But Mama Always Put Vodka In Her Sangria

In her new book, But Mama Always Put Vodka in Her Sangria!, Julia Reed, a master of the art of eating, drinking, and making merry, takes the reader on culinary adventures in places as far flung as Kabul, Afghanistan and as close to home as her native Mississippi Delta and Florida's Gulf Coast. Along the way, Reed discovers the perfect Pimm's Royale at the Paris Ritz, devours delicious chuletons in Madrid, and picks up tips from accomplished hostesses ranging from Pat Buckley to Pearl Bailey and, of course, her own mother. Reed writes about the bounty—and the burden—of a Southern garden in high summer, tosses salads in the English countryside, and shares C.Z. Guest's recipe for an especially zingy bullshot. She understands the necessity of a potent holiday punch and serves it up by the silver bowl full, but she is not immune to the slightly less refined charms of a blender full of frozen peach daiquiris or a garbage can full of Yucca Flats. And then there are the parties: shindigs ranging from sultry summer suppers and raucous dinners at home to a Plymouth-like Thanksgiving feast and an upscale St. Patrick's Day celebration. This delightful collection of essays by Julia Reed, a master storyteller with an inimitable voice and a limitless capacity for fun, will show you how to entertain guests with style, have a good time yourself and always have that perfect pitcher of sangria ready at a moment's notice.

Southern humorist Julia Reed celebrates Southern food, Southern women, and the Southern penchant for enjoying good times in this collection of her food writing. Julia Reed spends a lot of time thinking about ham biscuits. And cornbread and casseroles and the surprisingly modern ease of donning a hostess gown for one's own party. In Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns and Other Southern Specialties Julia Reed collects her thoughts on good cooking and the lessons of gracious entertaining that pass from one woman to another, and takes the reader on a lively and very personal tour of the culinary -- and social -- South. In essays on everything from pork chops to the perfect picnic Julia Reed revels in the simple good qualities that make the Southern table the best possible place to pull up a chair. She expounds on: the Southerner's relentless penchant for using gelatin why most things taste better with homemade mayonnaise the necessity of a holiday milk punch (and, possibly, a Santa hat) how best to "cook for compliments" (at least one squash casserole and Lee Bailey's barbequed veal are key). She provides recipes for some of the region's best-loved dishes (cheese straws, red velvet cake, breakfast shrimp), along with her own variations on the classics, including Fried Oysters Rockefeller Salad and Creole Crab Soup. She also elaborates on worthwhile information every hostess would do well to learn: the icebreaking qualities of a Ramos gin fizz and a hot crabmeat canapé, for example; the "wow factor" intrinsic in a platter of devilled eggs or a giant silver punchbowl filled with scoops of homemade ice cream. There is guidance on everything from the best possible way to "eat" your luck on New Year's Day to composing a menu in honor of someone you love. Grace and hilarity under gastronomic pressure suffuse these essays, along with remembrances of her gastronomic heroes including Richard Olney, Mary Cantwell, and M.F.K. Fisher. Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns and Other Southern Specialties is another great book about the South from Julia Reed, a writer who makes her experiences in—and out of—the kitchen a joy to read.

Academy Award–winning actress, producer, and entrepreneur Reese Witherspoon invites you into her world, where she infuses the southern style, parties, and traditions she loves with contemporary flair and charm. Reese Witherspoon’s grandmother Dorothea always said that a combination of beauty and strength made southern women “whiskey in a teacup.” We may be delicate and ornamental on the outside, she said, but inside we’re strong and fiery. Reese’s southern heritage informs her whole life, and she loves sharing the joys of southern living with practically everyone she meets. She takes the South wherever she goes with bluegrass, big holiday parties, and plenty of Dorothea’s fried chicken. It’s reflected in how she entertains, decorates her home, and makes holidays special for her kids—not to mention how she talks, dances, and does her hair (in these pages, you will learn Reese’s fail-proof, only slightly insane hot-roller technique). Reese loves sharing Dorothea’s most delicious recipes as well as her favorite southern traditions, from midnight barn parties to backyard bridal showers, magical Christmas mornings to rollicking honky-tonks. It’s easy to bring a little bit of Reese’s world into your home, no matter where you live. After all, there’s a southern side to every place in the world, right?

A recipe collection celebrating the culinary traditions of the American South, featuring appetizers and beverages from the menu of Tupelo Honey restaurant. The South loves to drink; this is no revelation. But understanding the rich traditions behind why southerners drink, what they drink, and when they drink is critical to learning the art and fashion of southern imbibing. They certainly know their spirits, artisanal distilleries, and prolific craft breweries, and at Tupelo Honey Cafe and Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar’s fifteen locations, the staff is committed to sourcing the best ingredients to make some of the tastiest cocktails and small plates south of the Mason Dixon Line. In Tupelo Honey’s latest cookbook, seventy unique cocktail and thirty delicious small plate recipes are organized around popular themes, such as Friendly Competition, The Roots of Southern Music, Southern Festivals, Southern Drinking Celebrations, Iconic Southern Food and Drink, and Simple, Everyday Life. Some of the playful cocktail names in this book may give you pause, but once you try them, your taste buds will smile. Among the made-from-scratch cocktails and small plates perfect for two or twenty are Violet Beaureguard, Tar Heel Gin Fiz, Rubbin' is Racin' Peach Moonshine-Sweet Tea, Johnny Cakes with BBQ Pulled Pork and Corn-Jalapeño Slaw, Goat Cheese Deviled Eggs with Country Ham Prosciutto, and Don't Judge My Okra Obsession.

An award-winning food writer shares recipes for authentic Kentucky meals while profiling some of the state’s culinary staples and producers. True Kentucky cuisine tastes best at a full table. Friends and family share stories while passing delectables like roast chicken, bacon-kissed wilted salad and fresh butter for the spoon bread. Classic Kentucky Meals puts the state on the plate, highlighting the commonwealth of flavors from Mercer County meadows, a treasured Princeton smokehouse, Casey County’s sorghum fields, and Berea’s culinary traditions. Kentuckians cherish local cheese makers’ fine aged cheddars and sixth-generation millers’ crunchy cornmeals, and savor tender green bean varieties their great-great-grandparents would recognize and applaud. “A guided tutorial through five great menus of Kentucky flavors, with options for dressing up standards like corn bread and baked beans.” —Lexington Herald

No party, picnic, or tailgate is complete without the southern favorite that is taking the north by storm--pimento cheese. Now, the creator of popular blog The Runaway Spoon has written the definitive work on the joys of making and cooking with pimento cheese--and not just the kind you spread on crackers. You'll find recipes for spicing up the basic, no-frills version, but also recipes that incorporate those brilliant flavors into dishes for every time of day. With over 50 recipes and full color photographs throughout you can start with a breakfast of Pimento Cheese Popovers stuffed with scrambled eggs, or plan a nice brunch served with Pimento Cheese Waffles with Pimento Syrup and Bacon. Invite the neighbors over for Pimento Shrimp and Cheddar Grits or Cheddar Gnudi with Pimento Romesco. And serve it all with some Pimento Cheese Green Beans on the side. Authoritative, creative, and amusing, and peppered with anecdotes and lots of useful hints and tips, Pimento Cheese explores the myriad ways to prepare this humble--and essential--Southern staple.

With contributions by: Walter Biggins, Patti Carr Black, Lottie Brent Boggan, Donald H. Butts, Bob Carskadon, Rebecca Lauck Cleary, David Creel, Sylvia Nettles Dickson, Pat Flynn, Chris Gilmer, Peggy Gilmer-Piasecki, Carolyn Haines, Ann Tyrone Hebert, C. C. Henley, Alice Jackson, Donald M. Kartiganer, Janice Marie Kraft, Francis X. Kuhn, Bill Luckett, Johnnie Mae Maberry, Debbie Campbell Matthews, Charline R. McCord, Jo McDivitt, Cheri Thornton McHugh, Thomas McIntyre, Margaret McMullan, Willie Morris, Julia Reed, Ronnie Riggs, Sid Salter, David Sheffield, Mary Sue Slagle, Seetha Srinivasan, Brenda Trigg, Judy H. Tucker, Cynthia Walker, Lawrence "Larry" Wells, Jacqueline Freeman Wheelock, Malcolm White, Diane Williams, and Richard Wiman A Year in Mississippi presents a collection of forty essays, ten per season, celebrating significant events and traditions throughout the state. Writers showcase the background, history, and emotions of these events and traditions with special meaning. Each event shines in the spotlight, observed not only to ascertain its impact, but also to discover why it succeeds, how it contributes to and shapes a unique culture, and how it functions to bind people together. Well-known contributors and essays of special interest in the collection include Willie Morris's "The Glory of the Game," Julia Reed's "Green Day," Lawrence "Larry" Wells's "Always on My Mind--A Blues and Civil Rights Tour of the Mississippi Delta," Donald M. Kartiganer's "Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha 1974-2016," Margaret McMullan's "Christmas in the Pass," Sid Salter's "The Neshoba County Fair: Porches, Politicians, and Pie," Patti Carr Black's "Whiskey Christmases," Carolyn Haines's "Camp Meeting," David Sheffield's "The Blessing of the Fleet," and Seetha Srinivasan's "Diwali: Hindu Festival of Lights."

Discover the diverse food and culinary traditions from the ten states that border America’s most important river--and the heart of American cuisine--with 200 contemporary recipes for 30 meals and celebrations, and more than 150 stunning photographs. Starting at the river’s source in Minnesota, renowned chef/restaurateur Regina Charboneau introduces readers to a Native American wild rice harvest dinner, a Scandinavian summer’s end crayfish party, and a Hmong Southeast Asian New Year’s Eve buffet. Next the book moves to the river’s middle region, from Hannibal to New Madrid, featuring a dinner to honor the man most associated with the Mississippi--Mark Twain. Recipes are supplied for imaginative menus for such occasions as a St. Louis Italian spread featuring the city’s famous toasted ravioli, a farmer’s market lunch, and an Arkansas farm supper influenced by the vast farmlands on both sides of the Mississippi. The lower region, from Beale Street to the Bayous of the Gulf of Mexico, gives an insight into the author’s river roots in Natchez. Included are biscuits, shrimp, smoked tomatoes over creamy grits, a New Orleans-style Reveillon dinner, and a blessing of the fleet dinner inspired by the Vietnamese fisherman who shrimp at the mouth of the river. Scattered throughout are intriguing sidebars on such topics as how the paddlewheel steamboat came to ply the waters of the Mississippi, the traditional canoe method of harvesting Minnesota wild rice, and the 3,000 mile River Road lining the waterway. Throughout are stunning photographs of local scenery, dishes, and ingredients taken by renowned photographer Ben Fink on the magnificent American Queen riverboat and at farms, historic homes, and towns along the length of the river.