We were recently sent a few Southern cookbooks from the good folks at OMG Publicity. This was one of the books, the other was In a Snap!: Tasty Southern Recipes You Can Make in 5, 10, 15, or 30 Minutes by Tammy Algood where we featured the Red Pepper Cheese Dip recipe. In contrast, The Southern Vegetarian Cookbook seems a tad more sophisticated and not a mad rush around the kitchen, but rather a relaxing at home fueling up the kitchen with gourmet aroma. The book again has beautiful pictures but I do wish it was on coil spine so I wouldn’t crease my book. This is something hard to avoid.

I wanted to taste out some easy recipes suitable for the summer heat. For the dog days of summer it really didn’t make sense to suffer in the kitchen with a Le Creuset Cherry Pot stewing for hours. I am however looking forward to a Brussel Sprout Salad or the Oyster Mushroom Rockefellers.

 Brussels Sprout Salad with Smoked Feta and Candied Pecans

Yields 4 servings

1. Wash, and cut off stems to the brussel sprouts and pull the leaves apart.
2. Blanch the leaves in boiling, salted water (as salty as the sea) until they turn bright green for 10 seconds.
3. Run leaves under cold water to stop the cooking.
4. Dry the sprout leaves with salad spinner or lay them to dry on a clean towel.
5. Spread the sugar in a cold 10 inch frying pan and melt over medium heat.
6. Stir until lumps disappear.
7. Remove from heat and toss in pecans as it cools.
8. Transfer to a plate to cool.
9. Once cool, break pecans apart with your hands and dice.
10. Mix olive oil and vinegar in large frying pan over low heat.
11. Once the dressing is warm, place the sprout leaves in the pan and toss.
12. Transfer to plate.
13. Sprinkle with cheese and nuts; Add salt and pepper to taste.

Hope you enjoy your stay!

The Southern Vegetarian Cookbook by Justin Fox Burks & Amy Lawrence