Cookish Book: Bourbon & Bacon

I received a copy of Southern Living's Bourbon & Bacon: The Ultimate Guide to the South's Favorite Food Groups thanks to a giveaway on For the Love of the South. (Thanks, Amber!) I was surprised by this book in a few ways. It's a nice hardcover (no dust jacket) with lots of color photos, but it's a really handy size (about the size of a large-format paperback book). As soon as I got my hands on it, I thought what a great gift it would make. I several men in my life that I think are difficult to shop for, but this would easily please them, and with the holiday season approaching, I think you should give it a look for the bourbon-lovers in your life. It's really nice to flip through (I've left it on my coffee table since I got it because I really love the book design and I think others would enjoy flipping through it). I'm not a big drinker, but you can't go wrong with bacon, and there are several recipes I want to try: Sticky Bourvbon Toffee Pudding, Turtle Bourbon Pecan Tart, Bacon Popcorn, etc, I think this one might help you check off your gift list!

Bookish & Cookish: Cookbook Review

Come Home to Supper is a cookbook aimed mainly at parents who need to get a good dinner on the table relatively easily. The recipes are not especially fancy or complicated; it's just about getting your family fed a quick and tasty meal. Accordingly, there are slow-cooker options, casseroles, but even breads, sides, desserts, and pantry tips in addition to main courses (divided by protein). I don't have children yet, but I think many of these recipes will be easy for me to whip up for myself and my fiancé after we've both been working all day. The cookbook also contains family stories and memories mainly with the message to be thankful for what you've got and be in the moment--good reminders for busy families. I'm eager to try the lettuce wraps, Chinese chicken salad, and cornbread-topped chicken pot pie. Be aware, this is down-home cooking, and you're not going to find a lot of vegetarian meal options in here--lots of beef and pork! But for busy families, I think this book could be a help.

I received an advanced e-galley of this title from NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. Receiving a copy did not affect my review.

Cookish: Thanksgiving

Here's a favorite Thanksgiving side dish, introduced to me by one of my college roommates. Who needs marshmallows? This is the best sweet potato casserole you'll ever have.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Filling:
1 40-oz can of sweet potatoes, drained.
1/2 stick butter, softened (original recipe called for 1 stick, but I think it is overkill)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
3 eggs, well-beaten
2 tsp vanilla
cinnamon, to taste

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup pecans (I rough-chop mine)
1 stick butter

Mix together filling ingredients (I use a potato masher for this). Spread in a 9 x 13 pan. Combine the topping ingredients with a fork, pastry cutter, or your fingers and sprinkle on top of the casserole. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour.

Easy and delicious!

Bookish Review: The Magnolia League

When Alex's mom dies, she is forcibly relocated from the commune in CA where she grew up to her grandmother's mansion in Savannah. Suddenly she is a part of "society," and her dread-headed self doesn't really fit in. Still, she comes to find that life as a rich debutante is not all bad--especilly when the elite society you've been born to join has magical connections--ones that can keep you rich and beautiful and make lfe easy. But it's never that simple, is it?

Alex is at times an infuriating protagonist, as she can be stupider than it seems her character should be. But I might find her less annoying if I were actually a teen. The book is pretty well-written and fast-paced if a little cliche at times. Of course, this is the first in a series, so don't expect a lot of closure after reading this first one.

I got an ARC of this at some conference or somewhere, so thanks to the publisher. It didn't affect my review.

Bookish Review: Cold Sassy Tree

Cold Sassy Tree was recommended to me by several of my Southern belle friends. The book is about growing up in a small Georgia town in the early 1900s. I really enjoyed this book. Some of the plot points seem a little abrupt and odd, but overall, I found it a nice portrait of small-town Southern life, with all of its nosiness, pettiness, class struggles, and family strife. When cars come to Cold Sassy for the first time, it creates quite a stir. But not as much of a stir as when the owner of the town's general store marries his milliner--who is young enough to be his daughter--just days after his beloved wife dies.

Recommended wholeheartedly for Southerners.

Bookish Review: The Devil's Punchbowl

The Devil's Punchbowl is a hometown thriller by Greg Iles, set, as many of his books are, in Natchez, MS. The book stars Iles's recurring protagonist Penn Cage, who has gone from being a lawyer to an author and now mayor of Natchez. Iles's books often contain disturbing sexual violence, and this one is no exception, featuring rape and prostitution in addition to torture, gambling, and dog fighting. Iles writes finely-crafted suspense novels, but I will confess that some of his in the past have made me feel almost physically ill as well as just plain dirty after reading them. They are so well-written, though, that I keep reading them despite their disturbing nature. In this one, Penn gets himself wrapped up in some international intrigue thanks to a childhood friend who is murdered by those he is trying to investigate. Soon Penn's daughter and whole family are in danger and he must weigh their safety versus doing what he thinks is write--namely stopping a bunch of criminals who are engaging in all kinds of reprehensible activities in Natchez as well as cheating the city out of thousands of dollars of tax revenue.

Iles is a Southern boy, so his Southern thrillers give a remarkably accurate view of life in Dixie. The crimes and situations are often outlandish, but the motivations and reactions and settings ring true. Another well-written volume in the Cage saga (and good to see Caitlin back!), but be prepared to read about very disturbing things.

Bookish: To Kill a Mockingbird

So, I finally got around to reading Harper Lee's classic, To Kill a Mockingbird. I was never assigned this in school and somehow never read it (or saw the movie) until now. I must say that its status as a classic is fully deserved. The story of two kids growing up in a small Southern town with no mother and an older father whom they don't always understand (and whom they call by his frst name). Their father becomes involved in representing a black defendant in an unfair rape trial, and reading about the trial and the town's and the children's reactions to it is compelling. The trial is important and a big part of the book, but the book is also just about growing up and trying to understand the world you were born into. It's about kindness and not judging others or fearing the unknown. I did wonder, after the trial and after the death, where Harper Lee was going with the remaining 7 chapters or so, but she wrapped things up quite nicely. There is some language in the book, but it is indicative of and appropriate to the time period.