Seasoned in the South: Recipes from Crook's Corner and from Home

his is a small, seasonal book divided into Fall, Winter, Spring and summer. It utilizes the foods of each season just as they do at the Crook's Corner restaurant, located in Chapel Hill, NC, where many of these recipes are served. I haven't had the pleasure of eating there but I have heard many good things about this restaurant and it's on my someday places to eat list.

I wish I could say I have this one in my collection but it is one I checked out from the library. It is on my wish list though and in the mean time I've copied a few recipes I want to try. His version of Fried Green Tomatoes, Honeysuckle Sorbet, and Green Tabasco Chicken sound like dishes our family would really enjoy tasting.

Bon Appetit Magazine called Crook's Corner, " a legend", and Travel and Leisure Magazine called it, " country cookin' gone cool". Delta Sky rated it "the best place to eat in Chapel Hill, in NC and possibly on earth."

Bill Neal was the first chef there in 1982 and was there for several years. He also has several wonderful southern cookbooks available and I have a few of his. For more than a decade Bill Smith has resided over the kitchen. While there he has reinvented Southern Classics and also offers imaginative interpretations of bistro fare.

He puts together traditional and classic southern dishes with his own unique style. He includes some information about each recipe, such as who he got it from, what he based it on, or how it came to be. He also includes commentary about when and where he first acquired a taste for a certain food and a little about people who have worked or eaten at the restaurant.