Southern Cooking: The How-To Guide

Southern Cooking: The How-To Guide, by Wanda Long

Review
A southern guide, probably written by someone from the North.

First, seasoning a cast iron pan takes more than one brief exposure to oil in the oven. But, as you go thru just the first few recipes, you can see the author doesn't know much about the subject.

Cornbread is southern, but the recipe shown is a very northern one, 3/4 white flour and would have little cornbread taste or texture - a true southern recipe is 100% cornmeal, while some do cheat a bit and add white flour, eggs are the secret to a cornbread that holds together (for a 9-inch recipes, you need two-three eggs, not one). Then, you cook it cast iron, not a cake dish (as is common with northern recipes). And you ABSOLUTELY do not, EVER, NEVER add sugar to corn bread!

Nor to biscuits, for that matter, which is done in the first recipe of the book (and butter will work, but a true southern recipe calls for pure white lard, as biscuits should be pure white and flaky, not yellow like out of a can), and the flour should be a low-gluten type, not all purpose (ok, it absolutely should be White Lily, although there is some controversy over whether it's still the same, now that the plant moved to the north, which involves using new grinding equipment and possibly the region where the corn is grown, which changed the texture).

Zucchini bread is usually served with coffee, just as any other dessert bread, either for breakfast (instead of a pastry) or a mid-afternoon snack (or after dinner, not with it; that's where your cornbread should go, if you make it so it isn't a sweet dessert). Country fried steak that isn't dipped in flour? Really? Frankly, I quit reading the recipes closely after that. The recipes may be fine, they may work. But, it's northern recipes for southern foods (and probably created without any input from the anyone in the south).

Shadowmagic

When I bought Shadowmagic ($0.99), by John Lenahan, in October '09, I paid $3.40 and considered it a good bargain. At the current sale prices, you should grab this one and the newly released sequel Prince of Hazel and Oak (Shadowmagic Book 2) ($1.59), before the publisher (The Friday Project, an imprint of HarperCollins) decides to raise the prices. If you happen to have already purchased the sequel and got it when it too had the title "Shadowmagic", be sure to delete it and re-download so that you Kindle has the proper title (one of the few changes a publisher can make and you get an update just by redownloading).

When I saw the sequel was out (and the big price drop), I pulled out the first volume and read it thru in just three days (in between doing everything else). The paper edition says it is 288 pages, but they go by in a flash (unlike Lord of the Rings, which the synopsis compares it to). This is young adult fiction, but is entirely enjoyable by adults of any age; there is budding romance (but barely a kiss or two) and the story is told from the point of view of a teenage boy, who is getting ready to go to school, trying to find a good time to ask his dad for a bit more cash to take out a girl, when he answers the door ... only to have people on horseback try to kill him, a weird glow surround him and one of the attackers crumble to dust upon being unhorsed. His day only gets worse, but he quickly adapts to his new surroundings, after breaking free of his captors and finding himself not in the Real World, at all.

The action isn't non-stop (really, could anyone stand to read 200+ pages that were?), as, in addition to a bit of adventure, you get his reaction to the new land, descriptions of what he sees and finds and experiences, as he makes his way. Along that way, he first reacts without thinking, but gradually changes to reaction with forethought (well, as much as a teen can muster, at any rate), growing at least metaphorically during journey. As with most good teen fiction, good triumphs over evil, in the end (at least for the day), but there is also tragedy to provide a bittersweet tinge to the joy of the day.

At the end, you can see the hooks for a sequel are set, but the volume concludes well on it's own (no big cliffhangers to frustrate you if you do decide not to get the second title). For myself, though, I've put the sequel near the top of my TBR list (just as soon as I go thru the rest of the sale titles on the Kindle Sunshine Deals page, to see if there are any paperbacks I want to replace or any other series where I can fill in a missing title).

Book Description
A Lord of the Rings for the 21st century. Only a lot shorter. And funnier. And completely different.

Lord of the Rings for the 21st century. Only a lot shorter. And funnier. And completely different.Conor thought he was an average teenager. OK, so his father only had one hand, spoke to him in ancient languages and was a bit on the eccentric side but, other than that, life was fairly normal. Until, that is, two Celtic warriors on horseback and wearing full armour appear at his front door and try to kill him. After that, things get pretty weird.

Shadowmagic is a fantasy adventure for young adults (although grown ups will like it too). Written by one of the most popular magicians in the country it brings a fresh approach to the genre and will have a broad appeal beyond the fantasy sections.