Southern Lights: Easier, Lighter, and Better-for-You Recipes from the South

Southern Lights: Easier, Lighter, and Better-for-You Recipes from the South

“Going beyond lighter versions of beignets and pimiento cheese, Charleston blogger and author McDuffie delivers innovation in the form of unlikely foodstuffs paired with traditional down-home dishes.”— Booklist With a fresh take on Southern-style cooking and rooted firmly in the notion that great Southern food doesn’t have to be heavy or unhealthy, this book for the modern home cook has more than 100 recipes for simple Southern food, reimagined and made with less. This is a hassle-free, lighter take on Southern cooking that proves the notion less can so often be more. By reimagining beloved Southern classics and viewing them through a more health- and lifestyle-conscious lens, Lauren McDuffie’s Southern Lights: Easier, Lighter, and Better-for-You Recipes From the South explores ways to make Southern cooking more accessible without sacrificing flavor or quality. Setting traditionally heavy recipes to a decidedly more healthful tune and showing off some Southern fare that is already light to begin with (the heart of Southern cooking beats for fresh, seasonal produce), this cookbook will give you ways to enjoy your favorite Southern dishes more often. It is bursting with some seriously delicious Southern powerhouses—a true all-star lineup—for breakfasts, lunches, appetizers, snacks, dinners, holiday dishes, desserts, and more. Recipes like Sheet Pan Catfish with Okra, Corn, and Tomatoes; Chile-Soaked Watermelon With Smoked Almonds; Creamy Roasted-Garlic Mashed Potatoes; Pimiento Cheese Hummus; Hushpuppy Popovers; and Snow Cream for Southerners will have you at the table in no time. Going beyond lighter versions of beignets and pimiento cheese, Charleston blogger and author McDuffie ( Smoke, Roots, Mountain, Harvest, 2019 ) delivers innovation in the form of unlikely foodstuffs paired with traditional down-home dishes. Eggs Sardou, for instance, loses the heavy cream, favoring lighter sauce atop spinach and artichokes: a perfect encapsulation of the rationale behind this 100-recipe collection. Swaps include leaner meats and coconut cream or buttermilk instead of heavy cream and butter. Oil, vinegar, yogurt, and fresh herbs are heavy hitters here, as are frozen vegetables and other easy-to-find grocery store substitutes. Keeping with the overall lighter theme, directions are straightforward, and the author’s color photographs clearly picture the final result. Some mouthwatering choices: hush puppy popovers, apple tea rose tarts, figs in a blanket, lace hoecakes (as a cornbread alternative), green bean casserole for mushroom lovers. And she didn't forget desserts either, like ruffled buttermilk (punch) pie. -- Barbara Jacobs ― Booklist "Going beyond lighter versions of beignets and pimiento cheese, Charleston blogger and author McDuffie delivers innovation in the form of unlikely foodstuffs paired with traditional down-home dishes."-- Booklist Lauren McDuffie is a cookbook author ( Smoke, Roots, Mountain, Harvest ), food blogger, photographer/stylist, and creator of the cooking blog, My Kitchen Little . She is also the creator of the critically acclaimed and award-winning food blog, Harvest and Honey , and has articles, recipes, and photography published in various forms. Originally from Lexington, Kentucky, Lauren now lives in Charleston, South Carolina, with her husband and two children.