Rare is the coffee table cookbook, such as this one, whose pretty pages you also want to splatter in the kitchen. All of Fowler’s books—from Classical Southern Cooking to New Southern Baking—are worth owning, but his most recent effort tightens the focus onto the city where he’s made his home for the past three decades. Fowler, who is as much a historian as he is a cook, tells the stories of Savannah’s resonant political, social, and economic past through its indigenous dishes. The introduction alone is an absorbing account of the myriad influences that form the city’s gastronomic fabric, and enlightening tales flank many of the recipes. Bobotie (a minced meat and egg custard dish), rice waffles, curried shrimp, Savannah cream rolls, and a definitive peach tart all illuminate the town’s authentic, often lesser-known flavors.
The Savannah Cookbook
By Damon Lee Fowler
Gibbs Smith
RECIPES: Shrimp Salad, Lemon Squares, and Peach Tart
