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The Savannah Cookbook
by Damon Lee Fowler
Gibbs Smith, Publisher
ISBN 978-1-4236-0224-8
Published May 2008 - Hardcover - 222 pages - $34.95

If you go to Savannah and do nothing else but sample the food in all its glory, you'll no doubt have "seen" Savannah.  This historical east coast seaside city in Georgia is reknown for its Southern cuisine to which there is more than meets the eye, or ear.  You hear about dishes like blue crab or okra soup or home-fried oysters, however, Damon Lee Fowler's book is about Savannah's home cooking, not restaurant cooking.  So chances are you'll not find many of these meals in restaurants.  Fowler is the feature food writer for the Savannah Morning News and offers us so much historical information about the food and influences of the West African slaves or the Austrian, Spanish, French, and Jewish, and later the Greek, Chinese, and Sicilians who came to this area, willingly or not.  These influences crossed all social barriers, and today you'll find food from Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, India, and Mexico and other Latin American countries.  Truly a melting pot from once being an English colony.  In his book, Fowler offers these categories: Savannah Pantry Basics; Parties & Receptions; Soups, Seafood Stews, & Gumbos; The Essential Grains; Fish & Shellfish; Poultry, Meat, & Game; Vegetables, Salads, & Side Dishes, and Cakes, Cookies, Pastries, & Desserts.  I liked that there are recipes for chutneys and a variety of mayonnaises.  Recipes that piqued my interest are: Pickled Shrimp; Chicken and Corn Chowder; Curried Shrimp (looks and sounds divine); Chicken Country Captain; Pork Medallions with Sage and Madeira; Corned Beef Savannah-Style (looks worth trying); Vidalia Onions Stuffed with Sausage and Pecans, and Ginger Ice Cream.  When I get to Savannah, I have to try my native South African Bobotie as I've never had it anywhere else.  I think it's time I visited Savannah and the East Coast in detail!
Beautifully illustrated.  No nutritional guides.
Conclusion - Gloriously tempting.  This book has opened a whole new world for me.