients lists are fats and oils. Singla calls for them when necessary, but by and large the flavors in the dishes come from healthy spices and vegetables and legumes. The book is illustrated with lovely color photos and, as far as I’m concerned, I’ll never need to eat in an Indian restaurant again.

Check the WRL catalog for The Indian Slow Cooker

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The List: Cooking Up Something Good

I enjoy cooking, especially in the summer when there are plenty of fresh vegetables, fruits,  and herbs in the garden, only a short walk from the kitchen door. I also enjoy looking through cookbooks to get some new ideas on how to use different ingredients. Here are some of my favorite collections of recipes and ideas for interesting dishes.

• Sundays at the Moosewood Restaurant
• The Complete Book of Soups and Stews
• Laurel’s Kitchen Bread Book
• The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook
• The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking
• Moosewood Restaurant New Classics
• The Joy of Cooking
• The Taste of Country Cooking
• Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking
  

More favorites? Add them in the comments.

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Make It Fast, Cook It Slow, by Stephanie O’Dea

Parents, colleagues, and friends have tried to teach me to cook. Websites and youtube videos have tried to teach me to cook. Cookbooks written for five-year-olds have tried to teach me to cook.

All have failed. The best I could achieve was a scrambled egg, but even that was iffy because there were always all these brown crunchy parts sticking to the pan when I was done.

Now even a kitchen novice like me should have been able to use a slow cooker, but I always encountered the same frustrations:

1. The recipe called for a different sized slow cooker than what I owned.
2. The recipe called for you to cook the food before you put it in the pot. I’m sorry, but the whole entire point of slow cookers is that you don’t have to cook at all.

Then along comes Stephanie O’Dea, who in 2008 documented her daily use of the slow cooker on her blog, A Year of Slow Cooking. The blog morphed into a cookbook so amazing that I actually went to the store and paid money for it. Unlike other slow cooker cookbooks, Make It Fast, Cook It Slow explains how to adapt the recipe if you have a different-sized cooker, and it rarely tells you to cook first. In the few recipes where it’s absolutely necessary to cook beforehand, O’Dea apologizes for making you do the extra work.

Is it accurate to say that I can cook now? No. It is accurate to say that I can put a bunch of stuff in a pot, play video games for eight hours, and come back to discover that the food has magically cooked itself.

As you’d expect, there are plenty of soups and stews (I made a successful gumbo this weekend), but there are also beverages (my chai beats anything I’ve ever had in a coffee shop), side dishes (the cabbage and potatoes were yummy), main dishes (the enchilada casserole was also yummy), and desserts, like crème brûlée.

That’s correct: I made crème brûlée in a slow cooker. And yogurt, did I mention that? I make it every weekend now, for less money and fewer calories than the grocery store could give me. Take a glance at O’Dea’s original blog, then get a copy of the book for the updated and perfected versions of the recipes.

Check the WRL catalog for Make It Fast, Cook It Slow

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The Taste of Country Cooking, by Edna Lewis

This is both a memoir and one of the most beautiful cookbooks ever written. Lewis, who died in 2006, was a great black cook who inspired a generation of southern chefs. She grew up Freetown, Virginia, a settlement established by emancipated slaves after the Civil War. Freetown’s half-dozen families lived by subsistence farming. They slaughtered hogs for country hams, maintained large kitchen gardens, and gathered wild fruits and herbs from the surrounding country. The chapters follow the labors and seasonal celebrations of the farming year. Recipes are arranged in typical menus: a picnic for race week, a wheat-threshing day dinner, and the greatest feast of the year for these grandchildren of slaves: Emancipation Day.

Lewis writes with a quiet dignity, sometimes tinged with wistfulness that nothing tastes as good as it used to. The simple, elegant recipes include definitive versions of southern standards such as spoon bread, coconut layer cake, biscuits, and fried chicken, as well as less common fare such as persimmon pudding, watermelon rind pickles, and hickory nut cookies. Originally published in 1976; Knopf released a nice 30th anniversary edition last year. 2006, 641.5975 LEW, 268 pp.

Check the WRL catalog

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