Francine Bryson

Country cook Francine Bryson may have made her name as a championship baker, but she’s nothing less than a down-home diva when it comes to serving up delicious dishes for every course and occasion. “Country Cooking from a Redneck Kitchen” is loaded with beautiful, uncluttered color photos that suggest a breath of fresh country air carrying the mouthwatering aromas of these awesome recipes. At age sixteen, Francine began her competitive cooking career with “Blue Ribbon Stuffed Pork Loin” (see page 74). Check out this recipe for yourself, and you’ll see why it was a first-place winner. Like many Southern women, Francine comes from a long line of amazing cooks, and she carries on their traditions and blends them with her own innovative ideas. All great Southern cooks know how to “make something from nothing”. Growing your own food, using what’s seasonal and fresh, preserving and “putting up” food, and hunting and fishing are all time-honored ways of sustainable food management. No matter what you’ve got a “hankering for”, Francine has you covered, and you will also enjoy her family memories and food insights. Here’s a sampler of the real good redneck recipes you’ll find inside: “Deviled Ham Dip”; “Watergate Salad”; “Green ‘Mater Chow Chow”; “Hot Fried Chicken”; “Chicken and Dumplings Like Mama Made”; “Bacon and Cheese Stuffed Burgers”; “Pork Chop Casserole”; “Southern Fried Catfish”; “Shrimp and Grits”; “Corn Fritters”; “Beans Cooked with Ham Hocks”; “Green Beans from Nana’s Kitchen”; “Fried Cabbage”; “Brown Sugar Pie”; “Schoolyard Peanut Butter Bars”; “Sweet Potato Spice Cake”; and “Buttermilk Rolls”. Y’all come. Eat until you have to loosen your belts, and sit a spell. Come back real soon. FRANCINE BRYSON is the author of the bestselling Blue Ribbon Baking from a Redneck Kitchen, a Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Book Award finalist and Okra Pick. She has won more than 200 local and national baking competitions and was the runner-up and crowd favorite on CBS’s The American Baking Competition. Bryson, a member of the American Pie Council, lives with her husband in Pickens, South Carolina.

Book Copy Gratis Clarkson Potter Publishers via Blogging for Books… (meer)

You just can’t go wrong with a cookbook written by someone who has won 200 local and national baking competitions. Sweets definitely take center stage in this cookbook, and it is loaded with pies, cakes, cheesecakes cobblers, sweet breads, cookies, and candy.

The cookbook starts with eight different pie crusts, not counting the three extra cookie crusts. The one that really caught my eye was the Cinnamon Roll Crust may be the most interesting pie crust recipe I have ever seen, and easy too. I can’t wait to try it with pumpkin pie. I also want to try her Classic Easy Banana Pudding, but since it serves 12- 15, I am hoping I can cut it in half.

The cookbook itself is very well made with glossy paper that is easy to wipe clean. It could use more photos, and it seemed a little disorganized to me. There are the regular sections, pies, cookies, cheesecakes, candy & Truffles, and Biscuits & Breads. But then there was the chapter “Sunday Go-To-Meeting” containing cobblers and cakes, and “Baked Goods to Show Off” with more pies and cakes. All in all, it is a keeper and a welcome addition to my cookbook shelf.

I received a copy if this book as part of the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review.… (meer)