The Southern Living Community Cookbook: Celebrating Food and Fellowship in the American South

I collect cookbooks -- lots and lots of cookbooks. My favorite genre is the modest, spiral-bound collections by local churches and community organizations. They provide not only some wonderful "real" recipes, but reveal such a friendly window into the local traditions and communities themselves.Thus, I was excited to get my hands on this Community Cookbook by Southern Living which is meant to cull some of the best recipes and features from those little local gems. Scattered throughout this book are a number of side-bar "chats" concerning interesting related topics and hints, and a good array of "real" Southern recipes from real Southern cooks. Five stars for that. An effort was made to recreate the neighborly quality of the originals. The graphics and page lay-outs are cute and unpretentious, but in my opinion there's too much emphasis on the graphic design and not nearly enough on the readability of the text itself. Someone was really wedded to the "optics" of the book -- and it succeeds in offering an artistic vintage "feel". But a cookbook is of little practical use if one cannot easily read the recipes. That seems a fairly obvious concept, but in this case, I believe it was often overlooked in favor of artsy typescript and spidery fonts. A multiplicity of different font types is used throughout the book (some which are meant to look like script, suggesting a hand-written recipe -- cute, but not clear). Also,the pages are printed in different pastel colors -- very pretty -- but some of these background colors make the type even harder to discern. In strong natural light, there isn't a big problem with the type, but in a real dinner-time scenario with the book sitting on the counter and artificial light and shadows from cabinets factored in, it's frustratingly hard to read. I have good eyesight and do not need to wear prescription glasses, but I cannot easily refer to some of these recipes without moving the book to a direct light source or grabbing the pair of magnifier glasses I keep around for detailed work. And that is not appreciated by a busy cook -- at least, not by this one. In fact, this is so annoying a problem to me that what should be a favorite "go-to" resource has been significantly reduced in its usefulness to me. 1 star, then, for the poor print. As to the recipes themselves, they do represent a nice variety of the old and new. There are a few really stellar recipes included, such as Gumbo Z' Herbes and Crook's Corner Shrimp and Grits, (both chef-submitted recipes,) and believe me, they are absolutely awesome! There are also a number of predictable and somewhat-tired standards present, like Pimento Cheese, banana pudding, and congealed salads -- recipes that one will find in any and every self-respecting southern cookbook. On the other hand, there are also some newer variations on traditional themes, like Hoppin' John Salad and Slow Cooker Pork and Pinto Chalupas. Further, there is a sprinkling of recipes that reflect the vibrant, changing demographics and cultural sharing of the New South; for example, Tempura Dill Pickles and West Indies Salad. 4 stars for the array of recipes. Like all of Southern Living's productions, the photography is first-rate --absolutely luscious -- another 5 stars for that. I'd have preferred more photos (or even more recipes -- there is a treasure-trove of good cooking in those little spiral cookbooks upon which to draw material) -- and far less of the cuteness. Overall, then, I'm settling on 3 1/2 stars. There are some really good aspects to this book but the readabiity issue is a major drawback for me. I hope any future editions will rectify that problem.

This is a great compilation of recipes from across the southern U.S. I am an avid cookbook collector - especially regional cookbooks and cookbooks from church groups, etc. There are several recipes I am excited to try. I confess that I did check the book out from the library before buying it so I could look at the recipes, and like several other reviewers noted, the binding was not well done in the library copy as several of the pages had already come loose. I have always been pleased with the quality of books published by Oxmoor House, so I hope my copy doesn't fall apart too. The only other thing to note is, I totally agree with another reviewer....the fonts are EXTREMELY hard to read. Very small print - hope this is not a trend for Southern Living/Oxmoor House.

I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS COOKBOOK!!!!!!!!!! After looking through the cookbook, I instantly considered it my new favorite in my collection of several cookbooks. This cookbook has many authentic southern recipes and the pictures and book presentation are high-quality. I admire the history behind many of the recipes. The recipes are detailed and the ingredients don't make you raise eyebrows like "what is that?" I am excited to try recipes from the book like: Spiced Pecans, Classic Deviled Eggs, Holiday Beef Tenderloin, Adam's Ribs, Frogmore Stew, Chicken-Shrimp-and-Ham Jambalaya, Big Easy Barbeque Shrimp, John's New Orleans Red Beans and Rice, Creamy Spicy Cucumbers, Baked Barbeque Beans, Bourbon Balls, Buttermilk Biscuits, Mama's Mini Cinnis, Miss Kitty's Chili Sauce, Carolina Peach Sangria, and many other great recipes. This will be a favorite for many years. Also, great for all leveled cooks. Wish calories were listed.

Lots of easy go to recipes.

I LOVE this cookbook for its wonderful old time recipes collected from some of the best Southern organization collections. They may not be the healthiest but they sure are tasty. I had seen the cookbook at my daughter's house and she had proclaimed the sour cream pound cake to be the best she ever tasted. After purchasing one book and trying out some of the recipes, I purchased another one for our summer home. My only criticism is that my 75 year old eyes have a little trouble reading the recipes printed in light grey. I have to use a magnifying glass to make sure that I read the ingredients properly. A small price to pay for a great collection of recipes and fun information.

It's charming because of the hand painted illustrations and photographs that illuminate the stories and recipes in this excellent cookbook. My copy already has so many page marks on the delicious foods I will be cooking for my family that it looks like a Christmas tree. I had this in my cart for a long time and am glad I finally bought it.

Beautiful book loads of color pictures and stories. Came in excellent condition. It was like brand new and not used. I would definitely buy from this company again.

Love the book, love the writer, love the recipes, love everything about it except that the darn type is too small! Hard to read the recipes, especially the fractions. I literally have to get a magnifying glass to read the fractions. There is a big difference between 1/4 and 3/4 when it comes to cooking!

Beautiful book with many useful recipes... but the book fell apart after 30 minutes (binding came unglued).

Every recipe is wonderful. Double the meatloaf recipe. Everyone will want more.

the cookbook was ok but the book was falling apart when recieved. i should have returned it.