I received my copy of Deep Run Roots
I haven't started cooking from it so no recommendation there but if you enjoy reading a cookbook, I absolutely recommend taking a look at this one. If you find essays and background information in a cookbook to be unnecessary fluff or filler, then steer clear. Vivian says the book is as much a storybook as a cookbook and I've very much enjoyed reading it. I'd like to plow through and read the whole thing before I start cooking from it but on the other hand, I'm savoring each chapter and am tempted to slow down to make it last longer.
It's organized into chapters by ingredient, beginning with an informative essay, a collection of advice or tips that Vivian calls, "Wisdom", then some classic, Eastern North Carolina recipes before moving into recipes where Vivian has added a more modern twist, as she does in her restaurant.
For example, the first chapter, Ground Corn, starts with recipes for Mom's Cornpone, Grandma Hill's Hoecakes, Lillie's Fried Cornbread and Foolproof Grits before moving into Charred Spring Vegetables with Creamy Scallion Dressing and Hushpuppy Croutons, Grits & Greens with Hot Sauce and Pork Rinds, Pimento Cheese Grits with Salsa and Chips, Cheesy Grit Fritters and Spoonbread with Sausage Ragout.
While the chapters are organized by ingredient, some recipes appear in unexpected places. Fried Green Tomatoes are not in the Tomato chapter but in the Peach section, in a recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes with Curried Peach Preserves and Whipped Feta. I think it makes the chapters more interesting to read but less useful if you are looking for, say, salad ideas. There is a "Recipe Guide" at the front of the book to address that issue with a listing of recipes by type and the index in the back seems to be useful for finding things.
The chapter essays, header notes and recipes are all written in a consistent, authentic voice, the same voice that Vivian uses in the PBS series "A Chef's Life." If you like the show, as I do, you will like the book. If you find her annoying in the show, you will likely be annoyed by the book as well. It's clearly her book and not a celebrity chef-ghost-written product. There are many recipes that were featured in the show and quite a few new recipes. In the show, we're introduced to one of the home cooks doing recipe testing for the book and the credits list several more, giving me some confidence in trying the recipes.
The photos were shot by the fellow who is the director of photography (in his words, cam dude) for the show, who had never shot a cookbook before. Someone in an Amazon review dinged the photos for not being clear. I'm not sure what that means, I find they contribute very positively to the experience of reading the book. While there are abundant, beautiful photographs that illustrate both the essays and recipes, in at least one case, I wish they had either more or different photos - the recipe for Sweet Potato Onion Bread is illustrated with 5 photos of ingredients being added to the dough but no photos of the dough being shaped or of the final product. That's an exception, as there's a photo of almost every finished dish.
Like @rotuts, there are quite a few recipes that call out to me, including the Pork and Red Curry Braised Watermelon that he mentioned. On my list so far:
Jalapeño Peach Chicken - this starts with the recipe for a Jalapeño Peach Glaze that should yield several jars to can
Sweet Potato Onion Bread
Fried Chicken Livers with Balsamic-Marinated Figs
Roasted and Fresh Tomato Pie
A number of the blueberry recipes appeal to me, like the blueberry chutney, a salad of blueberries, cucumber, pistachios and yogurt, Crab Hoecakes with Blueberry Corn Salsa, and a Blueberry, Buttermilk and Lime Parfait that has layers of a blueberry jelly, buttermilk panna cotta, lime curd and buttermilk whipped cream assembled in half-pint jelly jars. Like the watermelon dish, that will likely wait until next summer.
I'll probably try the simple fresh sausage recipe since it's used in several dishes that interest me, like the Spoonbread with Sausage Ragout. I will not be making the Tom Thumb sausage - a local speciality of fresh sausage stuffed into a pigs appendix and aged for a week or 2 but the Dirty Faro and Rutabaga Relish that it's served with sound pretty good.
I'll post back after I try some recipes.
