Down South ─ Bourbon, Pork, Gulf Shrimp & Second Helpings of Everything

"A born and bred Cajun who grew up eating his grandparents' homecooked food, Donald also learned to love "shooting rifles, hunting, fishing...drinking beer with the boys, [and] water skiing in snake-infested rivers." And as a good citizen of the South, he's done his due diligence traveling the region, tasting foods from all over, and falling for true down home flavors. "It's impossible for me to say which part of the South has the best food, because each place has it's own soul." And Link explores it allin DOWN SOUTH--from the slow-cooked pork barbecue of Memphis, to spicy gumbos of Louisiana, fresh seafood all along the Gulf, and shell beans from the farmlands in Mississippi and Alabama. In 110 recipes and 100 full-color photographs, he takes readers on a tour of the best of the area, introducing all sorts of characters and places along the way, including pitmaster Nick Pihakis of Jim & Nick's BBQ, Louisiana goat and pig farmer Bill Ryal, Tupelo honey maker Donald Smiley in Florida, beloved Southern writer Julia Reed, and a Texas lamb ranch with a llama named Fritz"--

DONALD LINK is the chef-owner of Herbsaint, Cochon, Cochon Butcher, Peche, and Calcasieu in New Orleans. He won the James Beard award for Best Chef South in 2007 and his first book, Real Cajun, won the James Beard award for Best American Cookbook.

PAULA DISBROWE is the author of Cowgirl Cuisine and co-author of Real Cajun and Susan Spicer’s Crescent City Cooking. She lives in Austin, TX.