With moving dignity, Dora describes her motherless upbringing in Savannah, the hard life of her family, whose memories stretched back to slave times, learning to cook at age six, and the years she worked at the restaurant. All the cornerstones of the Southern table are here, from Out-of-This-World Smothered Catfish to desserts like a jaw-dropping Very Red Velvet Cake. Each dish has a 'secret ingredient' for a burst of flavor: mayonnaise in the biscuits Savannah Seasoning in her Gone to Glory Potato Salad sugar-glazed bacon in her deviled eggs. These are the intensely satisfying dishes at the heart of Dora's beloved Savannah: Shrimp and Rice Simple Smoky Okra Buttermilk Cornbread from her grandmother and of course, a truly incomparable Fried Chicken. Now, the woman who was barraged by editors and agents to tell her story invites us into her home to taste the food she loves best. Hundreds of thousands of people have made a trip to dine on the exceptional food cooked by Dora Charles at Savannah's most famous restaurant. In her first cookbook, a revered former cook at Savannah's most renowned restaurant divulges her locally famous Savannah recipesmany of them never written down beforeand those of her family and friends 'Dora Charles is the real deal, and hers may be the most honest - and personal - southern cookbook I've ever read.' - John Martin Taylor The photography of her community in Savannah, GA should be on exhibit. Charles' process instructions and advice are spot on.

Many of the recipes you'll find in its pages were once staples that I haven't seen in print in well over a decade, and I am truly excited that these delicious, wholesome southern staples are finally back for us all to enjoy. Dora Charles may have made a bit of a name for herself through her role in the court cases that dealt a significant blow to Paula Deen's southern culinary empire, but I truly hope that history, above-all, remembers her more for this wonderful cookbook.

A Real Southern Cook by Dora Charles