Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns, and Other Southern Specialties: An Entertaining Life (with Recipes)

By Julia Reed

Southern humorist Julia Reed celebrates Southern food, Southern women, and the Southern penchant for enjoying good times in this collection of her food writing.

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Apr 28, 2009
• ISBN: 9781466828537

Julia Reed

Julia Reed grew up in Greenville, Mississippi. She is a contributing editor at Newsweek and is the author of the essay collection Queen of the Turtle Derby. She lives in New Orleans.

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Reviews for Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns, and Other Southern Specialties

[bensdad00 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A collection of NY Times columns with recipes, several of which I have added to my repertoire (including Lemonade Souffle).

[etxgardener · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I first encountered Julia Reed when she was on CNN in 2005 commenting on Hurricane Katrina and its effect on her adopted home of New Orleans. Since then I've seen her popping up everywhere from Vogue and Garden and Gun magazine to Anthony Bourdain's travel/food show on television. In this book she reminisces about growing up in the Mississippi Delta and learning how to entertain from her mother and her friends in a highly Ya-Yas Sisterhood manner. The recipes are mostly old Southern stand-bys (or variations of the same) and the reminiscences are mostly amusing if a little precious

[michigantrumpet_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not quite a cookbook and not quite a memoir, many could find Julia Reed's compilation of articles offputting. Nevertheless, this book worked for me. I found her writing style engaging and enthusiastic, if not downright infectious -- as a yankee through and through, no small praise. I will be making several of the recipes provided over and over. The recipes were clear and esy to follow. Because this was a comliation, there were some repetitive commentary, which could have used a nice editor. Overall, I found myself drawn to her joy in entertaining and cooking.

[nelliemc · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

OK, where was the editor for this book? There are some decent Southern recipes in this book, so I gave it 1/2 star. But otherwise, this is a self-indulgent exercise in false modesty. We are told time and time again how many sophisticated, famous friends the author has, all of whom, to her perpetually expressed astonishment, love this girl from Greenville, Miss who now lives in NYC and is a fabulous cook. (although, as she notes several times, her mother must have had something to do with it since she has thrown over 1,000 parties, not one of which was anything less than an outstanding success). The accompanying essays are written without any humor, self-awareness, or ability to impart interesting information. We hear the story of how a small Louisiana shop owner roasted 30 suckling pigs for the author's wedding rehearsal dinner just because he'a good friend. But that's all we hear, wasn't there a good story in this? I could go on, but just strongly suggest if you would like to save irritation, don't pick up this book. And if you want good Southern recipes, check out Edna Lewis.