New Book Review: East Meets South Recipes

Title: East Meets South Recipes 

Author: Kathryn Brown Ramsperger

Publisher: Kathryn Brown Ramsperger

Quote: "My grandmother made her dumplings much as she made her biscuits."

This is a very small e-book, just 14 recipes. Exactly what's meant by "East Meets South" isn't clear; these are a mix of things the author learned to cook in South Carolina, then in Kenya, and then in Lebanon, all of which places can be described as either South or East. Whatever. Each recipe is for a local dish with enough of an individual spin to make it a novelty. 

What you'll like is that, although some ingredients are pricey and may send you to an upscale grocery store, everything is available in most of the United States most of the time. You won't have to place special orders for wild persimmons or fresh-frozen tamarinds. And everything is reasonably simple to prepare, if you don't mind the time it takes to stuff and roll grape leaves.

What you might not like is that this is NOT a good first book. Ramsperger assumes you've made similar things before and know the basic technique. If you want to try these recipes and have not made baklava or kibbe or dumplings before, consult someone who has.

Her cornbread is authentic Southern cornbread. No sugar, and no flour. The reason why this traditional cornbread was traditionally eaten like a panada, crumbled into milk, tomato juice, or chicken soup and eaten with a spoon, was that using only cornmeal in the dough made a naturally gluten-free, very crumbly bread. Using eggs and milk in the batter helps a little, not a lot. You need extra protein and B-vitamins with plain cornmeal dishes anyway. 

What about a hearty beef stew flavored with peanut butter? African cooks do an extraordinary number of things with their varieties of corn meal and peanut butter. Their recipes tend to taste better than Americans think they sound. 

Some recipes are vegan, two are desserts, and one is an alcoholic drink. 

As a Booktober Blitz freebie this is a nice little cookbook. If I were printing it or paying for it I'd prefer that the author take a little more time, include more recipes, and test to be sure that people who've not made more basic versions of cornbread, baklava, etc., can follow the directions. I don't believe that book makes this possible. For the experienced cook and cookbook collector, this book is worth adding to the collection.