Synopsis
Barbara Smith, the famed fashion model who was the first African American to appear on the cover of Mademoiselle magazine, went on to build an empire that includes television shows, restaurants, her own furniture line (another first for an African American woman), and other lifestyle products from rugs to kitchenware.
Called "one of the most formidable rivals of Martha Stewart" by The Wall Street Journal, Barbara Smith not only shattered glass ceilings, she also brought America a casual, elegant, easy style that is all her own.
With B. Smith Cooks Southern-Style, Barbara focuses solely on the food — no table settings, no party plans — and gives readers more than 200 recipes and tales from her incomparable career. Readers and cooks will be surprised: for a skinny girl, she knows her way around cornbread, fritters, and pain perdu.
She also knows and passes on lots of tips and strategies for bringing down the calorie count without losing flavor.
From Cajun and Creole to Soul Food and beyond — including some of the many ways to use smoked pig — Barbara treats the home cook to a mouthwatering tour of Southern cuisine. Crave the classic Southern white meat? Barbara gives Catfish Fingers a tweak with a Guinness-flavored tartar sauce. Many iconic dishes of the American South are here — Frogmore Stew, Jambalaya, Kentucky Burgoo, and Étouffée, along with updated versions of old favorites such as Vegetarian Étouffée, Chocolate Chip Dessert Sliders, and Bananas Foster converted into a sundae. Barbara even gives up the recipe for Swamp Thang, a riff on favorite Southern flavors and a perennial selection at herrestaurants.
As The New York Times Magazine noted, "B. Smith's goal is to get you looking good and having fun." And with dishes such as Root Beer Barbecued Pulled Pork, Collard Greens Slaw, and Coconut-Pecan Cupcakes, how could you not have fun?
Publishers Weekly
Southern cooking—both contemporary and traditional—may be having its moment, and it gets a friendly cookbook treatment from a celebrated African-American lifestyle restaurateur. While Smith has authored two books on entertaining and operated her iconic B. Smith restaurants in New York; Washington, D.C.; and Long Island for years, she actually considers this her cookbook debut, which she says, was inspired by her desire to share her love of Southern food while giving it an update. Chapters follow traditional categories such as brunch, appetizers, meat and so on. Interspersing recipes with facts about their historical or personal origin, Smith introduces readers to the nuances of the region's cuisine, from Carolina low country's shrimp and grits to the Cajun maque choux of Louisiana. (For any readers who ever wanted to attempt turducken at home, Smith has a multipage explication.) The contemporary spin comes in the form of eggplant fries with tomato truffle ketchup, sweet potato salad with orange-maple dressing, and chocolate chip dessert sliders. Where possible, she has substituted healthier renditions, eliminating fatty meats or reducing sugar. Smith tops it off with a chapter devoted to beverages, including a number of interesting cocktails (pistachio margarita-tini and strawberry sangria with rose geranium), which, in keeping with her home-entertaining pedigree, will get the party started. Throughout, Smith remains an affable host, keeping the proceedings accessible and fun. (Nov.)\