A Book to Please Every Palate

For the month of July, we’re shining the spotlight on all of our great foodways and cookbook titles here at UNC Press. We’re very excited about our forthcoming fall lineup that’s peppered with delightful foodie treats. Here’s a little amuse-bouche:

Editor Stephen A. McLeod, with the help of staff members at Mount Vernon, brings us Dining with the Washingtons: Historic Recipes, Entertaining, and Hospitality from Mount Vernon, distributed for the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association (available Nov. 2011).  Filled with recipes and archival research, this book paints a picture of what it would be like to stay and dine at our first President’s plantation.  Check out the recipe for Martha Washington’s Great Cake at this blog post, and become a fan of the book on Facebook here.

The Happy Table of Eugene Walter: Southern Spirits in Food and Drink
is a potpourri of over 300 festive food and drink recipes, essays, and anecdotes compiled by Donald Goodman, manager of Walter’s estate (and co-edited by food writer Thomas Head, available Oct. 2011).  Filled with Southern flair and Walter’s unique voice and humor, The Happy Table is sure to leave readers with a smiling face and a full stomach–with sections entitled “The Cocktail, or I Feel Better Already” and “Hangover Cures,” how could it not?!

Sandra A. Gutierrez blends Southern cuisine with Latin American culinary staples in The New Southern-Latino Table: Recipes That Bring Together the Bold and Beloved Flavors of Latin America and the American South (Sept. 2011).  It features over 150 recipes that combine ingredients from both cultures in ways that will make your mouth water just from looking at the page–this is scientifically proven; in fact, I was the guinea pig.  I have three words for you: Chile. Cheese. Biscuits.  Follow Gutierrez on Twitter here, and become a fan of The New Southern-Latino Table on Facebook here.

Available now is Turning the Tables: Restaurants and the Rise of the American Middle Class, 1880-1920.  Author Andrew P. Haley looks at the ways in which the American restaurant shaped the American middle class at the turn of the century.  He uses archival research from newspaper articles, menus, and culinary magazines to piece together the differences between and evolution from the French-menu restaurants that served the upper class to the restaurants that helped established the middle class in American culture.  Check out a blog post here where Haley shares a recipe for his mother’s hummus–in which he used to dip Bugles.

Also currently available is Sheri Castle’s The New Southern Garden Cookbook: Enjoying the Best from Homegrown Gardens, Farmers’ Markets, Roadside Stands, and CSA Farm Boxes.  Castle uses fresh ingredients that encourage healthful eating and using what’s in season in your own garden (or farmers’ market or CSA box).  Follow the author on Twitter here, and check out her recipe for a tasty Roasted Roma Tart in this recent blog post.

Speaking of farmers’ markets, Diane Daniel guides us on an agritourism trip across the state in Farm Fresh North Carolina: The Go-To Guide to Great Farmers’ Markets, Farm Stands, Farms, Apple Orchards, U-Picks, Kids’ Activities, Lodging, Dining, Choose-and-Cut Christmas Trees, Vineyards and Wineries, and More.  Check out this blog post with video of Daniel’s visit to Fickle Creek Farm, one of many farms featured in the book, one of our Southern Gateways Guides.

Always a favorite is Chapel Hill’s own beloved Mildred Council, or Mama Dip.  Mama Dip’s Kitchen and Mama Dip’s Family Cookbook are available as a 2-volume set–that means over 550 recipes of hearty southern cooking from our local legend.

Finally, we can’t forget The Fruitcake Lady–you know, the one on Jay Leno’s show, who also happens to be Truman Capote’s aunt? Her name is Marie Rudisill, and you can find more types of fruitcake than you ever imagined in her collection of recipes, entitled Fruitcake: Heirloom Recipes and Memories of Truman Capote and Cousin Sook.  This past March would have been her 100th birthday–we remember her wit and wisdom with this blog post.

Are you full yet?  If not, to learn more about all these fantastic books and many more, check out the full feature on our cookbooks and foodways titles here.