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!
Tom Gray says
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.
Joyce Faucheux says
PS I also love the looks of the cook book – I pinned it, shared on FB & sent to my gd
Judith Jennings says
My Granny was the best cook ever. Her home-made apple dumplings and divinity have no comparisons!
gail says
my aunt is an awesome cook
gail says
emailed my aunt about this giveaway!
Brenda says
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!
Kay Rich says
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!
Kay Rich says
Darn auto correct. Her cakes and pies were to die for!
Jackie Garvin says
Kay,
Thanks for the clarification! We don’t want people thinking your Granny’s pies and cakes caused folks to need surgery! 🙂
Beckie S. says
Shared on facebook!!
Beckie S. says
My nanny and papa were the best cooks ever!!!
Mary Raymundo says
Next to my granny, my sister-in-law Sue is a great cook. She makes the best lasagna. No restaurant can compare.
libby rouse says
My mother was the best cook ever, oh such wonderful food memories I have of her.
Tammy Davis says
My mother was the absolute best cook! She’s gone now and I miss her cooking every day.
Tammy Davis says
I shared on Pinterest.
Mrs. K says
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!
Windy Gale says
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. : )
jacquie says
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.
Angela Fox says
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.
Darlene Thornburg says
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!
Debra Agee says
my mom she taught me everything i know
Kathy says
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.