Think of Southern foods and immediately images arise of crispy fried chicken, garden vegetables stewed with savory pork, crusty cornbread served hot from the skillet with sweet butter, piles of steaming golden biscuits, and scrumptious desserts such as three-layer caramel cake, blackberry cobbler, homemade peach ice cream.Comforting dishes such as these are why Southern food is one of the best preserved and most cherished culinary traditions in this country. Years ago these traditions were passed down from mother to daughter, cook to cook, in the hands-on, handed-down learning environment of the family farm kitchen. But in today's new South, where pastures are covered with suburbs more than cattle and once agrarian families are dispersed, time spent in the kitchen is hurried; and hands-on cooking lessons are now paid courses rather than shared labors of love between friends or family.Southern cousins, Courtney Taylor and Bonnie Carter Travis, both experienced cooks and writers, are passionate about preserving the Southern culinary tradition. In their new book, The Southern Cook's Handbook, they take an in-depth look at the ingredients and methods of Southern cooking and offer step-by-step basic guidelines for making delicious, authentic Southern dishes. They reveal old tricks no one ever told you, and answer questions you never thought to ask. Travis and Taylor get into the kitchen with you, telling you how ingredients should look, feel and smell, and explaining all of the fundamentals and methods of the Southern culinary experience. Cooks cannot go wrong with the extensive reference section; it includes a variety of cooking guides, from barbecuing to blanching; a glossary ofcooking terms, plus measurements, tips, techniques and solutions to cooking questions. They also provide more than 200 of the South's most traditional and popular recipes, such as mint juleps, gumbo, cheese grits, field peas and other vegetables, fried okra, pecan pie, fig preserves and a host of other uniquely Southern delights.Believing that proper, patient instruction and practice are the keys to becoming a great Southern cook, the authors have included information that's fool-proof, fail-safe and fun to use. The Southern Cook's Handbook is a how-to manual, a primer for the new cook, as well as a refresher course for the old hand -- it is an essential reference to any Southern cook's kitchen.