Booklist Review

This lavishly illustrated guide to all things culinary offers a colorfully compelling approach for initiating novice cooks into the delights of the American southern table. Assuming little prior experience, the volume starts off with a list of necessary equipment to get a kitchen operating: pots, pans, knives, tools, appliances, equipment, and even table settings. Each item is pictured and described briefly, with careful advice on how to choose the most appropriate and utilitarian model. An inventory of common ingredients illustrates most frequently encountered foods and their seasonings. Then come directions for basic cooking methods: steaming, braising, frying, grilling, and more. Armed with the proper implements and with the requisite techniques, the starting cook can move forward confidently into the book's dozens of recipes. Although these recipes come out of the great fund of southern dishes, they comprise such a range of basics that any American may profit.--Knoblauch, Mark Copyright 2010 Booklist