Back Home with the Neelys

April 7, 2014
The Neelys (The Neelys’ Celebration Cookbook), stars of the Food Network’s Down Home with the Neelys, set their sights on Southern comfort food in what proves to be a lackluster collection full of updated but nevertheless tired dishes. Among rehashes of pickled peppers, fried okra, grits, and cornbread, there are a few creative entries such as a breakfast pot pie made with bacon, potatoes, eggs, and cheese and topped with puff pastry, and adult-worthy homemade fish sticks. Their 100 recipes span jams and bread through appetizers and side dishes to casseroles and cocktails. Memories of significant childhood moments in Mama Rena’s kitchen, with Daddy Milton and the pig roast, and hanging out in the kitchen with Mama Callie reinforce the important role food has played throughout their lives. Roasted fingerling potatoes with fresh herbs, grilled sausage and pepper sandwiches, and chicken pot pie are some of the staples they include. Desserts such as lemon meringue pie and summer fruit cobbler and cocktails including green tomato sangria round out their offerings. The multitude of Neely fans will enjoy the authors’ personal touches, especially the glimpses into their childhood memories, but fans of Southern cooking will have to work to find much that’s new here.

March 15, 2014

In their follow-up to The Neelys' Celebration Cookbook, Food Network stars Pat and Gina, along with food writer Volkwein (Guy Fieri Food: Cookin' It, Livin' It, Lovin' It), present 100 more Southern recipes peppered with family anecdotes. There are few surprises among dishes like hot honey peach chicken and roasted broccoli with cheddar cheese sauce, making this title a good choice for home cooks seeking familiar comfort foods. Readers planning to entertain can choose from a great selection of easy preserves, snacks, cocktails, and grilled dishes. VERDICT The Neelys' latest offers everyday fare with Southern flair. Public libraries should expect demand.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2014
Memphis restaurateurs and food television personalities Pat Neely and Gina Neely have a new cookbook sure to delight their many fans. It covers territory similar to their earlier books. They base recipes on their grandmothers' styles of cooking, updating them for modern ingredients and techniques. For richness at breakfast, biscuits have both buttermilk and heavy cream. Cooks of all stripes will find the green-onion and cheddar bread accessible and intriguing. Kale salad with champagne vinaigrette boldly reflects today's tastes and nutritional preferences. Two kinds of cheese, bacon, and pulled pork garnish the Neelys' over-the-top burger, nestled in a brioche bun. Pickled okra, a southern staple, gets extra perfume from caraway seed substituting for more typical dill seed. It may be a stretch to imagine the Neelys' grandmothers sipping on a mojito, but such liberties carry forward the spirit of contemporary southern cooking.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)