Sean Brock's Heritage ($40) is a strong contender for most beautiful cookbook of the bunch, both in terms of visuals and prose. Brock's earnest enthusiasm for regional Southern fare — Lowcountry eats in particular — is contagious; this is the sort of book you'll want to read cover to cover, not just for the recipes, but also for the background on everything from heritage breeds of livestock to the origins of Hoppin' John. Do know that this is a restaurant cookbook, so many recipes are complex, multicomponent affairs, but don't let that put you off. In many cases the headnotes provide suggestions for simplifying and others still are simpler homey dishes.
Recipes we can't wait to try:
- Lemony mustard greens with benne
- Cracklin' cornbread
- Farroto with acorn squash and red russian kale
- Chicken simply roasted in a skillet
- Slow-cooked rib eye with potato confit and green garlic-parsley butter
- Southern screwdriver (jalapeño, basil, orange, and vodka cocktail)
- Antebellum benne-blackberry tart
