Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns, and Other Southern Specialties: An Entertaining Life (with Recipes)
by: Julia Reed
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Julia Reed spends a lot of time thinking about ham biscuits.And cornbread and casseroles and the surprisingly modern ease of donning a hostess gown for one’s own party. In Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns and Other Southern Specialties Julia Reed collects her thoughts on good cooking and the lessons of gracious entertaining that pass from one woman to another, and takes the reader on a lively and very personal tour of the culinary—and social—South. In essays on everything from pork chops to the perfect picnic Julia Reed revels in the simple good qualities that make the Southern table the best possible place to pull up a chair. She expounds on: the Southerner’s relentless penchant for using gelatin; why most things taste better with homemade mayonnaise; the necessity of a holiday milk punch (and, possibly, a Santa hat); how best to “cook for compliments” (at least one squash casserole and Lee Bailey’s barbequed veal are key). She provides recipes for some of the region’s best-loved dishes (cheese straws, red velvet cake, breakfast shrimp), along with her own variations on the classics, including Fried Oysters Rockefeller Salad and Creole Crab Soup. She also elaborates on worthwhile information every hostess would do well to learn: the icebreaking qualities of a Ramos gin fizz and a hot crabmeat canapé, for example; the “wow factor” intrinsic in a platter of devilled eggs or a giant silver punchbowl filled with scoops of homemade ice cream. There is guidance on everything from the best possible way to “eat” your luck on New Year’s Day to composing a menu in honor of someone you love. Grace and hilarity under gastronomic pressure suffuse these essays, along with remembrances of her gastronomic heroes including Richard Olney, Mary Cantwell, and M.F.K. Fisher. Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns and Other Southern Specialties is another great book about the South from Julia Reed, a writer who makes her experiences in—and out of—the kitchen a joy to read.
Julia Reed spends a lot of time thinking about ham biscuits.And cornbread and casseroles and the surprisingly modern ease of donning a hostess gown for one’s own party. In Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns and Other Southern Specialties Julia Reed collects her thoughts on good cooking and the lessons of gracious entertaining that pass from one woman to another, and takes the reader on a lively and very personal tour of the culinary—and social—South. In essays on everything from pork chops to the perfect picnic Julia Reed revels in the simple good qualities that make the Southern table the best possible place to pull up a chair. She expounds on: the Southerner’s relentless penchant for using gelatin; why most things taste better with homemade mayonnaise; the necessity of a holiday milk punch (and, possibly, a Santa hat); how best to “cook for compliments” (at least one squash casserole and Lee Bailey’s barbequed veal are key). She provides recipes for some of the region’s best-loved dishes (cheese straws, red velvet cake, breakfast shrimp), along with her own variations on the classics, including Fried Oysters Rockefeller Salad and Creole Crab Soup. She also elaborates on worthwhile information every hostess would do well to learn: the icebreaking qualities of a Ramos gin fizz and a hot crabmeat canapé, for example; the “wow factor” intrinsic in a platter of devilled eggs or a giant silver punchbowl filled with scoops of homemade ice cream. There is guidance on everything from the best possible way to “eat” your luck on New Year’s Day to composing a menu in honor of someone you love. Grace and hilarity under gastronomic pressure suffuse these essays, along with remembrances of her gastronomic heroes including Richard Olney, Mary Cantwell, and M.F.K. Fisher. Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns and Other Southern Specialties is another great book about the South from Julia Reed, a writer who makes her experiences in—and out of—the kitchen a joy to read.
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- Queen of the Name Droppers
I agree with those who were put off by the author's A-list name-dropping.It was, frankly, tacky.And the recipes weren't all that great; all of us raised down here have a file full of things just as good.
Books like these are like self-important party guests who have perhaps just one bourbon-and-water too many, and start monopolizing conversations and telling long-drawn-out versions of their dreams.But the bored victim, at such a gathering, has one advantage over a reader---he/she ... Read More
Rating: - Great for What it Is
I understand the reviewers who object to the lack of photos or the author's hostess-with-the-mostest name-dropping, but consider the source:the book is a collection of food columns (with recipes, as the title informs us), not a cookbook.As for me, I loved this book, which fed my ex-pat Southerner's heart with both the food and the 'tude.
As one who is still mourning the loss of my copy of "Queen of the Turtle Derby" to a co-worker who moved away without returning it, I consider Julia ... Read More
Rating: - So So
The stories about the author's parents and relatives were great, an era gone by.The recipes were decent too.The writing was a bit stiff and she was a little too pretentious (to me).
Rating: - Recipes for the sake of name dropping
Born and raised in the south, I appreciated this book as a present recently. Was looking forward to the recipes and some eccentric family tales about southern families. What I read were a lot of stories generally set up to tell the reader that Julia Reed knows a lot of famous people, because she is VERY important. I found her writing style almost offensive. Ms. Reed seems to have lost her southern charm somewhere along the way. It's a very odd contrast sitting next to the way-down-home recipes for things ... Read More
Rating: 
- A Southern gem
I love to give cookbooks to my friends that tell stories as well as give recipes. This cookbook is fun to read, especially for Southern girls.
- Queen of the Name DroppersI agree with those who were put off by the author's A-list name-dropping.It was, frankly, tacky.And the recipes weren't all that great; all of us raised down here have a file full of things just as good.
Books like these are like self-important party guests who have perhaps just one bourbon-and-water too many, and start monopolizing conversations and telling long-drawn-out versions of their dreams.But the bored victim, at such a gathering, has one advantage over a reader---he/she ... Read More
- Great for What it IsI understand the reviewers who object to the lack of photos or the author's hostess-with-the-mostest name-dropping, but consider the source:the book is a collection of food columns (with recipes, as the title informs us), not a cookbook.As for me, I loved this book, which fed my ex-pat Southerner's heart with both the food and the 'tude.
As one who is still mourning the loss of my copy of "Queen of the Turtle Derby" to a co-worker who moved away without returning it, I consider Julia ... Read More
- So SoThe stories about the author's parents and relatives were great, an era gone by.The recipes were decent too.The writing was a bit stiff and she was a little too pretentious (to me).
- Recipes for the sake of name droppingBorn and raised in the south, I appreciated this book as a present recently. Was looking forward to the recipes and some eccentric family tales about southern families. What I read were a lot of stories generally set up to tell the reader that Julia Reed knows a lot of famous people, because she is VERY important. I found her writing style almost offensive. Ms. Reed seems to have lost her southern charm somewhere along the way. It's a very odd contrast sitting next to the way-down-home recipes for things ... Read More
- A Southern gemI love to give cookbooks to my friends that tell stories as well as give recipes. This cookbook is fun to read, especially for Southern girls.
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