Deep South

Book excerpt: The soul food of America's Deep South is celebrated in this ground-breaking new cookbook. Chef Brad McDonald takes the food of his native Mississippi and from it extracts a world of fresh flavors, new spices, and dazzling colors. From cornbread to smothered catfish, pimento cheese to lemon icebox pie, from Cajun and Creole to the BBQ and smoking techniques of rural communities, this classic food has been given a contemporary edge—a neat spin on traditional soul food. With 100 recipes, stunning photography on location in Louisiana and Mississippi, and insights into the meaning of 'Southernness', Deep South provides a glimpse into a unique way of life—and a new take on a cuisine that has been so influential and yet relatively unchanged for generations.