Southern Girl Meets Vegetarian Boy #AbramsDinnerParty

Yes, I'll admit it. I watch some of the competition shows on Food Network.

Damaris Phillips was one of the cooks I enjoyed on her season of ... whatever show she was on. She was warm and charming and I thought she'd be fun to hang out with. And her recipes looked like I'd enjoy them. They were homey and not overwrought.

So, when her new cookbook, Southern Girl Meets Vegetarian Boy dropped onto my doorstep, I was pretty curious about it.

This book is yet another one that's part of the Abrams Dinner Party - they're sending me their complete library of new cookbooks for this season.

Let's get it out there, shall we? I'm not at all a vegetarian. Nope. I have pointy teeth and enjoy a good burger or a rack of ribs.

On the other hand, I've been eating a lot of meatless meals lately. It seems like it's a lot easier to cook a small meatless meal than it is to cook a meat-centric meal. Even a single steak or chicken breast is two meals for me - if not more - and meatloaf or pretty much any roast piece of meat is a commitment. It's hard to cook a small amount of stew or chili or ... a whole lot of other meaty meals.

On the other hand, a vegetable-centric main dish can easily be a side dish the next day.

So. The cookbook. That's where we were before I went rambling.

The book is an interesting mix. There are some recipes designed for vegetarians, using something like tempeh as the protein, and then there is an option to substitute meat for the tempeh. Some recipes are naturally vegetarian, like fried green tomatoes, cole slaw, or grits & greens.

Some recipes are those where you might expect meat, but it's not totally necessary, like baked beans. The version in this book includes blackberries, which I thought was really intriguing, and not just baked beans with the pork ripped out.

Since this is aimed at vegetarians rather than vegans, there are plenty of recipes featuring cheese or eggs like the beer mac and cheese or the deviled eggs. Those will make everyone happy.

And then sometimes there are recipes where the whole shebang has two different recipes. For example, the bourbon spaghetti and meatballs has one recipe that uses meat for the meatballs, while the other recipe has pecan meatballs.

And then there are the desserts, because it's a comprehensive cookbook.

I've got to say that if you're a meat eater cooking for a vegetarian family member, this book would certainly make it easier. For me, while I'm not likely to cook seitan "chicken" any time soon, there are plenty of recipes here that look appealing, possibly starting with the grilled succotash pasta salad. Because I'm a sucker for pasta salad.

The Tabasco Cookbook

I know some folks think that manufacturer recipes aren't quite as ... appealing ... as those from chefs who write cookbooks. But think about it. There are plenty of classic and beloved recipes that came from the backs of bags, boxes, and cans.

It makes sense. Manufacturers create and test recipes that show off their products. They want you to make the recipes, love them, make them again and again, and buy more products.

So I had high hopes for The Tabasco Cookbook. The book I received for review is an updated and revised book, but I'm not sure exactly what had changed since the original was published.

Recipes range from well-known (fried chicken, grits, guacamole, salsa, shrimp Creole) to some that are probably unique to this book (lemon-sesame asparagus, Spanish potato salad, portobello nachos, mellow cabbage salad) that feature Tabasco sauce.

Some of the recipes are extremely simple, like adding a bit of Tabasco before grilling a steak, or adding Tabasco (two different kinds) to guacamole rather than adding hot peppers. Other recipes are more complicated. Which is nice - something for everyone.

Most of the recipes have a southern vibe, and specifically a Louisiana twist, which makes sense.

There are tips on a lot of the recipes, some of which are mini-recipes, like a crudite dip with 1 cup of mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon of ketchup, and one teaspoon of tabasco sauce.

Overall, it's a nice little book. Certainly not essential, but a nice addition to the cookbook shelf of someone who likes spicy food. It would make a nice gift item wrapped up with a couple of bottles of different styles of Tabasco sauce.

I received this book from the publisher, for the purpose of a review.

Savoring the South by Angela Mulloy

To get the complete grasp of this book, you probably need the full title - Savoring the South:  Memories of EDNA LEWIS, the Grande Dame of Southern Cooking with Recipes by Angela Mulloy.

It's a mouthful, but the keywords there are Edna Lewis. If you don't know who she is, go to Wikipedia and read.

As far as the recipes are concerned, I love that the book is organized by seasons, and that the book actually pays attention to seasons, so you're not mixing spring greens with fall vegetables. Definitely southern-style cooking, with ingredients like collard greens, country ham, and plenty of cornmeal.

For those who don't want to research online before reading a cookbook, it was great to have the information about Edna Lewis at the front of the book, and snippets of her tips throughout the book.

I have to admit that I was most drawn to the baking recipes - the pound cake sounds fantastic, and I already made the spoonbread and wrote about it here, but I'm also looking forward to other seasons to make the Vidalia Onion Marmalade and the peach pie.

Besides food recipes, cocktails are included as well - they're classics, but it's still nice to have them along with the food recipes, to remind you of what drinks belong with the recipes.

Note: I received a digital version of this book from the publisher at no cost.