Subtitled "Dining at Home in the Lowcountry," this book is a look at the lifestyle of the fabled Carolina/Georgia coastal plain, presented in the form of menus in fifteen private homes, with historical notes on the houses and furnishings as well as culinary history. With 75 recipes.
Taylor takes us into fifteen private homes to present a gorgeous look at the lifestyle and foods of the fabled lowcountry. In Charleston, the late-eighteenth century Halidon Hill is finely decorated in Federal style with marbleized baseboards, dentil cornices, and a curving mahogany banister. In rustic counterpoint to these delicate details, the estate also includes a hunting lodge with sixteen beds. The meal, served in the heart-pine kitchen, is a hearty hunt breakfast of ham biscuits with pear chutney, scrambled eggs, pan-fried quail with grits, and Creole cafe au lait. In Beaufort, celebrate the bounty of late summer by joining Hoppin' John at the historic Tombee Plantation and digging into Frogmore stew. Once a thriving cotton plantation, there is no more beautiful setting for this traditional lowcountry favorite accompanied by boiled peanuts, lemonade, and cole slaw; scuppernong pie and red velvet cake make fabulously rich finishes to this feast. And on a typical square in Savannah -- often called the best planned city in America -- a fall luncheon is served at the handsome Conrad Aiken House. Real southern iced tea, oyster sausages, South Georgia chicken pie, and apple pecan torte make for a meal full of satisfying southern comfort food unequaled anywhere.
Excerpt
There has always been dichotomy in the lowcountry: the simple plantation house inland, above the saltwater line in the river, was owned by the same person who built a magnificent, showy home in town; the engineering marvels of the rice plantation were the result of the heinour institution of slavery; the very proper, mannered lifestyle in the city contradicts the earnest simplicity of hunting, fishing, and beachcombing. Traditionally, there has been little middle ground. Either you dined in Georgian grandeur or you peeled your own shrimp. You fished or you shopped. You entertained or served....
Professional Reviews
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"He's the Oscar Wilde of Charleston, aesthete of okra, oysters, pilaf and benne. John Martin Taylor -- writer, cook, culinary bookseller and Lowcountry bon vivant...is emperor of his own line of foodstuffs (from grits and cornmeal to relishes and preserves), he is sought after as a speaker, a recipe-contest judge and a chef-demonstrator. And this spring, Hoppin' John's Charleston, Beaufort & Savannah -- a gorgeous coffee-table book celebrating 15 of the region's loveliest homes, replete with Lowcountry recipes -- arrived....With three books out and another one on the way, John Martin Taylor of Charleston, South Carolina, is the South's answer to Martha Stewart."
Gourmet
"Hoppin' John's Charleston, Beaufort & Savannah is one of the rare works capable of pleasing both would-be museum docents, menu-followers, and those who wonder what the spring air smells like in this particular corner of the planet. One of the book's charms is the unmentioned contrast between the exquisite flower-filled historic homes ... and the 'So let's eat already' approach of the economically written recipes (sausage biscuits, fried catfish, corn bread, sweet potato pie, good old wilted spinach, Sally Lunn with a hint of black pepper)."
Savannah Morning News
"Hoppin' John's Charleston, Beaufort & Savannah combines Taylor's considerable artistic talent with his singular gift for writing clear, workable recipes. Not only is the book some of his best writing, but it proves that his creative eye is very much alive and as keen as ever....The book is a practically seamless work, where house, table setting, food, recipes, and even the picture composition come together to form a single, cohesive impression....The result is a rare thing...a style book that is 100 percent real."
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