Paula Deen's The Deen Family Cookbook
Is there anyone still left out there who doesn’t know the ever-ebullient Paula Deen? This Savannah restaurateur appears all over television and has even garnered a movie role. Somehow, she still finds time to generate cookbooks. In her newest effort, she draws heavily on recipes from her large extended family. Her sons, who appear with their mother regularly, have started families of their own, and readers now meet a whole host of aunts, uncles, cousins, and other kin, each of whom seems to have a magic touch in the kitchen. Son Bobby contributes a healthy baked chicken with lime and mustard. Niece Corrie reaches outside the southern tradition for some Thai-inspired dishes. Aunt Peggy’s meat loaf boosts the classic hamburger-and-oatmeal version. Friend Katie Lee Joel offers a pumpkin pancake. Alan Richardson’s photos of the Deen family enhance the intimate, homey atmosphere. --Mark Knoblauch