The Food, Folklore, and Art of Lowcountry Cooking

May 3, 2010
Even a dyed-in-the-wool Yankee will feel like a local after conquering Dabney's voluminous follow-up to his James Beard-winning Appalachian cookbook Smokehouse Ham, Spoon Bread and Scuppernong Wine. Digging deep, Dabney explores the culinary traditions and folklore of the coastal plain that runs from South Carolina into Georgia, from colonization to today. Tracing the lineage of the iconic dishes like Frogmore Stew and She Crab Soup, Dabney combines research and first-person interviews to create a rich portrait of the land and people. Quick to laud the contributions of slaves for many of the region's favorite dishes and key ingredients (like okra and peanuts), not to mention plenty of local characters, Dabney immerses culinary carpetbaggers via guided tours of cities like Savannah and Charleston, including a helpful guide to Charleston dialect ("Minuet: You and I have dined"). Though the book's scope may intimidate some-recipes and key dishes are woven into the text rather than set apart-diners who want to eat like a Low Country local will find plenty of suggestions here for crab cakes, sweet tea, pimento cheese, oyster roasts, hoppin' John, pig roasts, and fried chicken, along with plenty of sides and accompaniments.

Starred review from March 15, 2010
Dabney, author of James Beard Cookbook of the Year "Smokehouse Ham, Spoon Bread, and Scuppernong Wine", brings together all the elements that make the South Carolina and Georgia Low Country a distinctive regionthe food, history, and cultures. Those familiar with Southern food will find favorites such as grits, Hoppin' John, gumbo, and dumplings. Recipes from famous chefs, like Matt and Ted Lee's Boiled Peanuts, are also featured. A magnificent feat. Library marketing.

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