Down-home cookery, America's “gourmet” equivalent, flourishes where the Yazoo River runs and the Okefenokee Swamp sulks, where bluegrass sprouts and Cajun echoes across the bayous. Jane Katz, 1981

{HISTORY}

The Cotton Blossom Cookbook. Seasoned with the Sun. Of Pots and Pipkins. Cooking Through Rose-Colored Glasses. Heritage of Hospitality. Seafood Sorcery. Talk About Good! 

This could be the start of some sort of fantastical poem about food. And in a way, it is. Those truncated sentences above are all title names of cookbooks produced by Junior League organizations across the Southern United States during the 20th century.

Containing recipes that transcend time but never place, they have been thoughtfully collected en masse by Ann Seranne in The Southern Junior League Cookbook. Published in 1977, these recipes highlight the best of the best of regional cooking. From the cattlelands of Texas to the hills of Virginia, along the coast of the Carolinas all the way to the sandy beaches of Florida, no Southern state is left out and no kitchen table is left empty.  

Capturing the essence of Southern hospitality via the convivial group of women that make entertaining a breeze,  The Southern Junior League Cookbook contains over 700 recipes that have been the belle of the ball in Southern cities big and small. Each one speaks for itself, intimating hidden heritages and regional delicacies. Ann Seranne, an accomplished cook and author herself, goes to no effort to tell readers why this recipe is commendable or why that one is a classic. Instead of any preamble, she lets the recipes do the talking. The accolades reveal themselves in the finished product.

Beginning with appetizers and ending with cocktails, Ann expertly weaves together a curated selection of recipes that form a complete picture of Southern cuisine, as colorful and lively as any homemade, handmade patchwork quilt or rambling patch of watermelons.

Carolina She-Crab Soup, Barbecued Brisket Sandwiches, Prairie Fire, Our Town Stew, Lilly Ferrell's Chicken Cutlets... those are just a few hints at what's cooking in Charleston, Odessa, Lakeland, Little Rock, Winston-Salem.

Other interesting recipes include Pickled Okra, Biscuits Supreme, Pecan Balls, Sara Thompson's Rice Salad, Stewed Corn and Tomatoes, Pickled Peaches, Pink Lemonade Sauterne Cocktail, Bone's Frog Legs, Cove Hollow Fish, Fried Chicken and Cream Gravy, Mint Julep, Miss Neida's Marinated Beef Tenderloin, Shrimp Bisque, Hush Puppies, West Texas Corn Bread, Fresh Coconut Cake, Buttermilk Pecan Pie, Clarence Moody's Holiday Punch and so many more. 

Other interesting cities where these recipes hail from include Mobile, Alabama; Shreveport, Mississippi; Tyler, Texas; Lafayette, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; Nashville, Tennessee; Pine Bluff, Arkansas; Atlanta, Georgia; Greenville, South Carolina; Tampa, Florida; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Roanoke, Virginia; plus many more. 

A delight of a cookbook for any Southern food lover and culinary history collector, this big book of best-loved recipes will keep you busy for years as you sail through the sensational foods and flavors of the South via the kitchen. 

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

• 1977 unstated First Edition 
• 626 pages
• Contains original dust jacket protected with a clear Mylar wrapper
• Illustrated with line drawings throughout by Lauren Jarrett

{CONDITION}

In gorgeous vintage condition, this cookbook looks practically brand-new. The dust jacket contains no rips, chips,  or fading. The interior pages are clean and bright with no cooking spots, stains,  or notations. The spine is tight,  and all pages are intact. Please see photos. 

{SIZE}

Measures 9.5" inches (length) x 6.5" inches (width) x 2" inches (thickness) and weighs 2.10 lbs