Not Your Usual Book Review

Last week I was out of town on business, but as soon as I had some time to myself, I went here.

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They had new and used books in a grand array, though they were a little light on the particular books I was looking for. Never one to leave a bookstore empty-handed, I bought this.

It's a real cookbook, but charming enough that I read it all the way through like a novel. Every recipe has a little story with it, or a comment such as this one that accompanies Baked Peanut Ham with Sherry: "I carve it inelegantly in quarter-inch thick slices, as I have found folk grateful for such a quantity." Or this one about Cheese Grits: "As a breakfast dish, with scrambled eggs, bacon and crisp biscuits, I know no greater feast." I don't think I've ever read a cookbook with a stronger or more pleasant author's voice. It's like having a wise grandmother show you around her kitchen.

Nonetheless, this is something of a pioneer-days Florida cookbook. I will try some of the recipes, but I will definitely skip those involving gopher turtle and bear.

Then I stayed here. Yep, a bedroom and a sitting room, all to myself, with a riot of cardinals singing in the trees outside to welcome the sunrise. Perfect!

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