Donald Link

Any cookbook that opens with cocktails is going to be good. Any cookbook that includes a note with a shout out to Pappy Van Winkle as a bourbon of choice is going to be GREAT.

With a subtitle of Bourbon, Pork, Gulf Shrimp & Second Helpings of Everything, Donald Link's Down South is down, down south. There is a chapter called Heads, Feet, Necks, and Bones that brought me warm memories of my MawMaw' s old kitchen with parts boiling in stock pots all around. But Link elevates his dishes, and show more gives you the pictures and stories to prove it.

This is a love letter to a way of cooking and living that is close to this man's heart, in his blood and you know this by looking through his book. Pictures throughout Louisiana, pig roasts, Aunt Sally' s Pie, regular customers at his restaurant, much less his son slurping up a cold Cream Soda Sherbet all showcase the inspiration for the food he lives and loves.

I suggest mixing a cocktail straight out of the first section and curling up with this beautiful book and savoring it. Read the notes, examine the pictures, imagine the smells and flavors while you sip away. And then, share the food. Get the fire going. Buy this as a host/hostess or holiday gift and share the live. Unless you are inviting vegetarians over. DON'T give them this book. Don't ever give a vegetarian a book that has a chapter called Heads, Feet...Well you know. Fix y'all another drink and get seconds of this one!

Provided by publisher for review, browsing for books show less

What can I say about this cook book? Plenty. It is more than a cook book. It’s a book about down south and more. Take a trip down south without leaving home. Indulge your senses while taking in a bit of southern history. Most of the recipes can be made by anyone at any time, but not all. Some are a bit more involved and better reserved for a special occasion or dinner party. Think ‘hoity toity’. Unfortunately, this isn’t exactly the cookbook I was expecting. I expected a cookbook on show more ‘southern food’ recipes. There are some fabulous recipes here, and most are from the south, but not all. I counted at least twelve that originated elsewhere. If you are looking for a true ‘Down South’ cookbook about nothing but ‘southern food’, this isn’t it.

Inside, learn how to make some tasty and easy drinks in the chapter entitled, let’s start with a drink. Enjoy some decadent starters with old-school southern cocktail parties. Do a little barbequing in the chapter: Cook It Outside. Roast, Braise, simmer and fry in the chapter of the same name. Indulge in the unusual in Heads, feet, neck and bones with such dishes as Fried fish collars with Chile vinegar or pork trillions. Do you have a taste for seafood, then you’ll find the chapter, Seafood from the gulf and south Atlantic of particular interest with recipes for crab and spinach dumplings, crisp fried frog legs or salt-crusted red snapper. Top off the recipes with Fresh Seasonal Southern sides and Southern-Style Sweets.

With this cookbook, and most of the recipes, there’s simply no reason why anyone anywhere can’t cook as if they’re down south. A word of warning: This is not a cookbook for Vegans or those with small appetites. This is definitely a meat lover’s paradise and those with time to prepare the meals.

Caveats as to why I give it just 4 stars instead of 5: It is not a healthy cookbook, vegan or everyday simple to make cookbook. If you’re looking to make a simple, quick to eat meal after work, this is not a cookbook for you. Neither is this a true ‘southern food’ cookbook. Not all recipes are from down south. Link takes recipes he likes and adds them to the book with a bit of southern flavor. I live down south, in the Mississippi Delta and wanted a ‘real southern’ cookbook and though, this is a fantastic cookbook, it isn’t what this former Yankee hoped for.

Overall, an excellent cookbook for food lovers, especially meat and seafood, and those who love southern food, or those with a hankering to learn how to do so. show less

What can I say about this cook book? Plenty. It is more than a cook book. It’s a book about down south and more. Take a trip down south without leaving home. Indulge your senses while taking in a bit of southern history. Most of the recipes can be made by anyone at any time, but not all. Some are a bit more involved and better reserved for a special occasion or dinner party. Think ‘hoity toity’. Unfortunately, this isn’t exactly the cookbook I was expecting. I expected a cookbook on show more ‘southern food’ recipes. There are some fabulous recipes here, and most are from the south, but not all. I counted at least twelve that originated elsewhere. If you are looking for a true ‘Down South’ cookbook about nothing but ‘southern food’, this isn’t it.

Inside, learn how to make some tasty and easy drinks in the chapter entitled, let’s start with a drink. Enjoy some decadent starters with old-school southern cocktail parties. Do a little barbequing in the chapter: Cook It Outside. Roast, Braise, simmer and fry in the chapter of the same name. Indulge in the unusual in Heads, feet, neck and bones with such dishes as Fried fish collars with Chile vinegar or pork trillions. Do you have a taste for seafood, then you’ll find the chapter, Seafood from the gulf and south Atlantic of particular interest with recipes for crab and spinach dumplings, crisp fried frog legs or salt-crusted red snapper. Top off the recipes with Fresh Seasonal Southern sides and Southern-Style Sweets.

With this cookbook, and most of the recipes, there’s simply no reason why anyone anywhere can’t cook as if they’re down south. A word of warning: This is not a cookbook for Vegans or those with small appetites. This is definitely a meat lover’s paradise and those with time to prepare the meals.

Caveats as to why I give it just 4 stars instead of 5: It is not a healthy cookbook, vegan or everyday simple to make cookbook. If you’re looking to make a simple, quick to eat meal after work, this is not a cookbook for you. Neither is this a true ‘southern food’ cookbook. Not all recipes are from down south. Link takes recipes he likes and adds them to the book with a bit of southern flavor. I live down south, in the Mississippi Delta and wanted a ‘real southern’ cookbook and though, this is a fantastic cookbook, it isn’t what this former Yankee hoped for.

Overall, an excellent cookbook for food lovers, especially meat and seafood, and those who love southern food, or those with a hankering to learn how to do so. show less

What can I say about this cook book? Plenty. It is more than a cook book. It’s a book about down south and more. Take a trip down south without leaving home. Indulge your senses while taking in a bit of southern history. Most of the recipes can be made by anyone at any time, but not all. Some are a bit more involved and better reserved for a special occasion or dinner party. Think ‘hoity toity’. Unfortunately, this isn’t exactly the cookbook I was expecting. I expected a cookbook on show more ‘southern food’ recipes. There are some fabulous recipes here, and most are from the south, but not all. I counted at least twelve that originated elsewhere. If you are looking for a true ‘Down South’ cookbook about nothing but ‘southern food’, this isn’t it.

Inside, learn how to make some tasty and easy drinks in the chapter entitled, let’s start with a drink. Enjoy some decadent starters with old-school southern cocktail parties. Do a little barbequing in the chapter: Cook It Outside. Roast, Braise, simmer and fry in the chapter of the same name. Indulge in the unusual in Heads, feet, neck and bones with such dishes as Fried fish collars with Chile vinegar or pork trillions. Do you have a taste for seafood, then you’ll find the chapter, Seafood from the gulf and south Atlantic of particular interest with recipes for crab and spinach dumplings, crisp fried frog legs or salt-crusted red snapper. Top off the recipes with Fresh Seasonal Southern sides and Southern-Style Sweets.

With this cookbook, and most of the recipes, there’s simply no reason why anyone anywhere can’t cook as if they’re down south. A word of warning: This is not a cookbook for Vegans or those with small appetites. This is definitely a meat lover’s paradise and those with time to prepare the meals.

Caveats as to why I give it just 4 stars instead of 5: It is not a healthy cookbook, vegan or everyday simple to make cookbook. If you’re looking to make a simple, quick to eat meal after work, this is not a cookbook for you. Neither is this a true ‘southern food’ cookbook. Not all recipes are from down south. Link takes recipes he likes and adds them to the book with a bit of southern flavor. I live down south, in the Mississippi Delta and wanted a ‘real southern’ cookbook and though, this is a fantastic cookbook, it isn’t what this former Yankee hoped for.

Overall, an excellent cookbook for food lovers, especially meat and seafood, and those who love southern food, or those with a hankering to learn how to do so. show less