Booker - Dinner Deja Vu: Southern Tonight, French Tomorrow

DINNER DJA VU Copyright 2017
By Jennifer Hill Booker
All rights reserved Photography by Deborah Whitlaw Llewellyn
Design and production by Janice Shay / Pinafore Press
Food styling by Jennifer Hill Booker

I prepare two different meals from the same ingredientsusually Southern one night, and French the other. Sometimes I blend both cuisines together in one recipe, which is the case in Pecan Bread Pudding with Crme Anglais (), a favorite dessert of mine. As a chef, Im expected to create tasty and exciting meals at work, then come home and prepare another exciting meal for my family every single night of the week. I do my best to have dinner on the table by 6 p.m., although some nights we may eat as late as 8 p.m. As a single working mother of two, Im often caught staring into the open refrigerator after a long day, wondering what to cook for dinner. Actually, Im like most home cooksIm usually short of time, energy, and often patience when it comes to planning and cooking family meals.

If this sounds familiar, youll appreciate this collection of simple and innovative recipes that pairs tasty, traditional Southern dishes with French classicsboth using the same basic ingredients. Making multiple dishes using the same ingredients is a trick Ive learned over the years to keep everyone excited at meal time. A menu of recipes that use several, if not all, of the same ingredients can result in new and distinctly differentbut equally deliciousmeals. When standing at the meat counter looking at chicken for dinner, I consider how many different ways I can cook that chicken and keep the meals interesting. Best of all, using the same ingredients to do double duty in the kitchen allows me to prepare a traditional Southern dinner one night and a classic French meal the nextwith the added bonus of cutting my shopping and cooking time in half, as well as saving money at the market or grocery. There are many parallels between traditional Southern food and rustic French cuisine.

I grew up in the South, which has a very long growing season. So we were fortunate ito enjoy lots of fresh produce from our garden most of the year. From a very early age I learned that fruits and vegetables taste best when eaten in their growing season. As an adult, Ive learned that seasonal foods taste better because they are picked at their peak of freshness, which makes their flavors bigger and brighter. Fresh-picked is also the healthiest choice. There is the added bonus of produce being less expensive when purchased in season, mainly because there is so much of it.

I remember visiting my grandparents during the summerby the end of August they were more tomatoes, peppers, and okra than we knew what to do with. My Southern heritage still influences what I eat, and it also influences what I cook in my profession as a Chef, and as a home cook for my family. Living in Paris and studying French cuisine at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts taught me that many French dishes could easily be paired with the Southern dishes I grew up with. French and Southern cooking uses many of the same ingredients, such as poultry and wild game; fresh herbs, such as thyme and sage; and fresh fruits, like apples and figs. Youll find theses shared ingredients in the cassoulets and casseroles, soups and stews, salads and seafood, cakes and cocktail recipes in this cookbook. For example, when I prepare Roasted Chicken with fresh lemon, garlic, and rosemary () for Monday nights dinner.

Some of the recipes in this cookbook are geared to re-using leftoversa handy solution for any busy cook. Simple side dishes such as Roasted Sweet Potatoes () for a breakfast treat the next morning. Other recipes in this book pair French and Southern dishes that use similar ingredients, to make your shopping easier and more budget friendly. For example, take the same ingredients used to make the Fried Creamed Corn (or use some of the extra fried corn), and turn it into a rich and elegant Fresh Corn Bisque (). Creating two different mealsone Southern and one Frenchusing the same ingredients is easy and refreshing. The same can be said about turning French favorites into traditional Southern dishes.

A Cassoulet () the next day. Helping home cooks to shop once and eat twicewhile satisfying the craving for both down-home comfort dishes as well as French specialtiesis what I hope will make this your must-have cookbook. Im often asked how I came to pair Southern and French cuisines, and my answer is always the same: They are two sides of the same coin. What I mean by this is that both cuisines have a rich food history of using fresh local ingredients in their dishes, applying cooking methods that bring out the best flavors of the food, and a special talent for creating dishes that dazzle. People are sometimes surprised with how the same ingredients for the Southern dishes we know and love can also be used to create a little bite of France. Take corn, for example.

By cutting the kernels off the cobb and frying it in a cast iron skillet with a little bacon grease or butter, onions, and a splash of cream; youve made Fried Creamed Corn, a dish most Southerners would consider a summer time favorite. For the dessert lovers of the world, imagine making Bourbon Pecan Pie (), using many of the same ingredients. At the back of this cookbook you will find combined grocery lists for each pairing of recipes, so that you can shop once, and eat twice. The recipes in Dinner Dj Vu: Southern Tonight, French Tomorrow are simply written, with easy to follow instructions. The chapters are peppered with How-To guides to help explain the more detailed recipes; and you will find a chapter of Recipe Basics, which come in handy when you want to make stocks, vinaigrettes, and spice blends. There is a list of Essential Equipment to helps the home cook outfit their kitchen, and will remind the seasoned home cook what kitchen equipment is a must have.

Youll also find a list of items For the Pantry to help you stock many common cooking ingredients; and the Glossary defines French cooking terms that may be unfamiliar. I truly enjoyed writing this cookbook. My hope is that it will save you time and money, and will be your go-to guide for inspiring meals that are perfect from beginning to end. So whether you feel like Charleston or the Champs Elysees for dinner tonight, know that these recipes will keep you inspired to cook fresh and exciting meals.