The holidays are here, these books are great gifts

Photograph by Bailey Garrott; D'Mytrek Brown's food styling; Jessica Blaise's prop styling

The gift-giving season—that is, the season of eating/drinking/baking—has arrived. As the holidays approach, here are five beautiful new cookbooks from Georgia chefs, bakers, pitmasters and farmers-and recipes you can use them to make.

Cheryl Day's Southern Baking Treasure By Cheryl Day

That beautiful brown sugar pound cake at the top of this article? It comes from the best pastry shop in Savannah, probably one of the best in Georgia: Back in the Day Bakery, owned by Cheryl Day and her husband Griffith. You must go there to taste the evidence in person, but in the meantime, you can pick up a copy of Cheryl Day's Southern Baking Treasure, a concise new guide to regional art forms.

Day's pies are perfect, and her biscuits are legendary-they are all here. This book particularly highlights the contributions of black bakers, including Dai's own ancestors. Enslaved in Alabama, her great-great-grandmother Hannah Queen Grubbs "is famous for the people throughout Dale County for making the most delicious buttermilk biscuits, sweet potato pies, lemon pound cakes, and coconut sandwich cakes," Day wrote: "It is said that history is written by victors, and when it comes to recipe books of that era, they are written by white women who are praised for the creations of black chefs. I am very fortunate to have Hannah's handwritten recipes. I show their true origins."

Brown sugar spice cake with butterscotch glaze for 12 people

This cake couldn't be easier to make, and it couldn't be more delicious. It is rich and moist, with soft and delicate crumbs. The aroma of baking will make your kitchen full of autumn breath. -Cheryl Day

Cake 2¼ cups (281 g) unbleached all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon (3 g) baking soda ½ teaspoon fine sea salt ½ teaspoon cardamom powder ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg powder ½ pound (2 sticks/227 g) unsalted butter, room temperature 2 cups (400 g) packed light brown sugar 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 3 large (150 g) eggs, 1 cup (240 g) sour cream at room temperature

For butterscotch glaze 7 tablespoons (99 g) unsalted butter 1 cup (200 g) packed light brown sugar 1 cup (237 ml) heavy cream

To make the cake, place a shelf in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (165 degrees Celsius). Spread butter on a 10-inch (25 cm) pan, making sure to enter all crevices. Lightly sprinkle the pan with flour, and tap the pan on the counter to shake off the excess flour.

Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, cardamom, and nutmeg into a medium bowl; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer equipped with a paddle attachment (or in a large mixing bowl, use a hand-held mixer), beat the butter and brown sugar at medium-low speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until soft. Add vanilla and mix well. Add eggs one at a time (50 grams), beating well after each addition. Add the flour mixture three times, alternating with the sour cream, starting and ending with flour, and scrape off the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed, and then mix for about 1 minute, or until completely combined.

Remove the bowl (if used) from the mixing rack and use a spatula to add all the ingredients hidden at the bottom of the bowl, making sure the batter is completely mixed.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Tap the pan on the counter to remove the air bubbles in the batter. Bake for 60 to 75 minutes until the cake tester inserted in the center of the cake is clean. Let the cake cool in a pan on a metal rack for 15 minutes, then turn it upside down on another rack and turn it to the right to cool completely.

To make butterscotch glaze In a medium saucepan, mix butter, brown sugar and cream, cook over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Then boil and cook until the glaze thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

Place the cake still on the rack on the baking tray, then pour the glaze over the cake and let it flow down the sides.

The cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Taken from Cheryl Day's Southern Baking Treasure, courtesy of Cheryl Day (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2021.

Bress'n' Nyam: Gullah Geechee cookbook from the sixth generation farmers Matthew Raiford and Amy Paige Condon

In Bress'n' Nyam's introduction, Matthew Raiford described his family history: he was the great-great-great-grandson of Jupiter Gilliard. He was born in slavery in South Carolina in 1812. After liberation, he gathered about 450 acres. soil of. Farmland near Brunswick, Georgia. Some of the land is now owned by Raiford and his partner Jovan Sage. Raiford graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in New York and has cooked throughout the country. He was shortlisted for the James Beard Award semifinals for his work at his former Brunswick restaurant Farmer and the Larder. The title of this book is Gullah Geechee, which means "blessing and eating".

I am a bit like "from-ya" and "come-ya", meaning, in the context of Gullah Geechee, people and visitors from here. But I don't pass by anymore. I am the returning prodigal son, opening my arms to embrace the land I thought I had left. The fact is that the roots of that old oak tree have been holding me tightly and never let me go. These acres are produced again, not just food. They are fertile ground for imparting sustainable agricultural techniques, such as growing hemp as a cover crop to attract butterflies, dragonflies and bees (essential pollinators), and keeping deer away from tomatoes, corn, peppers, peas and sweet potatoes. The muscat vines planted by my great-grandfather Horace are still in full bloom, producing plump grapes for jelly and candy. The herb garden is full of plants. My partner and real food alchemist Jovan Sage use them to make shrubs, tinctures, and spice blends. She sells them on her website and in our cooking classes on the farm.

I have more plans: rice fields and greenhouses will be built, and the sugarcane press that was given to my great-grandparents as a wedding gift in 1919 will soon be operational again. The other day, my cousin’s two-year-old son, the eighth-generation heir of the Jupiter Gilliard family who lives on this land, wanted me to show him a way to grow peas. He likes it very much, just like when I was a kid. He is learning where his food comes from, which is very important.

When people think of food in coastal Georgia, they think of shrimp and whole grains. That dish is definitely a symbol of the saltwater Gura and Gicchi that live on the island. They most often use rich brown gravy or meat sauce to make this dish, which is more similar to gumbo. Danshui—or Mainland—Geechee, like my family, made something closer to Jambalaya, without okra, but seasoned with tomatoes and red peppers. Rice, of course, stretch it. For me, my mother's Creole shrimp is a recipe passed down through the family and a comfort food. --Matthew Rayford

2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 yellow onion, chopped 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped 1 green bell pepper, remove the seeds and chop 1 red bell pepper, remove the seeds and chop 1 orange bell pepper, remove the seeds And chop a 16 ounce can of tomato puree 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes 2 cups uncooked long grain rice or Carolina golden rice 1 quart warm shrimp soup, prepared or homemade (recipe below) 2 pounds prawns, go Skin and guts, fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper preserved in the shell of the shrimp soup

In a large cast iron pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Add the chili, tomato sauce, red pepper flakes and rice, and stir well. Pour the broth slowly to prevent splashing, as the pot will be very hot, then bring the Creole to a boil. After boiling, stir, cover with lid, then turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Remove the lid, add the shrimp, and stir the rice well. Cook for another 5 to 7 minutes, until all the liquid is absorbed and the shrimp turns pink and curled. Before serving, taste and add salt and pepper to your liking. Service and enjoyment.

2 quarts (8 cups) of cold water 4 cups shrimp shells 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 Vidalia onions, peeled and cut into quarters 1 carrot, roughly chopped 1 celery ribs, cut into 2-inch pieces, including leaves 1 1 lemon, 2 bay leaves, 2 sprigs of thyme, 1 tablespoon of coarse salt, 1 teaspoon of whole black pepper

Pour the water into a large saucepan and set aside.

Rinse the shrimp shells and drain the water. In a large frying pan, heat oil over medium-high heat, then stir-fry the shrimp shells for 2 minutes. Add onion, carrot and celery and cook for 2 to 3 minutes while stirring.

Add the shrimp shells and vegetables to the soup pot, then add the lemon, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring the stock to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer for 40 minutes. Remove from the fire, then filter the ingredients through a cheesecloth-lined sieve into a quart or pint-sized container. Cool the ingredients completely, then refrigerate for up to 2 weeks or freeze for later use.

Excerpted from Bress'n' Nyam: Gullah Geechee Cookbook of the Sixth Generation Farmer. Copyright © 2021 CheFarmer Matthew Raiford and Amy Paige Condon. Photography © 2021 Siobhán Egan. Reproduced with permission from The Countryman Press, a division of WW Norton & Company. all rights reserved.

Distorted Soul Recipe: Modern Soul Food with Global Flavor Deborah VanTrece (Deborah VanTrece)

At her popular Blandtown restaurant, Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours, chef Deborah VanTrece skillfully combines the soul food flavors she knew when she was young with the extensive culinary influence she gained during her previous career as a flight attendant. In the 1990s, he changed his major and VanTrece enrolled in a culinary school—then he observed the status of soul food, which is often marginalized in American cuisine, and worked to increase its popularity.

As she wrote in the introduction of "Twisted Soul Recipe", "The soul food I know-turns the common discarded, discarded, and disrespected food into luxurious, soft and delicious food-in Different from Southern food in many ways. The strong belief in the black community is that if food looks good, it tastes bad. I started thinking about how to apply the techniques I learned in culinary school to my food heritage. I know Soul food is both good-looking and delicious." Evidence can be seen everywhere in VanTrece's new recipes, such as lamb chops with a cucumber and tomato flavor-cheap cuts of meat get a spicy flavor from the North African spice mixed harissa.

Photograph by Bailey Garrott; D'Mytrek Brown's food styling; Jessica Blaise's prop styling

Harissa Lamb Chops with Tomato Cucumber Sauce for 8 people

Lamb ribs are usually sold in stores as lamb breast. One day, I found these affordable cuts in the meat section of Wal-Mart, and I have been using them to make dishes ever since. Meat is fat, so it needs to be cooked slowly to remove the fat, but it is worth taking the time to show off the full flavor and velvety texture of this piece of meat. It is very similar to pork belly. Please note that the final preparations include barbecue. The presence of spicy harissa sauce adds rich and mild heat to the recipe. These ribs are great appetizers or group appetizers. They can be simmered a few days in advance and cooked on the grill before serving. ——Deborah Vantres

Spare ribs 1 tablespoon kosher salt ¼ cup harissa powder, plus 1 tablespoon garlic powder 1 tablespoon onion powder 1 tablespoon cumin powder ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes ¾ cup fresh lemon juice (from about 3 lemons), divided into 2½ To 3 pounds of bones-in the lamb chops, remove the fat cover and carve 4 cups of beef broth 1 carrot, coarsely chop 1 celery stalk, coarsely chop 5 cloves of garlic, mash 1 small onion, and coarsely chop

Tomato Cucumber Seasoning 2 cups chopped fresh Roma tomatoes 1 cup coarsely chopped seedless English cucumber ½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley ¼ cup chopped fresh mint 2 cloves garlic, chopped ¼ cup red wine vinegar ¼ cup Extra virgin olive oil ½ teaspoon coarse salt½ teaspoon fresh black pepper

To make ribs, prepare the marinade at least the day before you plan to grill. In a small bowl, whisk together salt, harissa sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, and ½ cup of lemon juice. Rub generously all over the ribs of the lamb and apply a coat. Put the ribs in a resealable plastic bag and refrigerate for at least 24 hours or up to 2 days.

When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Transfer the ribs to the baking sheet. Add beef broth, carrots, celery, garlic, and onions to cover the ribs. Cover the baking tray tightly with foil and bake for 1 to 1.5 hours until the meat is tender.

Make the condiment While the ribs are in the oven, prepare the tomato and cucumber condiment. In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, mint, garlic, vinegar, the remaining ¼ cup of lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to eat.

When ready to serve, transfer the cooked ribs to a plate or pan to cool.

Pour the remaining broth into a medium saucepan and cook on medium heat for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced by half.

Prepare a grill for direct heating, or preheat a gas grill to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the ribs on the grill and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until slightly charred, then turn the ribs and bake the other side for 4 minutes until browned. Brush the ribs with reduced broth and transfer to a cutting board. Let them rest for 5 minutes, then slice the ribs. Brush the ribs again with reduced broth before serving, and sprinkle with a little harissa sauce. Serve the ribs with frozen tomato cucumber sauce.

© The Twisted Soul Cookbook: Modern Soul Food with Global Flavor by Deborah VanTrece, Rizzoli New York, 2021.

Rodney Scott’s barbecue world: every day is a beautiful day Rodney Scott and Lolis Eric Elie

Rodney Scott initially became famous in his hometown of South Carolina, but he is also the new restaurant owner in Atlanta and opened a delightful restaurant in Adair Park in July. His literary debut is certainly a cookbook. But it is also a tool and construction manual, from what kind of mop to use when wiping pigs (rayon, please; cotton will decompose when soaked in a vinegar-based sauce) to how to build a real barbecue grill. pit (starting with the collection of 62 cinder blocks and 7 steel bars) to-this is very important-how to mix a great drink, such as the gin-based Red Pickup cocktail shown in the picture above, to match this everything. The instructions are detailed and the photos are helpful-and a bit poetic.

Building a pit is a promise. You have to talk for a few hours between buying materials and actually building the pit. That was before you spent twelve hours making pigs. Needless to say, I think it is worth it. Once you have built your first pit and cooked your first pig, so will you. On the one hand, pits are essential equipment. You really can't cook a whole pig without a pig. On the other hand, it is much more than that. The pit becomes the center of the gathering. If it’s a bit cold outside, people will gather around the pit for warmth and fellowship. Even if it's not cold, I think we all have a little fascination with fire. The idea of ​​controlling and using something so powerful and destructive is almost like drugs. Even after watching you pull the pig down, the embers still glow for a long time and are beautiful.

Red pickup cocktail making 1 glass of cocktail

When I have an important call and don't want to be distracted by customers or employees, I walk out of the restaurant and answer the call with my red pickup. When I had to check the progress of restaurants in Birmingham and Atlanta, I would rather jump on my red pickup than on a plane. When I need to sort out my mind, I will jump on my red pickup, play my music, and drive to anywhere. This is the red pickup I put in the glass. - Rodney Scott

¾ ounce of fresh lime juice ½ ounce of cranberry juice ½ ounce of ruby ​​grapefruit juice ¾ ounce of simple syrup (bottom) ¼ ounce of Campari ¼ ounce of Cachasa (preferably Avuá Prata) ½ ounce of Lillet Blanc 1¼ ounce of gin (Preferably hat-trick plant gin) Crushed ice (see tips) Lime wheel with ice cubes, for garnish

In a cocktail shaker, mix lime juice, cranberry juice, grapefruit juice, simple syrup, Campari, cachaça, Lillet and gin. Sprinkle a small handful of crushed ice into the shaker, close the lid, and shake vigorously for 10 to 15 seconds. Strain into a tall glass filled with ice cubes. Decorate the edges of the glass with lime wheels.

Rodney's pro tip To make crushed ice, put the ice cubes in a plastic bag and crush them in a thick-bottomed pan.

Simple syrup Simple syrup is like this: simple. Boil equal parts of water and sugar into a syrup. To do it, in a saucepan, bring water to a boil and add sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Turn off the heat and set aside to cool. Once the syrup reaches room temperature, refrigerate until completely cooled. Simple syrup can be refrigerated for up to 3 weeks.

Reprinted with permission from Rod Niscott's Barbecue World: Rod Niscott and Lorice Eric Elie each day is a beautiful day. Copyright © 2021 Rodney Scott's BBQ, LLC, a South Carolina limited liability company. Photo Copyright © 2021 Jerrelle Guy. Published by Clarkson Porter, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

Black, White and Gray: The Story of Unexpected Friendship and Beloved Restaurant by Mashama Bailey and John O. Morisano

"Black, White, and Grey" is a joint memoir featuring Morisano (a white entrepreneur who bought the former Greyhound Wharf in Savannah) and Bailey (the black chef he brought with him as his partner) )write. The two transformed the old bus station into a restaurant called Grey, which opened in 2014 and received almost universal praise. Their book—mostly prose, with some carefully selected recipes—explores the tension and triumph of this relationship; it is written in a conversational style, with parts created by Bailey shown in bold. Here, in the early days of their collaboration, they are visiting this building shell built in 1938. Its architecture carries the gorgeous Art Deco style of that period—and a reminder of its previous status as an apartheid facility.

We walked back upstairs, then boarded another flight and arrived at a magnificent space on the mezzanine floor (according to the standards of that era). Graffiti-covered mint green tiles line the road and enclose two rooms at the top of the stairs. When we entered the first one, I said, "This is the dressing room and bathroom for white women." Pointing to the first wall we encountered, "This is a mirror with a counter and chair so that women can put on makeup. "

"White women," Masama said sharply.

"Yes. White women," I mumbled.

Enter the second room behind the first room, "This is where the toilet is. If you look at the floor, you can recognize the outline of the stall and the location of the sewer."

Masama was expressionless and pointed out: "White women do need a lot of space to urinate."

I was surprised by the intention behind it. The beautiful green tiles on the wall, the brilliant light pouring in through the windows, these women are on top of the world, I remember thinking. This room suddenly seemed to me to represent white women being placed on a pedestal, peeing above everyone who was allowed to enter the bus stop.

This is the deification of white women. Those women are so precious that if black men try to "possess" it, their white counterparts can easily justify their murder. Emmett Till is a typical example-he is only fourteen years old.

Back on the main floor, we crossed the threshold to enter a small 5 x 10 foot space near the back door.

"This is where people of color are waiting, right?" she asked me.

"Yeah, this is the colored waiting room. Back here, the two small bathrooms are colored his and her toilets."

That space is as big as any apartment I have lived in. However, compared to the 24-hour restaurant in front, the ladies' rooms upstairs, the men's rooms downstairs, and the large waiting room, this area is very small. I am very excited to see this space, and when I stand there, I think I will feel sad or humiliated after I am not allowed to enter after I see all the other parts of the building. However, I am mostly proud, because I have the opportunity to change the historical narrative of this building by becoming a partner of the next company that will occupy it, adding an element of hope to the ever-changing city.

Stewed cabbage with tomato fish sauce for 4 people

We often talk about the braised eel and cabbage we ate in Comacchio, Italy, and hope to include the recipe in this book. But we want to know, where are people going to eat eel? Mashama is like the MacGyver of chefs, so she decided that we would provide you with a recipe that mimics the flavor of that dish and uses ingredients that are easier to find. --John O. Morizano

½ cup extra virgin olive oil 1 rhubarb onion, thinly sliced ​​6 cloves garlic, 1 head appetizer sliced ​​cabbage, chopped 1 can (28 ounces) San Marzano tomato kosher salt freshly crushed black pepper 1 teaspoon smoked paprika ¼ cup of Colatura di Alici fish sauce (available online)

In a large wok, heat olive oil over medium heat, then add onion and garlic. Cook for 4 minutes. Add cabbage and tomatoes to the pot, crush each tomato by hand. Pour the tomato juice in the jar into the pot, season with salt and pepper, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir the chili powder into the cabbage mixture. Remove from heat, add fish sauce and stir. Transfer to a bowl and eat.

Reprinted by Mashama Bailey and John O. Morisano with permission from Black, White and The Gray, Copyright © 2021. Published by Lorena Jones Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.

This article appears in our November 2021 issue.