Screen Doors and Sweet Tea: Recipes and Tales from a Southern Cook

I stumbled upon this book on Amazon and was intrigued by the other reviewer's mention of Red Velvet Cake. I put the book on my "Wish List" and then searched for it at the library. When I got it home, I thoroughly enjoyed looking through it. I was about a quarter of the way through when I decided that I definitely want to own this one, so it's staying on my "Wish List." Every recipe sounds delicious, the photos are wonderful and the little stories are captivating, charming and heart-warming. This book makes me wish I were from the South!

I want to say up front that I don't like cooking. It ranks right up there with ironing clothes as a task to put off at all costs. HOWEVER, there is something about this book that makes me want to get in the kitchen and get re-aquainted with my measuring spoons and spice rack.

If the beautiful photographs don't get you goin' then the great stories that accompany each recipe surely will. I was so inspired by "Aunt Marynaise" that I went out and bought a food processor just so I could make homemade mayo. (My mom-in-law would be soooooo proud!)

You won't be sorry you purchased this book!

Martha, my spice rack and measuring spoons thank you, and so do I!

Because I love southern cookbooks and vintage aprons, I had to get this book. What a sweet cover!! The recipes inside just want to make you cook and sit down with a glass of sweet iced tea..they are good recipes and this is one book that will be a great addition in the kitchen! It doesn't get any better than this! This one I got a heads-up from my good friend Margie in Tennessee...not only is the cover picture of a woman dressed in an apron serving a huge tomato filled with peas and corn salad an eye-catcher but the book is filled with tales and awfully tempting southern recipes. There's a picture of mason jars filled with banana pudding and meringue and the recipe is to die for! Also, try out the Curried Sweet Potato Soup with Pork Rind Croutons, a little bit of heaven here on earth! This one is a keeper!

I am not one to write reviews on books, but after purchasing, reading, and cooking some of the recipes in this book, I had to put in my two cents worth. This is one of the best- if not the best cookbook on Southern cooking I have read in a long time. I am an avid cookbook collector, and the owner of a cafe in Arkansas. Not only are the recipes fantastic, but the stories and pictures make it all the more enjoyable. If you cook one thing out of this book, you must try the Lemon Icebox Pie. This is one of the best pie recipes I have made. I can't wait to try the banana pudding in the mason jars. If I could, I would give this cookbook 10 stars!

Wow- I collect & use many cookbooks, but this one in particual almost reads like a best selling novel. Along with some of the best southern inspired recipes as a main course, the reader gets treated to a side dish of recipe history and a dessert of wonderfully helpful notes! Some of my personal favorites include the Chicken Thighs & Dumplings--little pillow dumplings adrift in the richest of stews, honest devil-ed eggs, watermelon salsa (just incredible!) and the best ever, natural Red Velvet cake. Wash it all down with a McCarty Pottery Julep or a Mailbox cocktail! Well Martha, very, very well done!