At My Grandmother's Knee: Recipes and Memories Handed Down by Women of the South

by Faye Porter

Granny, Nana, Mamaw, or Gigi.

It doesn t matter what you call her. If her roots are in the South, your grandmother's recipe box probably includes a dish or two you've longed to recreate.

How about her legendary chicken and dumplings or the loaves of zucchini bread she always baked from her garden's summertime bounty? Does your mouth water when you think back on her Sunday pot roasts or the hash brown casserole she always made on Thanksgiving morning? You remember the strawberry pudding cake she whipped up for special birthday dinners? The meals you enjoyed at your grandmother's table may very well have been your first exposure to the notion of Southern hospitality and the idea that we really can show our love through food.

Faye Porter's "At My Grandmother's Knee" celebrates grandma's cooking and the stories from the grandchildren whose own memories are sure to spark a few of your own. Throughout this collection, you'll sit at the tables of dozens of Southern grandmas and sample recipes that have made them famous with their family for decades. Don't be surprised if you see a few of your own family favorites along the way.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 22, 2011

Reviews

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I cook from scratch and am always looking for more really good recipes. I'm glad I ordered this one from the library instead of purchasing it. Many of the recipes call for things like canned soup and jello packets. I think I need to look for recipes from great grandmothers. :) There were some recipes that seemed worth a try, but they also were almost unanimously unhealthy. They're pretty much all white flour, fatty meat and white sugar. It made me a bit sad to see how many times grandma was said to have died of breast cancer or was no longer with us (or even the entry about how grandpa said she was trying to kill him as the doctor said he was so unhealthy), and I couldn't help but think that fewer biscuits with chocolate gravy for breakfast might have kept these wonderful ladies and their families around longer. Most of them are things that are fun to have as a treat but would not be wise to eat regularly, especially in our sedentary culture today.

There are some color photos, but not a lot. Folks with special dietary needs (vegans, gluten free, diabetic, paleo, etc.) are likely to find very few recipes they can use. Most of the recipes are very simple to follow, though, without a lot of ingredients. Vegetable dishes were few and far between, and generally had things like sugar added to them.

Most of the recipes were pretty standard and I generally have found better ones. The sweet tea recipes call for purchased tea bags, water and sugar (not even the tip about the pinch of baking soda keeping it clear), for example. I was a little unimpressed but I did enjoy the little stories about the grandmas before the entries.

[Bea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is laid out well, which is something I enjoyed. The pictures are fullpage and beautiful, which I feel is important in a cookbok, but they seem to become more scarce the farther one reads. The biggest drawback to this book to me is the lack of information about the contained recipes. Each recipe is accompanied by a small paragraph about the submitter and her grandmother/aunt/what-have-you, which I understand is one of the draws of the book, but the passages were far too short. As someone who didn't grow up in the South, I am not familiar with all of these recipes, and without photos attached I often didn't know what I was supposed to be producing. Adding desciptions, notes, and tips about the recipes would've made this a much better experience.

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a well organized and easy to follow cookbook. The author has included a few paragraphs about the contributors and their grandmothers, which were interesting and heartfelt. The recipes are all southern inspired, many of which circulate within my own family.

[Robin Fesmire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much enjoyed

This book shares not only the recipes but places each within the context of a memory. I'd like to see this as part of a series which included reader contributions. Each recipe triggered a memory of my grandmothers and the wonderful cooking they did. It was put together well, and it was a joy to read. I'll be making at least a couple of these recipes.

[Reading Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Every recipe comes with the memories of grandchildren of the food, and the love of their grandmothers. I too had an amazing grandmother who loved by preparing food. She made a burnt sugar pie to die for. She is still missed. I haven't prepared any of the recipes, but can't wait to make the cloud biscuits with the chocolate gravy. MmMm!

[Talea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the little glimpses into each grandma. It took me back to my own grandmother teaching me patiently in her kitchen during summer visits. The pictures made my mouth water and the recipes are good solid old family favorites, with a little twist here and there. I can’t wait to try some of them.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the way this book was written. It is like reading mini stories. Each women tells about her relationship with her Grandmother before the recipe is given. The ingredients are every day and provide comfort food. Well worth your time

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cookbook is one thing, but a cookbook with stories is another, and I love one that gets it right. This one definitely gets it right, and I'm going to buy myself, my mama, and probably various other people a copy.

The pictures are outstanding - I almost licked the screen when I got to the chocolate gravy. The recipes are simple and straight-forward. How could you go wrong with recipes titled "Pimento Cheese a la Nanny" and "Memama's Chocolate Sheet Cake"? Since they come from southern grandmothers, there's probably nothing here that the reader hasn't tasted or at least heard of, and the recipes don't call for any fancy, hard to get ingredients.

The heart of the book, however, are the stories that precede each recipe. Natives from across the South share warm recollections of their grandmothers' kitchens. I chuckled at the quote, "You'd have to keep saying, 'Ma-Maw, that's enough. Come sit down.'", because how many times have we had to tell my own grandmother that??? This is a wonderful book that should find its way onto many southern shelves, whether the readers are cooks or not.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I loved the recipes and the little stories about people's grans. My own Granny Peg taught me how to cook, but now she has Alzheimers and doesn't know who I am. The book was particularly poignant for me, and I am thankful to have grown up with grandparents.

As for the recipes, they sound delicious and are almost all familiar to me. In one instance, one of the recipes reminded me of something my Gran used to make that I haven't had in years. I'll be making it this week. :)

Some of the recipes call for using a food processor, which we certainly didn't have, so don't expect authentic methods in every recipe; they have clearly been updated for a modern kitchen. You can still make them in the authentic methods, though, if that's what you're in the mood for (or if like me you still don't have a food processor). The Pimento Cheese recipe, for example.

[ReadingWench · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first saw this book in Book Review magazine.I thought it sounded interesting, so I placed a hold at my library. I was first on the list. Woo Hoo. It arrived today.

I NEED this book. I need this book in my home library. I need to buy this book for my sister, and my mom, and any other people I can think of. Only after reading a few of the stories and recipes, I can remember my great-grandma standing in her kitchen making these very same recipes. My family never cooks with recipes, its a pinch of this and a scoop of that. However this book looks amazingly on the mark. I can't wait to start making anything in this book. Hurry up weekend !!

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw this as a low cost selection on book bub.com and thought it looked interesting. Thank heavens for the library! My coworkers at the branch where I work part time were very excited when it came in by special request from another system.

It's a sweet idea, women share memories and recipes from the women who helped form them. They happen to be Southern women but the stories echo for you wherever you grew up. The names they're called are as different as the recipes. The first one up is biscuits with chocolate gravy, the picture and concept are grabbers.

If I was contributing something from my Gram---her Farina dumplings and her apple strudel.

[librarian4Him02 · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my co-workers asked if this could be ordered for our library branch. Once it was received and processed, I had the chance to read it. Can't say that I've ever read a cookbook cover to cover, but this was a fun, light read. Recipe contributors also shared stories of their grandmothers and precious kitchen memories. Plus there are a ton of good-sounding recipes.

I've decided this is a must-have for my cookbook collection.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book! Such a great collection of original, simple recipes. Many of which, I remember from my childhood. These are not all "from scratch," as some have commented-but, they are what is used. Meals were made from what was at hand, not a complex grocery list.
Loved this so much, I just purchased it!

[Gato Negro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fabulous book by Faye Porter...old southern recipes with introductions and stories by those whose grandmothers cooked them. Bought it today.

[Ruth]

Loved the stories of the relationship with grandmothers.