Edna Lewis

A stunning 50th anniversary edition of one of the most beloved cookbooks of all time, by "the empress of Southern cooking" (The New Yorker), beautifully repackaged and redesigned, with a new foreword by Toni Tipton-Martin With the publication of The Taste of Country Cooking, Edna Lewis proclaimed the food of the American South as one of the world's great cuisines. From Baked Virginia Ham and Corn Muffins to Oyster Stew and Lemon Meringue Pie, Miss Lewis (as she was almost universally known) extolled the vir­tues of the good food of her childhood, spent in a Virginia farming community founded by her grandfather and his friends after emancipation. A celebration of eating locally--decades before "farm to table" became common parlance--the book catalogs the joys of cooking with the seasons: the field greens and salads of spring, pan-fried chicken and crushed peaches in summer, baked ham and sweet potatoes for fall, and hearty soups and stews during the cold winter months. An affirmation of a distinctly American way of eating, half a century after its publica­tion, it remains the definitive book on Southern cooking.

Decades before cornbread, shrimp and grits, and peach cobbler were mainstays on menus everywhere, Edna Lewis--"the first lady of southern cooking" (NPR)--was pioneering the celebration of seasonal food as a distinctly American cuisine. In this James Beard Foundation Cookbook Hall of Fame-inducted cookbook, Miss Lewis (as she was almost universally known) shares the recipes of her childhood, spent in a Virginia farming community founded by her grandfather and his friends after emancipation, as well as those that made her one of the most revered American chefs of all time. Interspersed throughout are personal anecdotes, cooking insights, notes on important Southern ingredients, and personally developed techniques for maximizing flavor. Across six charmingly illustrated chapters--From the Gardens and Orchards; From the Farmyard; From the Lakes, Steams, and Oceans; For the Cupboard; From the Bread Oven and Griddle; and The Taste of Old-fashioned Desserts--encompassing almost 200 recipes, Miss Lewis captures the spirit of the South. From Whipped Cornmeal with Okra; Pan-Braised Spareribs; and Benne Seed Biscuits to Thirteen-Bean Soup; Pumpkin with Saut ed Onions and Herbs; a Salad of Whole Tomatoes Garnished with Green Beans and Scallions; and Raspberry Pie Garnished with Whipped Cream, In Pursuit of Flavor is a modern classic and a timeless compendium of Southern cooking at its very best.

EdnaLewis was recently honored with the issuance of a postal stamp by the US PostOffice. She is renowned as one of the greatest American chefs and as an African-Americanwoman who almost single handedly revived a forgotten world of refined Southerncooking. Anothercelebrated American chef, James Beard, remarked: Edna Lewis makes me want togo right into the kitchen and start cooking." Lewis won many industry awardsand was often referred to as the GrandeDame of Southern Cooking" and the South's answer to Julia Child." Lewis(1916-2006) also had a remarkable life story. She was born and grew up in ruralVirginia in an area called Freetown. She learned to cook from an extendedfamily that included grandparents who had been enslaved. The Edna Lewis Cookbook, Lewis's first book, published in 1972, contains over 100 recipes, arranged in menu form andorganized according to the season of the year: Spring, Summer, Autumn, andChristmas. With its focus mostly although not exclusively on Southern food, itbegan the revival of true Southern cooking. Lewis went on to publish three more books: The Taste of Country Cooking (1976), In Pursuit of Flavor (1988), and The Gift of Southern Cooking,co-authored with Scott Peacock (2003). Her menus and recipes were featured in a variety ofpublications, including the New YorkTimes, the New York Times Magazine,the Washington Post, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Cook's, House & Garden, and Redbook, among others. This edition of The Edna Lewis Cookbook marks the 100th Anniversary of MissLewis's birth. Evangeline Petersonstudied with Edna Lewis and assisted her in compiling The Edna LewisCookbook. Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE

Edna Lewis — author of the American classic The Taste of Country Cooking — and Alabama-born chef Scott Peacock join forces in this remarkable collection of 225 recipes and reflections on Southern food. What makes The Gift of Southern Cooking unique is that it represents the blending of different styles of Southern cooking.