The picturesque mountains and rolling countryside won over West Coast native Joan E. Aller when she moved from California to Tennessee. She has made her home in Appalachia, and she has devoted her life to preserving and sharing the history, the culture and the cuisine of southern Appalachia through photography, painting, writing and cooking.
In her latest cookbook, Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly, Aller presents a taste of southern hospitality in the form of traditional Appalachian recipes that she has collected from inns, small-town restaurants and families throughout the region.
Aller includes traditional and unique recipes for every meal of the day, as well as desserts, beverages and country store favorites that recall memories of simple, home-cooked food. Who can resist oven-baked blueberry French toast for breakfast?
Many of the recipes come from innkeepers in Appalachia, such as cornbread from the Sylvan Falls Mill Bed & Breakfast in northeast Georgia and meatloaf from the Shaker Tavern Bed & Breakfast in South Union, Ky. The trout cakes recipes comes from the Troutdale Dining Room, a five-star restaurant located in a historic Victorian house in Bristol, Tenn. A cornmeal recipe from the Cherokee Indians and a homemade Appalachian wine recipe from a fifth-generation woodworker and artisan in Tennessee are unexpected additions to Aller’s collection. There are also recipes for preserves, pickles and syrup to fill the pantry with homemade versions of country store favorites.
Complemented by photographs of Appalachia from Aller herself, the recipes in Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly offer a mix of Southern comfort and updated classics.
Order the book,copyright Andrews McNeel Publishing, $27.99 hardcover.
