With the popularity of several celebrity chefs who specialize in southern cuisine, such as Paula Deen and Emeril Lagasse — just to name a couple — the market has become flooded with Southern cookbooks.
So what is one more?
But Martha Foose's new book, "Screen Doors and Sweet Tea: Recipes and Tales from a Southern Cook," offers more than just southern cooking — it offers a true taste of life in the Mississippi Delta.
The cookbook is already available on-line and it will arrive on bookstore shelves on April 29.
Foose, who was born in Yazoo City and now lives in Greenwood, spent about a year compiling the recipes and writing the stories found in the pages of her book, though she jokes that the entire process actually took most of her life to complete.
"Some are old family recipes, some I developed just for the book and others were inspired by different people and places," Foose explained.
Recipes include Mockingbird Bakery sweet tea — voted "Best Sweet Tea" by Delta Magazine — complete with crooked-neck spoons, along with the story of how those much-coveted spoons disappeared from the restaurant.
Other Delta favorites include pompano from Lusco's Restaurant, Yazoo cheese straws, fried okra from the Ground Zero Blues Club, Delta hot tamales and more.
Altogether, there are more than 150 recipes — ranging from classic comfort foods to more upscale dishes worthy of the fine china — with sidebars featuring tips on how to make each dish the best it can be.
The tales that accompany most of the recipes tell of local people, places and traditions that will be familiar to many Greenwood readers, and will be interesting and informative for anyone else, especially outside of the South.
"I think people have a real limited view of the South…the stories help to give context," Foose said.
Foose was born and raised in the Mississippi Delta and later lived in Jackson when she was in high school. From there, she moved all over the country, working at various restaurants and improving her craft along the way.
She found that in the culinary world, her southern roots came in handy.
"The southern tradition is so strong in American cooking that it's popular everywhere you go," Foose said.
After attending the famous pastry school Ecole Lenotre in France, Foose returned to Mississippi and opened her first restaurant, Bottletree Bakery in Oxford, with her husband, Donald Bender.
The couple worked there for about three and a half years, then after a stint in New Orleans, came back to the Delta and opened Mockingbird Bakery in Greenwood as part of Viking Range Corp.'s revitalization of the downtown area.
"At that point, the hotel was just opening up and they asked us to get involved with the project," Foose said.
Foose later became the executive chef of the Viking Cooking School, where she imparted her vast knowledge to tourists and locals alike.
These days, Foose, Bender and their son, Joseph Bender, 5, split their time between homes in Greenwood and Thornton, and try to take plenty of time to enjoy life.
"We play in the back yard a lot, run around, go fishing," Foose said.
Bender still bakes bread, pizzas and other pastries for the Mockingbird Bakery, Delta Fresh Market, Giardina's, Turnrow Book Co. and Carroll County Market.
Foose has started writing full-time and will continue to teach classes part-time at the Viking Cooking School. She also writes food columns for Mossy Oak's Hunting the Country magazine and Taste of the South magazine, and is currently working on a book of essays.
For now, Foose is staying busy promoting "Screen Doors and Sweet Tea."
"I'm going all over the country," she said.
Some notable stops include an appearance on "Good Morning America" on June 10 and, of course, her book signing at Turnrow Book Co. at 5 p.m. on May 1.
"It's definitely a Martha Day — there'll be several stages," said Jamie Kornegay, owner of Turnrow Book Co.
The day's events will begin with a class at the Viking Cooking School led by Foose from 10 a.m. until noon, then the signing at Turnrow, which will feature food, drinks and live music from Jimbo Mathus of Clarksdale.
Following the reception, an after-party will be held at The Alluvian.
Kornegay said he and his wife, Kelly Kornegay, are glad to roll out the red carpet for Foose's book.
"It's been a long time coming and we're really excited about it, so we're pulling out all the stops," he said.
The cookbook also will be featured in many upcoming magazine articles, including the May issue of Bon Appetit.
For more information about the book, visit www.marthafoose.com. For more information about the event at Turnrow Book Co., call 453-5995.
