A Gracious Plenty (G. P. Putnam Sons, 1999, ISBN:0-399-14534-6)

     A unique celebration of the food and culinary traditions of the American South.

     From Fried Chicken, Mint Julep, and Pecan Tassies to Crawfish Jambalaya, Leather Britches Beans, and Traditional Scripture Cake, the more than four hundred classic recipes in this remarkable collection reveal influences as diverse as the geographical and social conditions that have defined the South.  Drawn primarily from regional and community cookbooks-those simple volumes treasured by millions of home cooks-these recipes are only one layer in a richly textured work.

     The evocative and illuminating essays that introduce each selection-whether they ruminate on Southern hospitality as high art or praise potlikker, contemplate the penchant for hot bread or explore the Southern kitchen in black and white-provide a glimpse into the distinctive Southern foodways.

     But beneath the food and the history, the heart of A Gracious Plenty is found in the meal memories woven throughout the book.  Southerners from all walks of life share their remembrances-of eating dinner on the grounds, of snacking on fruitcake, of cranking an old biscuit break.  Among the contributors, B. B. King recalls the Sunday feast with his sharecropping family; Roy Blount, Jr., talks of his mother's giblet and red-eye gravies; John Egerton extols the virtues of smokehouse ham; Edna Lewis praises dandelions and poke sallet; and Shelby Foote tells of buying hot tamales from a street vendor.  These, and dozens of other meal memories, are testaments to the importance of family, community and food in the south.

     The recipes and stories are complimented by vintage photographs, historic "recipes," an array of menus, and a glossary of Southern culinary terms that make this volume as engaging as is it practical.