These are the books I talked about on Fox 6 this month. Alabama made headlines all over the world when the tornados ravaged our state. Seeing neighbor still helping neighbor and watching brave people throughout the Southeast continue to pick up the pieces of their lives makes us feel pretty proud to be Americans and especially proud to be Southerners. Let’s give our South a shout out with these books:
Southern Crossings (University of Georgia Press)
by David Zurick
Geography and photography meet in 80 stunningly beautiful black and white photographs that illustrate an outsider’s look at the South. In 1996, David Zurick began a decades-long series of journeys throughout the region to see for himself what constitutes “the South.” He lived between the North and the South, at the edge of the Cumberland Plateau in Kentucky, and he says he was curious as to why the South is seen by outsiders as a region “apart from the rest of America” and by insiders as a place that is “losing its identity.” He didn’t find a South, but rather, he captured our region’s “southernness.” There are many Souths, he found—not just the geographically defined Upland and Lowland South or the culturally defined Old and New South. It’s more complicated than just rural and urban areas or black and white or rich and poor. From the desolate dunes of St. George Island in Florida to wrought iron balconies in New Orleans to a hammock on a front porch in Beaufort, South Carolina, Zurick’s photos and accompanying vignettes illustrate a South all of us will recognize.
Southern Living Off the Eaten Path (Oxmoor House)
by Morgan Murphy
Road trip, anyone? We know just where to eat! A new foodie travel guide titled Southern Living Off the Eaten Path features some great Southern eateries and dives along with 150 recipes that made them famous.
Lt. Commander Morgan Murphy (he served in Afghanistan) hit the road in his 1959 Cadillac Eldorado and logged 15,000 miles last summer in search of the best roadside culinary wonders—his trips serving as research for Off the Eaten Path.
Murphy touches upon Southern history, funny stories and travel adventures, while sharing the origins of 75 well-loved restaurants (including Pie Lab in Greensboro and Rosie’s Cantina in Huntsville). He also shares favorite recipes from their coveted menus, too: barbecue pork quesadillas from Dreamland BBQ in Tuscaloosa; broiled shrimp from Doe’s Eat Place in Greenville, Mississippi; the crawfish pie at Stinky’s Fish Camp in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida; the pork chop sandwich from Snappy Lunch in Mount Airy, North Carolina; and hash brown casserole (it’s not just for breakfast anymore!) from Loveless Café and Motel just outside of Nashville.
Readers also will find:
- fun facts, GPS coordinates and “don’t miss” tips about each trademark recipe;
- reviews of “rubberneck wonders”—those kitschy roadside attractions worthy of gawking (such as the legendary Cadillac Ranch in Texas);
- food finds and purveyors along the route who offer the very best local products—from honey and BBQ sauce to cornbread dressing and spices; and
- annual food festivals to hit up during your travels.
There’s even a foreword by beloved Southern novelist Fannie Flagg of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café.
A Southerly Course (Clarkson Potter)
by Martha Hall Foose, photographs by Chris Granger
Cooks with a literary liking will hear traces of Eudora Welty and Willy Morris in Martha Foose’s writing style. Her friend-in-the-kitchen voice will walk you through preparing fiercely protected traditional Delta recipes like Skillet Fried Corn and Sweet Pickle Braised Pork Shoulder. Other recipes like Pimento Cheese Soup with Grilled Bread offer fun, fresh takes on classic Southern dishes. Recipes like Peanut Chicken and Sweet and Sour Salsify reflect the influence other cultures have on Southern cooking. The James Beard Award-winning author of Screen Doors & Sweet Tea says she spent two years “touring through classic and modern kitchens, taking back-road rambles and doing some in-depth exploration of venerated Southern ingredients.” Her book shows “how we feed ourselves, see ourselves and portray ourselves.” Foose is from Mississippi, and she was the food stylist for the movie The Help, based on the bestselling novel by Kathryn Stockett.
Sue Ellen’s Girl Ain’t Fat, She Just Weighs Heavy (Berkley)
by Shellie Rushing Tomlinson
The Belle of All Things Southern dishes on men, money and not losing your midlife mind in this hilarious guide to Southern life. There are recipes here (artichoke casserole, steak potpie) and an Official Guide to Speaking All Things Southern (get-go, prepositional phrase: the onset, when something is begun). Her readers also offer sage advice about everything from hairstyles to handling your man (the secret is “Bubba Whispering”). This little book is part therapy, part education and all funny. Tomlinson is the author of the bestselling Suck Your Stomach In and Put Some Color On!, and she’s the host of All Things Southern.
Recent Comments