Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue

“it has a zing, a whang and a fo-dee-doe-doe” –Rick Bragg on North Carolina Barbecue

When I first saw this book, I admit my first thought was “huh, well I would have thought it would be bigger.” Because let’s face it, if there is one thing that can start a small neighborhood war it’s a discussion on what is and isn’t proper barbecue.  But John Shelton Reed and Dale Voleberg Reed’s “Definitive Guide to the People, Recipes and Lore” of North Carolina barbecue is one of those books that is bigger on the inside than it looks on the outside.  It is a treasure trove, a testament, an exhuberent celebration of the one thing served in the South that is better than fried chicken. 

Although more history and folklore than cookbook, Holy Smoke has a hefty section of recipes—both for secret and not so secret sauces, and for all the things you need to serve if you are going to serve barbecue.  Hushpuppies, slaw, cornbread, brunswick stew, collards, mustard greens, cobbler and….(I’m not kidding here) Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding.

It’s not what you’d call a low-fat cookbook, but lord, how can you resist?  --Nicki

SOUTHPORT CLASSIC COOKING

Recipes and Reminiscences

By Lewis J. Hardee Jr.

I read cookbooks like some folks read novels, insatiably. This cookbook is no exception. But in addition to the wonderful, old-fashioned, down-home recipes of the South, this cookbook has delightful stories about Southport, the tiny village at the mouth of the Cape Fear where I was born and raised. The reminiscences are from the days before Southport became a tourist mecca and the ultimate destination for hundreds of retirees from the North seeking the pleasures of a sleepy, southern, coastal town. Some of the stories are about my own family, but most are about other Southport residents I knew and loved when I was young. The tales have a simple, heartwarming humor, such as the one about Miss Lillie Furpless, wife of the owner of the Amuzu theatre, which opened in 1913. Miss Lillie not only sold movie tickets, she sold peanuts she had parched herself and packaged in small brown bags—bags, which the kids loved to blow up and pop loudly as soon as they had polished off the contents. Miss Lillie soon solved the problem by cutting small holes in the bags so they could not be blown up. There are also lots of Southport’s favorite seafood recipes from a time when the shrimping industry reigned supreme. And my mother’s fried chicken recipe along with the author’s favorite lemon pie from his grandmother’s recipe trove. This cookbook is truly a treasure and one you won’t want to miss from a wonderful variety of outstanding cookbooks always available at Two Sisters. --Brooks