The Most Famous and Cherished Community Cookbooks

By Southern Living
February 03, 2017
Credit: Courtesy of Amazon

A collection of recipes is an inspired way for a community to get together, in a manner that—unlike sports contests, musical performances, or religious convocation—doesn’t involve dressing up or arriving on time. We can commune with each other at ease, in that most exciting arena of private life, the kitchen. Though the gathering may be virtual, the discourse that goes on within the pages of a community cookbook says much about who we are (indelibly, we might add) and offers some delicious opportunities for storytelling and public embarrassment.

For many cooks, writing a recipe was the only time they expressed their ways in words. Sharing a recipe is an eminently hospitable thing to do. A recipe can reveal the ways we approach an ordinary day and the ways we esteem once-in-a-lifetime events. Recipes help us define what is Southern. Just as there is no single South, there is no single definition for Southern food or single profile for Southern cooks. Recipes give us a taste, both literally and figuratively, of the many dishes and cooks who, regardless of where they live or where they come from, claim Southern food as their own, whether for a lifetime or a meal time. So let's fix a plate and raise a glass. There's so much to celebrate.    

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Tea-Tme at the Masters

Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

by Georgia Junior League of Augusta

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Charleston Receipts

Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

by the Junior League of Charleston

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Jubilee Cookbook

Credit: Courtesy of Amazon

by Junior League of Mobile

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4 of 14

Meet Me at the Garden Gate

Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

by Junior League of Spartanburg

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River Road Recipes: The Textbook of Louisiana Cuisine

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by Junior League of Baton Rouge

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The Gasparilla Cookbook

Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

by the Junior League of Tampa

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The Southern Way to Set a Dining Room Table

With a few decorating tips and tricks it’s easy to set a polished dining room table that doesn’t feel stuffy.

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Savannah Style

Credit: Courtesy of Amazon

by the Junior League of Savannah

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Dining in the Smoky Mountain Mist

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by the Junior League of Knoxville

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Virginia Hospitality

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by the Junior League of Hampton Roads

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Mountain Measures a Collection of West Virginia Recipes

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by Junior League of Charleston

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Church Ladies’ Divine Desserts

Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

by Brenda Rhodes Miller

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The Nashville Cookbook–Specialties of the Cumberland Region

Credit: Courtesy of Amazon

by Nashville Area Home Economics Association

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Talk About Good Cookbook

Credit: Courtesy of Amazon

by the Louisiana Lafayette Junior League

Buy it at amazon.com

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