Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns, and Other Southern Specialties

An Entertaining Life (with Recipes)

Julia Reed

St. Martin's Griffin

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Julia Reed spends a lot of time thinking about ham biscuits.  And cornbread and casseroles and the surprisingly modern ease of donning a hostess gown for one’s own party. In Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns and Other Southern Specialties Julia Reed collects her thoughts on good cooking and the lessons of gracious entertaining that pass from one woman to another, and takes the reader on a lively and very personal tour of the culinary—and social—South. In essays on everything from pork chops to the perfect picnic Julia Reed revels in the simple good qualities that make the Southern table the best possible place to pull up a chair. She expounds on: the Southerner’s relentless penchant for using gelatin; why most things taste better with homemade mayonnaise; the necessity of a holiday milk punch (and, possibly, a Santa hat); how best to “cook for compliments” (at least one squash casserole and Lee Bailey’s barbequed veal are key). She provides recipes for some of the region’s best-loved dishes (cheese straws, red velvet cake, breakfast shrimp), along with her own variations on the classics, including Fried Oysters Rockefeller Salad and Creole Crab Soup. She also elaborates on worthwhile information every hostess would do well to learn: the icebreaking qualities of a Ramos gin fizz and a hot crabmeat canapé, for example; the “wow factor” intrinsic in a platter of devilled eggs or a giant silver punchbowl filled with scoops of homemade ice cream. Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns and Other Southern Specialties another great book about the South from Julia Reed, a writer who makes her experiences in—and out of—the kitchen a joy to read.

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Reviews

Praise for Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns, and Other Southern Specialties

"Julia Reed is another Southern writer with a fine hand for storytelling and cooking. Though you'll want to cook from her book, first you'll want to take it to the porch hammock to read. Each tasty tale - from her collard green chronicle to her Frozen Assets anecdote on ice cream - will whet your appetite for more."--The Post and Courier (SC)
“[A] charming collection. Reed's wit and her eye for the telling historical detail shine through.” –The Times Picayune
"No matter what your tastes, Ham Biscuits has something to tempt your taste buds."--The Clarion Ledger

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About the Author

Julia Reed

JULIA REED is a contributing editor at Newsweek, where she writes the magazine's Food and Drink column. She is author of Queen of the Turtle Derby and Other Southern Phenomena and The House on First Street, My New Orleans Story. Reed lives in New Orleans.

Julia Reed

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Available Formats and Book Details

Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns, and Other Southern Specialties
An Entertaining Life (with Recipes)
Julia Reed

Trade Paperback

Trade Paperback
St. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Griffin
April 2009
Trade Paperback
ISBN: 9780312359577
ISBN10: 0312359578
5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches, 272 pages
$14.95
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Hardcover

Learn more about this edition
Hardcover
St. Martin's Press
July 2008
Hardcover
ISBN: 9780312359560
ISBN10: 031235956X
5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches, 272 pages
$23.95
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