When Southern Women Cook: History, Lore, and 300 Recipes with Contributions from 70 Women Writers

Magnificent, astonishing, comprehensive….and beautiful
Wow. Wow. Toni Tipton-Martin does not seem to be designated as more than the author of the Foreward, but her passion for Southern Cooking simply glows throughout this magnificent volume. I would never have guessed that it was produced by ATK had I not already known that Ms. Tipton-Martin had assumed a leadership position with ATK in 2020. This book is huge, it’s heavy, the print is small but manageable. It’s packed with not just recipes, but with important historical context. And it’s beautiful: every recipe has a gorgeous two-page spread with at least one color photo. Sure, you can flip through and find a recipe for Shrimp & Grits or Nashville Hot Fried Chicken, but if you do, I hope you will at least take time to read the essential headnotes and side stories. Better yet, settle down with a glass of sweet tea or wine and spend a few evenings reading the whole book from cover to cover. You’ll also need a pack of Post-its.

Everything You want in a Cookbook
Phenomenal cookbook. The photos are great for those individuals who are visual. The stories behind the recipes are very heartfelt and they make you want to have the same feelings by cooking the dishes for your own family and friends. The book is worth every penny and would make a wonderful gift!

Fascinating history and delicious recipes
What a gem of a book! I’ve long been a fan of America’s Test Kitchen, and this is my favorite of their books. In an introductory essay, Morgan Bolling, the editor, writes poignantly about the history of southern food and her personal connection to its unifying power. Her and Toni-Tipton Martin weave together personal stories throughout the book, making the reader feel connected to each recipe. You will love this book if you are interested in learning more about southern food, if you want to celebrate a profound group of women, or if you just want some tasty and timeless southern recipes!

Long time ATK followers will notice some repeat recipes
First off, I’d like to offer some context about me: I am an accomplished cook who has been following America’s Test Kitchen (ATK) and Cook’s Illustrated since 2003, as well as their spin-off Cook’s Country since their release in 2005 (I even own their very first magazine issue). Since then, I’ve subscribed to their magazines and collected countless annuals and cookbooks. In my current collection of 500+ cookbooks, at least 75 of them are from ATK, CI, or CC. And I cook from ALL of them.The point is, I’m not going to add another one of their cookbooks, or any cookbook for that matter, to my collection unless it offers something different to what I already have. I bought When Southern Women Cook a couple of weeks ago, but I didn’t buy it from Amazon. I bought it from ATK because quite frankly, they offered a way better price than Amazon did at the time. However, I value Amazon’s cookbook reviews so I am writing one here to share what I have learned about his book so far in hopes that it may help provide some insight to others.First of all, the book is a gem. It’s definitely a departure from the usual style of the ATK family of coobooks. It’s not written on glossy pages, but rather matte pages (probably for that rustic effect). There’s a beautiful color picture or graphic on nearly EVERY page (not necessarily of the recipes, though). While I am not nor never have been a home cook that relies on pictures, it is very refreshing to see this much color and artistic design in a cookbook. It makes the book feel more “warm & homey” when I read it, which is exactly the vibe I would want if reading about Southern cooking.I am not from the South nor am I well versed in Southern cooking, but my husband is and I see a lot of recipes included in this book that he has mentioned something about in his childhood memories. The book is fascinating in that it includes many stories about families in the south and how recipes or certain food combinations came to be. For someone like me who doesn’t have first hand experiences of the South, this is not just educational but also enlightening! But ATK has done it in such a way as to not make this book into a boring history lesson which would be a huge disfavor to the recipes.Now let’s talk about the recipes: If you know ATK, they are obsessive about getting a recipe right, testing and testing until they feel they have developed, no “perfected” the best version of a recipe so that it can be replicated with success in the average home cooks kitchen. Honestly, sometimes i believe they do get it right and sometimes, because of my own experience in following and making their recipes, I feel that they get it wrong. But for the most part, it’s the former. Their recipes by and large can be trusted. That’s why I own so many of their cookbooks and have cooked literally HUNDREDS of their recipes. Some of my best dishes I ever made were from ATK. I’m especially eager to dig into some of the canning recipes that they included in this book. I enjoy canning but don’t do it anywhere as much as my Mom’s generation did. I just need more practice!In reading this cookbook, page by page, over the past few weeks, I believe ATK got this book right. There are several recipes included that are repeats from prior publications. I would say that for every 10 recipes I saw in this book, roughly 2-3 of them are repeats from previous cookbooks. I didn’t read every ingredient nor step for each so perhaps the recipes were “updated,” but I know for a fact that some of these recipes have appeared before. Honestly, that’s not a crime because not everyone who is going to buy this book has 75 other ATK books like I do, but just want to mention this for those people out there who have been following ATK as long as I have.One dislike I have about this book is the type set. The font is so small (ie, 9 pt?) and the font color is very light that it’s hard on the eyes and difficult to read at times. Plus, since almost every page has a color photo or graphic, when there are words written on top of the colors, it is very hard to see. I wear reading glasses and I cannot read this cookbook unless it’s under bright light and at a certain distance from my face. For younger people, this may not be an issue but for me in my mid-50’s, I appreciate bigger font, hence the 4 stars instead of 5.Also, the book doesn’t lay flat. This is a big, hefty book with many pages, but when trying to cook a recipe when the book doesn’t lay flat can be an added challenge (even with a cookbook holder). I had to use a chip clip and a heavy can of beans to hold the book open. You might think that this is a problem with all large, hefty cookbooks, but it’s actually not. Take a cue from Kenji Alt’s “Food Lab” or Chris Kimball’s “Milk Street Cookbook 2017-2024” to see how yes, even large, expansive cookbook tomes can lie conveniently flat when open, making it a much more pleasant cooking experience for the owner.Lastly, I mentioned before that I cook from my cookbooks and When Southern Women Cook is no exception. While there were several repeat recipes in this book that I have cooked already before (ie, Tamale Pie, Natchitoches Meat Pies, Cornbread Dressing, Shrimp & Grits, Pad Thai, Red Beans & Rice, Alabama (BBQ) Chicken, Banana Pudding, Hummingbird Cake….all are EXCELLENT) there are still many new ones left to try. I did manage to make one new recipe today and that was the Hot Cheddar Crab Dip. I have many MANY crab dip recipes before, but was intrigued because this version was made with a roux and NO CREAM CHEESE. It came together quickly. I actually doubled the recipe since I had a 16oz can of crab meat and cutting it in half would just mean leftover crab that I would have to find something do with. I didn’t have fresh thyme so I garnished with fresh parsley that I had in my fridge. The result was tasty, but seemed to lack a bit of depth in flavor straight from the oven. Part of it might be due to the lower quality canned crab that I had (it wasn’t my usual Philips brand), however from experience, I DO know that crab dips that I’ve made in the past develop their flavor and taste WAY better the next day. So since we had lots leftover, I will check again tomorrow to see if the flavor develops even more. However, I’m pleased with the recipe so far in that it was quick & easy and was a lighter tasting recipe, only using 2 Tbsp of butter, 1 1/2C cheese, and 2/3C whole milk per recipe instead of gobs of cream cheese.PS. I just dropped my book on the floor (it fell off my side table) and the front cover by the spine broke. So the book construction isn’t very durable. It’s not ATK’s fault that I dropped the book on the floor, but just beware that the book isn’t as sturdy as others.