Back to the Family: Food Tastes Better Shared With Ones You Love

by Art Smith

Back to the Family is a companion to Art Smith's New York Times bestseller and James Beard award-winning cookbook, Back to the Table . Smith is the personal chef to Oprah Winfrey and a contributing editor to O Magazine . This book encourages readers to better understand the importance of valuing the ones you love through cooking and communing with food. Most importantly Back to the Family stresses the importance of recognizing old food traditions (family recipes, meals, memories, etc.) and the equal importance of creating new and healthier food traditions. More than 150 recipes and more than 140 photographs provide a wonderful evocative eating and reading experience.

Genres: Cookbooks, Reference, Cooking

312 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2007

Reviews

[Melissa (Semi Hiatus Until After the Holidays) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a wonderful cookbook filled with recipes and narration aimed to bring families closer together. Not too long ago, the dinner table was a place the family gathered around to share good food and to connect with each other. This has been going by the wayside as society has become busier and faster-paced. The information provided in Back to the Family, accompanied by rich photographs, can help us regain a little of this lifestyle before it is lost forever. Whether sharing breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a midnight snack, a family can use these recipes to draw closer together.

Recipe sections include: Relishes; Drinks and punches; Eggs and omelets; Grits; Breakfast casseroles; Hotcakes, biscuits, and fritters; Soup as a meal; Starters and salads; Hot sandwiches; Meat and fish; Sides; Brines and aromatics; Breads and pizza dough; Pizzas; and Sauces and Desserts. The cookbook offers a large variety of recipes spanning every meal range from the simple to the complex. Breakfast casserole with ciabatta, Roasted Pumpkin and butternut squash soup, Coleslaw, Turkey Panini, Butterfly Pork Loin with garlic, red pepper, and cider vinegar, Grilled flank steak, Baked Beans, Herb-Roasted Potatoes, Focaccia with goat cheese and herbs, Cinnamon Rolls, and Flan - these are just a few of the delectable recipes provided. My own family particularly enjoyed the Oven Barbecued Ribs and Split Roasted Herbed Chicken.

If you are searching for family-friendly recipes that are just a cut above the ordinary, as well as some enjoyable and uplifting commentary, then Back to the Family is an excellent choice.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up at the library solely for the photography, but was happily surprised to try many of the recipes and find them outstanding. The author, Art Smith, is Oprah Winfrey's personal chef. Who has a personal chef?? I didn't know that before I checked it out, so that was interesting. One of the best recipes that I've made three times already is a salsa (de chile de arbol) recipe. It is simple, but really delicious. I made it for someone that doesn't usually like salsa and they couldn't stop eating it.

The author is from northern Florida, and weaves throughout the cookbook his philosophy about how a good meal is central to good family life. I was really touched by some of the quotes and things he shared throughout the book, and also very impressed with the quality of the recipes. They are fairly straightforward to make.

The funniest part about the cookbook is that he says that the Holy Trinity of the South is onion, garlic, and green peppers, a mixture that goes into just about everything.

[Nita Hulbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointed

I chose this book because I like Art Smith, and the book was reduced to $.99. I assumed that "Back to the Family would be simple downtime food. Some of it was, but most of it was more unusual, hard to find ingredients. If I'd seen the book in the store and flipped through it, I wouldn't have purchased it.

[Fran Jolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nostalgic

Art shares recipes that transport him back to his hometown of Jasper FL where he amassed cherished family memories. Peppered throughout are recipes from friends who have made a significant impact on his life.

[Liz Cowans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely

Love this book. I love the memories the author shares. I am a southern girl, so these recipes hold a lotta love for me. Seems like I am part of the family!