THE CRACKER KITCHEN by Janis Owens
A Cookbook in Celebration of Cornbread-Fed, Down-Home Family Stories and
Cuisine
Publisher Scribner, February 2009
More than 150 recipes plus family remembrances and cultural history make
up this irresistible salute to Cracker heritage - with an Introduction by
Pat Conroy.
Crackers, rednecks, hillbillies and country boys have long been the brunt of
many jokes, yet this old southern culture is a rich and vibrant part of
American history. In The Cracker Kitchen, novelist Janis Owens traces the
root of the word Cracker back to its origins and through its proliferation
in America to offer an anthropological exploration of this group of proud,
fiercely independent Americans who have a deep love of their families,
country, stories and food. Owens presents a hilarious and heartwarming
celebration of Cracker culture sure to entertain anyone with a taste for
fried chicken and fish frys, a passion for hunting season, and a secret love
of NASCAR.
With more than twenty different seasonal menus, Owens offers a full year’s
worth of eating and rejoicing. From an Easter dinner to a Fall Tailgate
party, to a February celebration of Soul Food in honor of Martin Luther
King, Jr., the recipes for such Cracker favorites as Baked Armadillo,
Sausage Cheese Balls, and Velveeta Rocky Road Fudge are paired with Owens’s
personal family stories and entertaining essays on Cracker culture.
The Cracker Kitchen is a charming, irresistible celebration of family,
storytelling, and good old-fashioned eating—sure to appeal to anyone with an
appreciation of Americana. 
“Janis Owens’ cookbook is a love letter written to celebrate the poor
white people of the American South…it is a joy to read and a pleasure to
turn to again and again. She has produced a Cracker Escoffier, or a
White-Trash Julia Child that is hilarious and charming.”
-- From the Introduction by Pat Conroy
"I am a MISSISSIPPI Cracker and as such, I am a natural-born authority
on all things redneck, hick, country and GOOD. Janis Owens is, I'm certain,
a cousin of some sort--yes, we are all related down here--and I am so proud
of her and her new book, THE CRACKER KITCHEN--couldn't be prouder if she was
my own young'un. Everything in here is GOOD--if not good for you, at least
it will improve your disposition which will help us all out."
-- Jill Conner Browne, author of the best selling Sweet Potato
Queens series.
"This collection of old-fashioned recipes is rich with stories that will put
you in touch with the heart and soul of the South through its food, people
and history."
-- Ethan Becker, author of Joy of Cooking.
|
