A little bit about Amanda Wilbanks and her newest cookbook, Southern Baked: Celebrating Life With Pie
GROWING UP, I NEVER THOUGHT I’D BE A PIE BAKER. A COOK, MAYBE, BUT NOT A BAKER.
After all, my culinary role models were stellar. Growing up in the South,
I was always a hands-on cook, raised in my mother’s and grandmothers’ kitchens, rolling out biscuit dough and stirring aromatic pots over the stove, shelling peas, and canning bounty from our garden. The hustle and bustle
of it all was like a second language to me—one that involved touch and taste and smell as much as it did sound or sight. Then, when we all met around the table to enjoy the fruits of our labor, I felt connected to my family on a deeper level. I knew from a young age that food was my favorite way of saying, “I love you.”
Using our famous, all-butter crust recipe, I've compiled 12 months of recipes for all of life's special occasions. The recipes in this book are tried-and-true. Tested again and again in my own kitchen to be easy, beautiful, and flavorful, inspired by everything from old-fashioned Southern family recipes, to cooking shows, to the places I’ve been lucky enough to travel to over the years; each recipe is guaranteed to be a pure delight.
Because I enjoy incorporating unexpected flavors for mouth-watering results, you’ll find flavor-packed recipes like Roma Tomato Tart (page 46), Paradise Soup (page 85), and Lemon Chess Pie (page 39) in this book. These dishes are just as perfect for a “dinner in” as they are for a tailgate. Although the recipes are organized chronologically by the months of the year and are tied to seasonal events, don’t be afraid to mix and match your favorites!
Southern Baked is filled with a 72 delicious family recipes. Of the recipes, 32 are pie related and the remaining consist of easy main dishes, desserts and appetizers. Enjoy baking through the south Amanda knows and loves oh so well!
