"Vogue" contributor Reed writes about fried chicken, shrimp curry, and how to entertain properly while watching Ole Miss stomp Alabama, in this funny, down-home look at Southern cooking.

"Vogue" contributor Reed writes about fried chicken, shrimp curry, and how to entertain properly while watching Ole Miss stomp Alabama, in this funny, down-home look at Southern cooking.

In her new book, But Mama Always Put Vodka in Her Sangria!, Julia Reed, a master of the art of eating, drinking, and making merry, takes the reader on culinary adventures in places as far flung as Kabul, Afghanistan and as close to home as her native Mississippi Delta and Florida's Gulf Coast. Along the way, Reed discovers the perfect Pimm's Royale at the Paris Ritz, devours delicious chuletons in Madrid, and picks up tips from accomplished hostesses ranging from Pat Buckley to Pearl Bailey and, of course, her own mother. Reed writes about the bounty—and the burden—of a Southern garden in high summer, tosses salads in the English countryside, and shares C.Z. Guest's recipe for an especially zingy bullshot. She understands the necessity of a potent holiday punch and serves it up by the silver bowl full, but she is not immune to the slightly less refined charms of a blender full of frozen peach daiquiris or a garbage can full of Yucca Flats. And then there are the parties: shindigs ranging from sultry summer suppers and raucous dinners at home to a Plymouth-like Thanksgiving feast and an upscale St. Patrick's Day celebration. This delightful collection of essays by Julia Reed, a master storyteller with an inimitable voice and a limitless capacity for fun, will show you how to entertain guests with style, have a good time yourself and always have that perfect pitcher of sangria ready at a moment's notice.

In classic Dixie storytelling fashion, with a rare blend of literary elegance and plainspoken humor, the inimitably charming, staunchly Southern Julia Reed wends her way below the Mason-Dixon line and observes many phenomena– from politics, religion, and women to weather, guns, and what she calls “drinking and other Southern pursuits.” To hear Reed tell it, the South is another country. She builds an entertaining and persuasive case, using as examples everything from its unfathomable codes of conduct to its disciplined fashion sense. And then there is Southern food, which is an entire world apart: Gumbo, grits, greens, and, of course, fried chicken make memorable appearances in Reed’s essays, which will amuse, delight, and even explain a thing or two to baffled Yankees everywhere.

Originally published: New York: Grove Press, 1957.

"As the kind readers who collect my cookbooks have possibly noticed, I am inordinately fond of biscuits, so much so that I decided to write a whole book about them," comments Patricia B. Mitchell. "I also love writing about Southern life, so I decided to also talk about the charming lasses of the South."The volume contains numerous recipes such as "Kiss My Mouth Sweet Potato Biscuits," "Healthful Whole Grain Biscuits," and "Orange Cocoa Afternoon Tea Biscuits." Perhaps even more enjoyable to think about than the recipes are the observations and old quotations about Southern ladies of the belle variety. To read about gals almost too delicate to withstand the touch of the wind will surely make you smile. The book contains 121 numbered pages including index, 37 recipes, and 98 research notes.