Southern Living No Taste Like Home Cookbook

Update! Congratulations to our winner by random draw, Elissa who said...

"Two of my favorites, Deep South Dish and Southern Living! My mama and one of her sisters started my cookbook collection 25 years ago and I would love to add this wonderful book to it!"

Elisa please contact me at mary@deepsouthdish.com to claim your cookbook. I'll need full name and mailing address - congratulations!! I know that you'll love this book.

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As a food blogger, I have had the privilege of reviewing quite a few Southern Living cookbooks and while they have all been fantastic books, I think this is my most favorite one to date.

Organized geographically, Southern Living No Taste Like Home: A Celebration of Regional Southern Cooking and Hometown Flavor by renowned food writer Kelly Alexander, is like a culinary travelogue across more than twenty of the South's tastiest hometowns. "All hometown food is special, of course," she writes, "but I daresay Southern hometown food is extraordinary." Based on my website visitors, I'd have to agree.

You'll receive a warm "Welcome to" to each town and see adaptations of recipes using iconic Southern ingredients from "People to Meet" - local actresses, reality stars, singers, songwriters, pitmasters, journalists, and other celebrities in each town, including of course, local restaurateurs and chefs. In between you'll find recipes from other local folks, along with a smattering of classic recipes from the Southern Living and Oxmoor House test kitchen archives.

"Things to Do Like a Local" sidebars will tip you off with places to see and fun things to do. Some of the features include places like the Atlanta Cyclorama, depicting the entire July 1864 Battle of Atlanta. You'll learn how we say praline here in this part of the Deep South and how to make some, as well as how to make a walking taco and where to find authentic puffy tacos in San Antonio.

You'll be guided where you can go to enjoy the wines of Virginia and how to make or where to find Nashville Style Hot Chicken, an incendiary spicy dish said to be "discomfort food in the best sense of the word" for its heat. You'll learn how to order a meat and three at cafeterias like Niki's West in Birmingham, visit the Versailles in Miami's Little Havana, take in the duck parade at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, and how to do the Kentucky Derby like a local.

"Foods You Gotta Try," blocks are where you'll find out about local specialties like Gumbo, how to have a Crawfish Boil and how to peel them, exactly what Alabama White Barbecue Sauce is, how to make make Houston Vietnamese foods, Mint Juleps and Kentucky Hot Browns, King Ranch Chicken Casserole, Carolina Barbecue, Benne seeds and Purloo.

From the Heartland of Dixie to Cajun Country, from The Coastal South to Bluegrass, Bourbon and BBQ Country and all points in between, No Taste Like Home truly is a celebration of all the unique flavors of each region of the South.

Here's just a sampling of the kinds of recipes you'll find from each of these six regions.

The Heart of Dixie

In The Heart of Dixie chapter, you'll find features from areas in Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi and local celebrity recipes including Chef Kevin Gillespie's Chili Slaw Dogs, Author Susan R. White's Sour Cream Pound Cake, Pitmaster Myron Mixon's Smoked Whole Chicken, Frank Stitt's Flounder with Lady Pea Succotash, Chef John Currence's Chicken and Duck Pot Pies and John Edge's Mississippi Delta Tamales.

Also included are some favorite recipes from locals such as Smoky Pimiento Cheese Deviled Eggs, Tiny Caramel Tarts, Delta Style Fried Catfish, Mississippi Bourbon Punch, Butternut Squash Bake and Peach Melba Shortcakes, among others.

Cajun Country

Cajun Country is all about Lafayette and New Orleans, Louisiana with recipes for John Besh's Pickled Shrimp, Emeril Lagasse's Fried Oyster Po'boys, Actress Angela Kinsey's Corn Casserole, Miss Kay Robertson's Crawfish Pies and Chef Leah Chase's Creole Bread Pudding, along with recipes from other locals including Hurricane Punch, Chicken, Tasso and Andouille Gumbo, Coconut Almond Cream Cake, Red Beans and Rice and Creole Potato Salad, and more.

Big, Bold Texas

Big, Bold Texas gets its own region, bringing us to places like Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio and featuring Miranda Lambert's mother's Famous Meatloaf, journalist Robb Walsh's uncle's Barbecued Cabbage, actress Eva Longoria's Mint Lemonade, Lady Bird Johnson's White House Pecan Pie, as well as contributions from locals like Grilled Tri-Tip with Citrus-Chile Butter, Mojo Chicken, Chipotle Smashed Sweet Potatoes and Tacos al Pastor, to name a few.

The Piedmont and the Mountains

The Piedmont and the Mountains chapter focuses on North Carolina and Virginia, bringing you finds like reality star Emily Maynard's Cornbread Salad, Chef Dean and Erin Maupin's Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler Pie, author Charles Frazier's Soup Beans, along with recipes from locals such as Asparagus-New Potato Hash, Watts Grocery-Style Spoon Bread, Crook’s Corner Shrimp and Grits, Bourbon Glazed Ham and Orange-Sweet Potato Pie with Rosemary-Cornmeal Crust, among others.

The Bluegrass, Bourbon and Barbecue Trail

Kentucky and Tennessee are the focus of The Bluegrass, Bourbon and Barbecue Trail chapter with Chef Kathy Cary's Old-Fashioned Blackberry Cobbler, Chef Kelly English's Tempura Fried Okra, Naomi Judd's mom's Deviled Eggs, Trisha Yearwood's Chicken Pizza, Loretta Lynn's Chicken and Dumplin's as well as recipes from locals for Blackberry Cornbread, The Fat Elvis, Corn Chowder and Sorghum-Glazed Turnips plus many more Southern Living favorites from the archives.

The Coastal South

The Coastal South winds down the east coastal areas of the South, from Maryland to South Carolina, Georgia and Florida bringing us actress Mo'Nique's F.A.T. (Fabulous and Thick, Full and Tasty, Fluffy and Tender) Green Beans, Chef Duff Goldman's Charm City Chocolate Cake, author John Martin Taylor's Frogmore Stew, Rapper Vanilla Ice's Chiles Rellenos, Wayne Brady's grandmother's Red Velvet Cake and Bobby Deen's Crispy Oven-Fried Chicken along with recipes from locals for Low-country Shrimp and Okra Pilau, Maryland Black Walnut Cake, Low-country Red Rice, Rum Cake and others.

In a soft hardcover format that is 10 x 8 inches in size and 320 pages, it is a hefty 2.7 pounds and chock-full of recipes and lots of nice pictures of both local scenery, landmarks and of course, the food. Knowing Deep South Dish readers, I know you'll love this book personally, but it would also make a fabulous gift item for anyone who loves to cook Southern food. Add it to a basket containing the pantry ingredients and a recipe card for one of the recipes here, and you'll have a gift they will remember. Whether you're a Southerner, or someone who got here as fast as they could, I think this book will show you that there really is no taste like home.

Look for it at online retailers like Amazon, or in your favorite bookstores. Also available in Kindle format for a great price.

Update: Giveaway is now closed. Please check back on this post later for the winner announcement. Thanks for entering and good luck y'all!

The publisher has agreed to provide ONE additional copy of Southern Living No Taste Like Home: A Celebration of Regional Southern Cooking and Hometown Flavor cookbook for me to give to one lucky Deep South Dish reader free! Simply comment below to enter for a chance to win.

Giveaway is now closed. To enter, leave a comment on this post (Please comment only once!)

Anonymous posting has temporarily been opened, but if you do post anonymously, please leave a first name and last initial to identify yourself. This giveaway closes at midnight CST on Wednesday, October 16, 2013. One winner will be selected at random from the comments and will be announced within 2 to 3 days on the site at this post. Readers are responsible for checking back to see if they were selected and will have 48 hours from the time this post is updated with the winner's name to respond to claim the cookbook, or prize will be forfeited. Giveaway open to U.S. residents only please.

Thanks for reading and good luck!

Disclosure: I received one free review copy plus another copy of Southern Living No Taste Like Home: A Celebration of Regional Southern Cooking and Hometown Flavor cookbook to host this giveaway.

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