Paula Deen's Kitchen Classics: The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook and The Lady & Sons, Too!

480 Pages·2005·0.42 MB·English

by  Paula Deen

Compilation copyright © 2005 by Random House, Inc.
Foreword copyright © 2005 by Paula H. Deen
Introduction copyright © 1998 by John Berendt
The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook copyright © 1997, 1998 by Paula
H. Deen
The Lady & Sons, Too! copyright © 2000 by Paula H. Deen
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Random House, an imprint of The Random
House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
RANDOM HOUSE and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
The two works contained in this book were published individually by Random
House, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of
Random House, Inc.
The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook was previously published under
the title: Favorite Recipes of the Lady & Her Friends.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Deen, Paula H.
Paula Deen’s kitchen classics : The lady & sons Savannah country cookbook
and The lady & sons, too! / introduction by John Berendt; new foreword by
Paula Deen.
p.  cm.
Includes index.
eISBN: 978-0-345-52966-4
1. Cookery, American—Southern style. 2. Cookery—Georgia—Savannah.  3.
Lady & Sons (Restaurant). I. Deen, Paula H. Lady & sons Savannah country
cookbook. 1998. II. Deen, Paula H. Lady & sons too! 2000. III. Title.
TX715.2.S68D48 2005
641.5975—dc22    2005048958
www.atrandom.com
Book design by Victoria Wong
v3.1
BOOKS BY PAULA DEEN
The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook
The Lady & Sons, Too!
The Lady & Sons Just Desserts
Paula Deen & Friends: Living It Up, Southern Style
Contents
Perfect Marriage: A New Foreword by Paula Deen
Introduction by John Berendt
The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook
A Note from The Lady …
 … And a Tribute from Her Sons
Appetizers
HOT APPETIZERS
COLD APPETIZERS
Soups and Salads
SOUPS
SALADS
Main Courses
FISH AND SHELLFISH
MEAT
POULTRY
Vegetables and Side Dishes
Breads
Sauces, Dressings, and Preserves
Desserts
CAKES AND PIES
COOKIES AND BROWNIES
OTHER CONFECTIONS
Cooking Tips from The Lady
Acknowledgments
The Lady & Sons, Too!
The Journey Continues …
Helpful Hints from The Lady
Appetizers
HOT APPETIZERS
COLD APPETIZERS
Soups and Salads
SOUPS
SALADS
Main Courses
FISH AND SHELLFISH
MEAT
POULTRY
Vegetables and Side Dishes
Breads
Sauces, Dressings, and Marinades
And from My Peers …
Desserts
CAKES AND PIES
PUDDINGS AND CUSTARDS
COOKIES AND BROWNIES
Weights and Measures
Acknowledgments
Index
Paula and Michael with friends and family
Perfect Marriage: A New Foreword
A marriage can be a beautiful thing, y’all, especially when the match is just
perfect, and I am thrilled to share with you what I think are two perfect
marriages.
In the latter part of 2004, I was surprised by a phone call from my friends at
Random House that made me squeal with delight! They wanted to combine
The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook and The Lady & Sons, Too! into
one comprehensive, easy-to-use hardcover volume. Talk about a perfect
marriage! I couldn’t believe that these two fabulous books were gonna become
one. Never again would I have to rack my brain to try and remember which
recipe is in which book. The wonderful kicker to this new edition is they
wanted me to share with y’all another perfect match.
Oh, my goodness, where to begin? My mind automatically �ies back to that
fateful day in the summer of 2000 when my dogs, Otis and Sam, decided to run
away. Little did I know that what they were running to would change the rest
of my life.
For those who have already heard my story I will try to make it brief, but I
feel compelled to tell it here for those who have not. For three years prior to
that fateful day, my business had been thriving but my personal life was empty
and at a standstill. I needed help! I was living downtown in Savannah, Georgia,
and when I wasn’t working I was as miserable as any person could be. It may
sound corny, but one day it dawned on me that I was going to have to turn this
one over to God. Bear in mind that I had not one activity outside of work. I
had no way to meet anybody. So as I lay in bed at night saying my prayers, I
added one last sentence: “Lord, please send me a neighbor.”
One day I got up and had a wild hair that I wanted to live on the water. I
drove out to Wilmington Island and bought the �rst waterfront place that I
saw. I loaded up the truck and we moved to Bev-er-lee … Wilmington Island,
that is. The animals and I all settled in to our wonderful new life on the water.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t help but notice that all my neighbors were married. I
continued praying for a neighbor.
Before long, I was on hiatus from the restaurant life, devoting all of my time
to the writing of my next cookbook. It was just great working from my new
home. I think the dogs especially loved having me around. We had a regular
little routine. I sat at the computer working, and Sam and Otis would come
over and put their paws on my leg to let me know they needed to go outside.
Our pattern never changed. The gated community we lived in was patterned
after the row houses of downtown Savannah; we even had our own square
with a beautiful fountain in the center. I always took Otis and Sam out the
back door on the water side and then we always took a right and went into the
square to do our business. Until that fateful day. Instead of a right, they took a
left, pausing long enough to take one look back at me, and then all of a sudden
they started running like the very devil himself was chasing them. There I was,
running behind them, hollering, “Stop! Stop please, boys!” But by then nothing
was going to stop them, so I continued to run after them. We shimmied around
the big wall around our compound, trying not to fall into Turner’s Creek. As
we made our way around the wall, the boys spotted their object of interest: a
big, imposing man who resembled Ernest Hemingway. As I continued to follow
the dogs, I could see that “Ernest” was propped on his fence, talking on his cell
phone. And do I have to tell y’all that Sam and Otis immediately started
pooping all over his yard! After gushing apologies, and a couple lines of polite
conversation, I scooped Sam and Otis up, and back home we went. I have to be
perfectly honest, the thought did run through my head, Could this be my
neighbor? Nah! Well, guess what happened two weeks later? The dogs did it
again. And can you believe it, it was like “Ernest” had not moved from that
position in two weeks. It was just like he was waiting there for us. So this time
I wasn’t nearly as intimidated; after all, I had made it out alive the �rst time. I
soon found out that “Ernest” was really Michael Groover, a docking pilot who
had lived in this spot his whole life. Those were really good signs—maybe he
wasn’t an ax murderer! With that in mind, I agreed to a date with him for the
next day, and a strange feeling inside of me said that life would never be the
same again. In the next three years my life went from unhealthy and
unbalanced, with nothing but work and solitude, to healthy and balanced, with
work, play, and a fabulous companion.
On Christmas morning in 2002, Michael took my breath away with the most
romantic proposal a girl could ever hope for. Along with this proposal came
the most beautiful engagement ring I had ever seen. I realized then that
Michael had made a commitment to be committed. To me that was the most
important thing, and so we settled nicely into engagement life.
Days turned into months, still with no talk of a date. Our life together
continued to be easy and comfortable. And then, all of a sudden, one phone
call changed everything. I was forced to set a date. Not by Michael but, believe
it or not, by Food Network. They wanted to be with us and capture our special
day forever on �lm. The executives at Food Network wanted to present a one-
hour special titled “Paula Deen’s Wedding.” And they wanted it to air in June
2004! Before I could give them an answer, my �rst thoughts were naturally of
Michael. If he were to have any reservations at all, then it would be a no-go.
When I approached him with the idea, he smiled and said, “Well, yeah, I’ve
never done anything like that before.” I just squealed and threw my arms
around him. I knew we were both headed for a day we would never forget.