Southern dishes from the past
Kentucky is a place steeped in traditions with some of the more famous ones centering around good food and drink. Linda Hawkins and Albert W. A. Schmid arm readers with recipes steeped in Kentucky culture and southern charm to fully embrace the Kentucky lifestyle.
Once again, Linda Hawkins serves up a “tea-lightful” collection of recipes, captivating photography, and comforting words of wisdom for an entire year of entertaining possibilities in Southern
Seasons: 12 Months of Tea-licious Recipes and Ideas, (Heart to Heart Publishing, $29.99). Her devotion to faith, family, and friends is evident in her words as well as in the care she takes to help readers create welcoming and delectable memories centered around a relaxing cup of tea.
Hawkins includes recipes both “new and old — delicious treats and traditions pulled from the past and enjoyed still today.” Check out the Hat Cookies recipe perfect for a Derby party, the Butterfly Soft Kisses recipe so light and dainty for summer soirees, or the recipe for Southern Iced Tea, a drink Hawkins says “every household is expected to know how to prepare.”
In 2011, chef Albert W. A. Schmid was invited to peruse a collection of more than 2,400 local and regional cookbooks acquired by Western Kentucky University’s library. He discovered recipes mostly from the mid-1900’s, with some dating as far back as the late 1800’s, uncovering a snapshot of Kentucky’s culinary history. Perusing turned into research and resulted in Burgoo, Barbecue, & Bourbon: A Kentucky Culinary Trinity, (University Press of Kentucky, $27.95).
“Through the research…I was able to find a change or evolution in several dishes and to rediscover several dishes that had been ‘lost’ in Kentucky cuisine,” Schmid explains. “This is a cookbook to help preserve Kentucky cuisine.” He begins with the explanation of burgoo from its simple beginnings and provides recipes for its many regional revisions. In addition, recipes for barbecue and the required side dishes and rich desserts will make a southern cook out of any reader. Schmid found fewer recipes using bourbon due to the large number of dry counties still remaining but includes several that he updated and adapted as necessary.
