Judging from the number of places in San Francisco that are serving fried chicken these days, I'd say Southern food is due for a revival. We may not experience the full range that Southern food has to offer, but certain items, such as biscuits, can create a frenzy around these parts.
Somehow the food of the South feels like our nation's comfort food. In addition to fried chicken and biscuits, consider macaroni and cheese, cheesy grits, red beans and rice, cobbler, cornbread, Hopping John, sweet potato pie. All of these dishes have a soothing effect, even for those of us who didn't grow up eating them. But Southern food also has many specialties that don't often make it out of the South, and so it makes sense to explore the cuisine in one of two recent Southern cookbooks, the products of down home culinary institutions .
The Lee Bothers who are now located in New York, share a taste of their South Carolina home with the rest of us. Famous for their boiled peanuts, they also sell preserves, pickles, relishes, canned greens, hominy, black walnuts and a variety of other specialties. Send them two dollars, and you will be permanently placed on their mailing list and receive their stitched catalogues.
Now the Lee Brothers have come out with a cookbook, The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook appropriately subtitled, Stories and Recipes for Southerners and Would-Be-Southerners. This book has lots of recipes that you probably never heard of before. Some are very traditional like Benne Wafers, others like Saigon Hoppin' John with the addition of coconut milk, cilantro, ginger and lemongrass, are a bit newfangled. This is a modern book, with a homegrown sensibility. The Lee Brothers share their secrets and tips and make you feel like family. Here is their recipe for pralines.