June 1, 2023
Going beyond lighter versions of beignets and pimiento cheese, Charleston blogger and author McDuffie (Smoke, Roots, Mountain, Harvest, 2019) delivers innovation in the form of unlikely foodstuffs paired with traditional down-home dishes. Eggs Sardou, for instance, loses the heavy cream, a favoring lighter sauce atop spinach and artichokes: a perfect encapsulation of the rationale behind this 100-recipe collection. Swaps include leaner meats and coconut cream or buttermilk instead of heavy cream and butter. Oil, vinegar, yogurt, and fresh herbs are heavy hitters here, as are frozen vegetables and other easy-to-find grocery store substitutes. Keeping with the overall-lighter theme, directions are straightforward, and the author's color photographs clearly picture the final result. Some mouth-watering choices: hush puppy popovers, apple tea rose tarts, figs in a blanket, lace hoecakes (as a cornbread alternative), green bean casserole for mushroom lovers. And she didn't forget desserts either, like ruffled buttermilk (punch) pie.
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June 1, 2023
Based in Charleston, SC, food blogger McDuffie (Smoke, Roots, Mountain, Harvest) offers updates to Southern cooking with health and wellness in mind. Though this cooking style has a reputation for being heavy and fried, McDuffie propounds that its true roots rely on garden-fresh ingredients. In the "Southern Exchange" section, suggestions are made for swapping out traditional staples with more wholesome alternatives, such as using Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. "Fridge Door Things" follows with flavor boosters to make and keep on hand. The next 10 cleverly worded "Lights" chapters (Break Lights, snacks; Night Lights, dinner; Holiday Lights, celebrations) make up the bulk of the book. Look for exciting, reimagined Southern classics such as the recipe for three green tomatoes, a replacement for fried green tomatoes, which calls for searing sliced tomatoes in a dry skillet with no breading and adding a punch of flavor with vinegary green-tomato relish and crispy shallots. Another Southern mainstay, pulled pork, gets a vegetarian makeover in pulled BBQ spaghetti-squash sandwiches. This well-photographed volume ends with a complete index. VERDICT Give this to readers who enjoy fresh takes on cooking. Recommended for all libraries.--P.J. Gardiner
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