“Southern Living Home Cooking Basics” Cookbook Review and Giveaway
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Southern Living’s brand spanking new cookbook, Home Cooking Basics, is a treasure that is a must have for anyone that spends anytime at all in the kitchen. Even if you don’t cook but spend your time in the kitchen eating someone else’s cooking, this book is still a must have. You never know when you might be called to spring into action and cook a meal for yourself or someone else. This 8×10 hardcover, full color cookbook with 416 pages will guide inexperienced cooks every step of the way. Experienced cooks will delight in the simplicity of the layout and the tried and true Southern Living recipes which have become a gold standard of southern cooking.
All photos were reproduced from Southern Living Home Cooking Basics with the permission of Southern Living.
Having this cookbook in your collection is like having a Southern grandmother and a 7th grade Home Economics teacher on call and ready to cook with you or answer questions any time of the night or day.
I don’t know that I’ve ever gotten excited by a Table of Contents before but I found the layout interesting, appealing and intriguing. All that excitement before I even see the contents of the cookbook.
The chapter devoted to The Setup, offers instruction on basic cooking tools and implements needed in the way of cookware, bakeware, knives, tools, power tools, table settings and barware.
A guide to purchasing and storing food is found in the chapter called The Ingredients. Working with spices and herbs is quite often a challenge, especially for inexperienced cooks. One of the jewels of this chapter is the tutorial on spices. Information is also at hand on everything from sugar and salt to cheeses capturing fruits, vegetables, grains and nuts along the way.
Everything from mincing garlic to deveining shrimp is found in The Prep. Two full color pages are devoted to showing the difference between chop, slice, mince and julienne along with some other well-known action words found in recipes.
Methods of food preparation, including no cook, are covered in The Methods. Frying is but one method included and, of course, a recipe for Granny and Mama’s fried chicken is part of the deal.
My personal favorite cooking methods are well represented . For meat, it’s braising.
And I roast every vegetable that doesn’t run away from me.
In The Recipes, you find what you expect to find. Recipes. Lots and lots of recipes. The kind of recipes that makes Southern Living a trusted source. All the food categories are there: appetizers and beverages, breakfast and brunch, breads, sandwiches and soups, meats and poultry, fish and shellfish, side dishes, desserts and sauces and condiments.
Many of the recipes include full color photos. They all have easy to follow ingredient lists and instructions.
The dessert section has plenty of traditional Southern desserts just like your grandmother used to make. And in true Southern Living fashion, included are some desserts with just the right touch of Southern Living flair to make you look like a superstar. Take a gander at these Southern-style Caramel Apples using branches for sticks.
And if all this isn’t enough, peppered throughout are tips, secrets and Southern folklore. Here’s an example of Southern folklore:
Maque Choux is a traditional dish of southern Louisiana similar to succotash. It’s believed that the name of this dish is a Cajun French translation of the Native American name.
So, there you have it. If you’ve been searching for the origin of the name “maque choux” , the case is solved.
If you’re interested in purchasing many, many copies of this cookbook, click here.
To enter the giveaway for this piece of southern cooking treasure, leave a comment below describing the person who you think is the best cook in the world. Is it your grandmother, mother, a celebrity chef? How about yourself? Or, perhaps a childhood friend’s mother. We all know and love good cooks. Let’s celebrate them.
For additional chances to win, do any or all of the following with this post:
(1) Share on Facebook.
(2) Tweet on Twitter.
(3) Pin on Pinterest.
(4) Email to a friend.
After you share, tweet, pin and email, leave me a message and let me know.
The contest ends at midnight, Sunday, September 30. The winner will be randomly selected and announced on Monday, October 1.
Two copies of the cookbook were provided by Southern Living in exchange for the review. All comments, thoughts, ramblings, stumbles, banterings, ravings and general nonsense are strictly, only, exclusively mine.
The contest is now closed. Congratulations to Trish D. on winning!
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I think that my stylist’s mother is an awesome cook.
My Aunt Helen was the most amazing cook. She made everything from scratch. There were many homemade noodles left out to dry that never made it to be cooked! From pies and home decorated cakes to fresh fried chicken, I will never forget the many nights going to bed full and happy….just because she cared.
I would love to win and have this cookbook. My grandmother was one of the best cooks in my life. Although I loved all of her cooking, her baking was very special to me. She would make Homemade Bread (the old fashion method) and my favorite was Fig Cake Bars. I wish she were here today to know how much of an influence she was on me because I love to bake and share with my neighbors. My mother is also an excellent cook and baker–so they are the two inspirations in my life who have helped me become the cook and baker I am today. I am so Blessed.
Shared on Facebook!
My mother is a great cook, and is one of the best I know! She loved to entertain, and tried new recipes all the time. She encouraged us to have adventurous palates. As a home economics major, Mama’s food always looked as good as it tasted.
Shared on Facebook, I couldn’t figured out how to pin on pinterest, I don’t email and a don’t have twitter. Consider me anyway
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My mom and my mother-in-law are terrific cooks. I’ve been fortunate to learn a lot from both of them.
Shared on Pinterest!
What a wonderful giveaway. No chance at getting Southern Living down here but I always bought it when I lived in the states. It’s one of the best as I recall.
I think that my mother is an awesome cook.
My mom! She made the very best pies, I’m still trying to duplicate hers!
My mom is an amazing cook.
Also e-mailed your post to a friend for an extra chance to win what looks like a great Southern Living cookbook.
My dad is the best cook… Pies, hash (in cast iron) and anything with meat and potatoes!!! Don’t tell my mon!!
Looks like a wonderful addition to my library!! I have pinned it and posted to facebook!
My sister is an amazing cook… she went to school to be a pastry chef (and she is an incredible pastry chef) but, she can really do it all. I wish I was as talented as she is in the kitchen.
shared on face book and pinned to my yummy page on pintrest
I love the looks of this cookbook, Jackie.. My Grandmother took Pennsylvania Dutch cooking to a whole new level…..I’d love to have one more time at her table. I’m also emailing this to a friend.
hands down, my maternal grandmother… a consummate “Kitchen Queen” in my eyes~
(now, to share on FB!)
all my family is gone but I think my cousin Gail is the best cook – anything she cooks taste
so good- and I’ll add a friend Beverly who is always a go to cook if you need something -
her kitchen is always opened
Just can’t beat my Mama’s downhome cooking… and of course my Grandma who taught her. From the wood range on the farm to the 1955 Maytag gas range at home…. a world of great mealtime memories.
PS I also love the looks of the cook book – I pinned it, shared on FB & sent to my gd
My Granny was the best cook ever. Her home-made apple dumplings and divinity have no comparisons!
my aunt is an awesome cook
emailed my aunt about this giveaway!
My sweet Dad was an awesome cook. As the owner of a small rural café, he cooked his specialties every single day. From his spaghetti soup to his pies….everything was made from scratch. He had no formal training…but he loved to eat! He has been gone for six years, but every time I run into someone who knew him they always say…”I long for one of your Dad’s hamburgers” or “his sage dressing was the best”! Every morning early he would be in the kitchen making a huge pot of soup, preparing his gravy, mashing his potatoes and baking his pie crusts. My personal favorite of his? His creamy halibut soup! His cooking was lip-smacking delicious!
My grandmother was the most amazing cook I have ever known. She could even make can green beans seem like they were fresh from the garden and her cakes and pies were found surgery for. I miss her (and her cooking) very much!
Darn auto correct. Her cakes and pies were to die for!
Kay,
Thanks for the clarification! We don’t want people thinking your Granny’s pies and cakes caused folks to need surgery!
Shared on facebook!!
My nanny and papa were the best cooks ever!!!
Next to my granny, my sister-in-law Sue is a great cook. She makes the best lasagna. No restaurant can compare.
My mother was the best cook ever, oh such wonderful food memories I have of her.
My mother was the absolute best cook! She’s gone now and I miss her cooking every day.
I shared on Pinterest.
I am lucky to know many good cooks, and my family has a few professionals. However, when thinking about it, my paternal grandmother, who BTW, just turned 99, tops the list. There are so many things she made that the thoughts of just make my mouth water. he doesn’t cook much now, but at 99 I think she deserves a break!
Pinning, sharing on Facebook, and emailing to a couple friends – who just happen to be good cooks!
My fiance is the best cook, but he’s pleasantly surprised when I do cook for him that it’s edible. lol! But, my Grandma is the one who makes the best down-home cooking, which of course can’t be duplicated because it’s a pinch of this and a taste of that. Her pot roast is something that I crave every day! I’m hoping to win this cookbook and it will have a pot roast recipe just like Grandma’s. : )
i don’t think there is such a thing as “best” for job or role it’s just to limiting. yes there are good cooks and they are in all different categories but no “best”. sorry that is just the way i think about it.
My mother was the best cook in the world to my sister and me. We loved everything she cooked, and so did my dad. She worked full-time as an elementary teacher and became a single parent to us girls when my dad died suddenly of a heart attack at age 49. She died twenty-five years ago after battling pancreatic cancer for seven months. We were all so shocked at the diagnosis that we didn’t even think about having her write down recipes for us or much of anything else except the bad news that took over our lives. She never thought she was a good cook, but she has two daughters who beg to differ. We always try to make everything we cook taste the way her food did. That to me is one of the greatest compliments we can pay to our mom.
My grandma was my mentor for cooking. She made the best homemade noodles & pies. She could also make wonderful homemade pecan & cinnamon rolls from scratch. She taught me most everything I know about cooking & instilled a love of cooking/baking in me. I collect recipe books & read them for pleasure!
my mom she taught me everything i know
I think my gramma was the best cook ! She taught me a lot about baking, which I love to this day. I miss her, think of her daily, especially when making something she taught me how to make.
My mother, of course!
Thanks, Marsh!
The best cook in the world? wow, that’s a tough one. I think Julia Child for me…she was the epitome of a true cook who had the talent of a true chef less the ego !
Oh my Grandma was the best cook!!!
Well since my granny and mother have now passed, I will have to say it’s me.
Tweeted!
Shared on Facebook!
Emailed to my mother in law!
My Aunt was the best cook. All foods were cooked with fresh vegatables, fresh garden grown spices . Meat & chicken and fish was purchased fresh daily and NEVER frozen.
My grandma was great, and my mom now is a great cook, too.
My mother was the best cook in the world to me
Love me some church potluck cooking. All those ladies are the best!!
My family is/was full of great cooks. I guess most everyone loves their mom’s cooking the best and so do I. I was also lucky enough to have married a fabulous cook!
No one can cook like my mother or my sister. My mum has all the classics down perfectly and never uses recipes. My sister is great at inventing new things and trying new combinations (which don’t always work but it’s always fun).
Looks like a great cookbook! I’d have to say my mama was the world’s greatest cook.
My grandma was the most amazing cook!
I shared on Facebook!
My Aunt! She is very created in the kitchen.
My mother was THE BEST Southern cook.She passed her recipes on to me when I married and moved to California.Now I pass them on to my daughter.
My mom made the BEST fried chicken and potato salad one could put in her mouth!
This is a beautiful book! I would love to win it!
Thanks!
My mom and grandmother made the best biscuits from scratch…so I’d have to say those ladies really influenced my cooking. This cookbook would be a great addition and source of some “southern” inspiration! I am now following you on Twitter too and sent you a “tweet”!
My Mom is the best cook I have ever known! I would love to win this book and use it! :O)
I shared, pinned, tweeted, and emailed. :O)
Congratulations to Trish D. on winning the cookbook!!