Product Description

Before she attended the prestigious French cooking school École de Cuisine La Varenne, Virginia Willis had been shelling butterbeans alongside her mother and grandmother in her Georgia family kitchen ever since she could stand on a stool. These divergent influences inform her passionate homage to the cooking of the South. From simple starters and slaws to generous entrées and desserts, Willis makes down-home cooking refined and haute cuisine friendly, with recipes like Vidalia Onion Soup with Bacon Flan, Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Mama's Barbecue Sauce, and Hot Vanilla Soufflés with Vanilla Ice Cream. Brimming with stories, tips, techniques, and gorgeous photographs, BON APPÉTIT, Y'ALL seamlessly blends Willis's Southern and French roots into a memorable and thoroughly modern cookbook.

---

Product Details

Publisher	Ten Speed Press
ISBN	1580088538
Features	ISBN13: 9781580088534 Condition: New Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Creator	Ellen Silverman
Author	Virginia Willis
Format	Hardcover
Label	Ten Speed Press
Edition	illustrated edition
Dewey Decimal Number	641.5975
Studio	Ten Speed Press
EAN	9781580088534
Number Of Pages	320
Title	Bon Appetit, Y'all: Recipes and Stories from Three Generations of Southern Cooking
Release Date	2008-05-06
Publication Date	2008-03-15
Manufacturer	Ten Speed Press

---

Customer Reviews

What happens when you meet French technique with the South

Review by Lorraine Kim, 2010-08-10

I love this cookbook. The philosophy of French and the American south sound odd,
but it's a match made in heaven! Helen Corbitt would be proud!

Suprisingly this book is not all about butter, which I was initially a little worried about, because
when I think French and Southern....

She has some great classic recent-ish trend recipes such as Roasted Beet Salad with Walnuts, Walnut Oil
and goat cheese, along with some future trends like different types of grits, purees and slaws.

I did try to make the barbeque sauce, and it was a disaster. I tried using all organic ingredients,
including organic apple cider vinegar and I think sometimes organic doesn't work. This was
one recipe that used a LOT of butter. The organic apple cider vinegar was too tangy for the sauce,
and I think there was a mistake with the amount of butter. That being said, I've heard barbeque
sauce is quite difficult to make...

All in all, love this book and it is my go to book as a gift for friends.

---

Comfort food to elegant dishes with Southern charm

Review by Cheryl, 2010-06-28

Great cook book with involved recipes for dishes that satisfy that need for comfort food, while meeting the desire of a little more complicated palate. The recipes are well written for the beginner cook, and the stories behind each one make it personal; like cooking should be. I had the privilege of meeting the cook on a plane ride to Atlanta and purchased the book after a short conversation, it exceeded my expectations. Bon Appetit, Y'all: Recipes and Stories from Three Generations of Southern Cooking

---

Irresistible Creole Southern Combo

Review by T. Rosenbalm, 2010-04-13

Before purchasing this book, I flipped through the available preview and checked my local library for a copy. After checking it out from the library, I found that I was interested in trying over half the recipes. Since I liked it that much, I bought it. Written by a mom and grandma taught, as well as, French trained chef, and previous kitchen manager for Martha Stewart the book has a lot to offer. She includes recipes as her mom or grandma prepared them and other recipes with her own twist. The book spans from appetizers to desserts including variants on some classic southern and creole dishes. The book is also more than just recipes. Included are notes from methods used by her grandma and mother, as well as special background notes on the dishes.

---

A Real Treasure

Review by Mary Spencer, 2010-04-13

This is the absolute best cookbook I have read in years. The stories are charming and the recipes are easy to follow without long lists of hard to get ingredients. A good solid cookbook for those who have graduated from the early ranks of cooking and want to prepare something with a little more depth guaranteed to turn out well and be well received by family and company. You won't be disappointed in this book.

---

A gorgeous blend of French cuisine and Southern cooking...Coca Cola meeets Camembert.

Review by Veggiechiliqueen, 2010-03-22

Virginia Willis's Bon Appetit, Y'All is a magical blend of Southern charm and French cuisine. Virginia compiles three generations of Southern recipes from her grandmother Meme, her mama, and herself (trained at culinary schools in France, Virginia's recipes reflect traditional French cuisine in gratins, soufflés, confits, sprinklings of tarragon and pots de crème). Frequently, recipes will be paired with their counterparts; cheese straws are next to cheesy gougeres, pot roast and brisket cozy up to boeuf bourignonne, and fried chicken and gravy share court with tarragon chicken salad and coq au vin.

In addition to beef, pork, lamb and poultry, there are numerous seafood recipes for shrimp and grits, crawfish, gumbo, oysters and crab. The recipes call for seasonal ingredients whenever possible, and despite the meat-heavy connotations of Southern (and French) cuisine, there are numerous veggie-based dishes (cold salads, numerous preparations of okra, vegetable succotash, green beans, squash, smoky collard greens and more), particularly where tomatoes are concerned, that will take advantage of your garden or local farmer's market.

The recipes are very clearly laid out, each with a formidable note regarding the origins of a certain recipe, oftentimes family reminiscences of her grandmother's cooking and hand-me-down kitchen utensils (the fatback recipe was fascinating; essentially skillet-fried lard, this was served as a country dinner in the past). There are frequent sidebars containing useful information on ingredients and kitchen tools and techniques for a given recipe. Beautiful photographs capture the feel of the dishes, along with country artwork and luscious produce.

A wonderful taste of the South fused with French cuisine (shades of Julia, here), Bon Appetit, Y'All is sure to delight home cooks and cookbook collectors alike. The recipes are straightforward enough to be doable (the squeamish / accident-prone may want to skip the primer on cutting up a whole chicken, however), and the end results are well worth the time invested.

---