Paula Deen & Friends: Living It Up, Southern Style

Sharing a delicious meal is everyone's favorite way of bringing together friends and loved ones. In her new cookbook, Paula Deen and Friends: Living It Up, Southern Style, Paula Deen — author, restaurateur, and Food Network star — turns to her friends to share their stories, ideas for entertaining Southern style, and, most important, more than 150 of the prized recipes they serve to their family and friends.

With the trademark Southern charm that has made her beloved by fans everywhere, Paula's new book features delicious, down-home entertaining menus, with recipes that are guaranteed to be instant crowd-pleasers. Whether you're planning an intimate family dinner, hosting an elegant cocktail party, or feeding a hungry crowd for lunch, these mouthwatering meals are the perfect way to share any occasion with good friends — and have fun doing it! From a tailgate picnic to a bridge supper, a christening to a camping trip, and a family dinner to an ice cream social, there are recipes to delight any gathering.

Throw a down-home Birthday Bash with Beer-in-the-Rear Chicken, Bacon-Wrapped Grilled Corn on the Cob, and Buttermilk Pound Cake with Strawberries and Whipped Cream. Or host a casual Cookie Swap with friends and watch those Peanut Butter Brownie Cupcakes and Rolled Oatmeal Cookies disappear! An outdoor lunch wouldn't be complete without real Southern Fried Chicken and Buttermilk Corn Bread. And comfort foods like Quick Crab Stew, Shrimp and Wild Rice Casserole, and Black Bottom Pie are soul-satisfying dishes that warm the heart and soothe the spirit. There are also recipes for refreshing cocktails and beverages, from the Southern traditional favorites, like Plantation Iced Tea and Mint Juleps, to Lemonade and Hot Cranberry Cider.

Entertaining Southern style is about much more than the food; it's about spending time with the people you care about. Paula and her friends are the experts when it comes to creating delightful meals that are easy to prepare, so you, too, can relax and enjoy the fun with your guests. Each chapter is filled with helpful tips and time-saving techniques, as well as the memorable cooking stories that inspired Paula and her friends to create these recipes. You'll be inspired to share memorable meals and occasions with family and friends, as Paula Deen and Friends invites you to live it up, Southern style.

"Deen, the popular Food Network personality and proprietor of the Savannah restaurant The Lady & Sons, shares 24 party menus, featuring recipes culled from her friends and family. Of course, things are skewed Southern, but Deen's quick to point out that 'the love and appreciation for our Deep South cookin' knows no geographic boundaries' (nor does it know any dietary restrictions). Working with Savannah magazine's Nesbit, Deen covers festive but low-key events such as a Bridge Club Supper and a Georgia Bulldawg Parking Lot Tailgate, as well as a few holidays, including a New Year's Day Soup Lunch. The authors and their friends — there's a preschool teacher, a scoutmaster, 'Martha's husband Gary's cousin' and others — are bent on making their brunches, lunches and dinners colorful but casual. Among their 150 Southern specialties are Bert's Southern Fried Chicken, Shrimp and Crab au Gratin, and Vidalia Onion Corn Bread. There's a nice mixture of easy, traditional favorites (Pimiento Cheese) and newer, more sophisticated dishes (Pecan-Coated Fish with Remoulade Sauce), and desserts (Double Rum Cake, Peach Cream Tart, Chocolate Sandwich Cookies) are suitably over-the-top. Deen's enthusiasm, friendly advice and inclusion of family stories all contribute to make the book 'all about real people cookin' real food.' 32 pages of color photos. Agent, Janis Donnaud. (Apr.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Paula Deen is the bestselling author of twelve books and an Emmy Award-winning Food Network television star. She was born and raised in Albany, Georgia. She later moved to Savannah, where she started The Bag Lady catering company. The business took off and evolved into The Lady & Sons restaurant, which is located in Savannah’s historic district and specializes in Southern cooking. She also co-owns Uncle Bubba’s Oyster House with her brother. Paula publishes a bimonthly magazine, Cooking with Paula Deen, and is a regular guest on QVC, where she sells her books and food products. Martha Nesbit is a cookbook writer and food columnist for Savannah Magazine. She has been featured on HGTV's "Thanksgiving Across America" special and on Food Network's Food Nation with Bobby Flay. She lives on the beautiful Isle of Hope in Savannah, Georgia, with her husband, Gary, her sons Zack and Emory, and her dachshund, Lucy.

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Paula's Birthday Bash

A Bridge Club Supper

New Year's Day Soup Lunch for the Neighbors

A Cooking Shower

A Georgia Bulldawg Parking Lot Tailgate

Keen-ager Casserole Luncheon

The Boss Comes to Dinner

Comfort Food

A Teenager's Slumber Party

The Cookie Swap

Hunt Lunch in the Field

A Working Lunch

The Saturday Night Grill Party

A Weekend Campout

A BIG Cocktail Buffet for Out-of-Town Wedding Guests

A Christening Brunch

Run for the Roses

A Week at the Lake with the Kids

A Family Shabbat Dinner

An Ice Cream Social

Just Drinks

Metric Equivalencies

Index