The BTC Old Fashioned Grocery Cookbook


The BTC Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from a Southern Revival by Alexe Van Beuren and Dixie Grimes is a very unique cookbook. I selected it because it is billed as being full of authentic Southern recipes, and I love Southern food, as does my husband. I thought he'd love me to make him some great authentic Southern meals. It's unique in that the recipes come from a new, still struggling old fashioned grocery store in Water Valley, Mississippi. The book itself is a sturdy hardcover with lots of pictures and is chock full of stories about the grocery store and the people who shop and eat there. My only complaint about the book is that the pages are a matte paper pages rather than the usual glossy pages that you find in a cookbook; I'm pretty rough on cookbooks as I use them wholeheartedly and their pages are usually dusted in flour and sugar with liberal drops of whatever sauces are in the recipe I'm making. This one will have to be handled with a bit more care since the pages aren't as wipeable as glossy pages.

The recipes range from classic Southern to Southern with a twist. One recipe I can't wait to make is Lane Cake. It's a forgotten Southern classic that is mentioned in To Kill A Mockingbird. I'm always eager to try old fashioned recipes that were made many years ago and forgotten. Some of the recipes sound a bit strange: Hoop and Havarti Macaroni, Artichoke and English Pea Au Gratin, and Blackened Catfish with Tabasco Beurre Blanc, for example (still not sure what hoop cheese is, it's called for in quite a few recipes). However, it's also chock full of classics that I will definitely be trying - Shepherd's Pie, DIxie's Turkey Meat Loag with Mushroom Gravy, Coulter's Red Beans and Rice, Chicken Spaghetti, DIxie's Lasagna, Southwestern Beef Casserole, Fried Pies, Tea Cakes, Chocolate Buttermilk Cake, Mrs. Jo's Banana Pudding, and much, much more.

Overall, I highly recommend this cookbook. It's a classic piece of the South and a great addition to any kitchen.

I received a copy of this book from Blogging For Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

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