The authors of previous tongue-in-cheek Dixie primers (e.g., Somebody Is Going to Die if Lilly Beth Doesn’t Catch That Bouquet
) offer a conglomeration of genteel recipes favored by their steel magnolia matriarchs and introduced by some outdated though cherished stereotypes about the Southern feminine temperament. As official daughters of Southern mothers (DSMs, for short), the authors enlist their memories and those of friends and acquaintances in compiling these touchingly witty anecdotes about their mothers, underscoring such time-honored Delta traits as fondness for monogramming and beautification, diplomatic double-speak, discretion and decorum, and not letting studying get in the way of their daughters’ social schedule. The grandes dames earn some gentle, charming digs (“How could I be overdrawn?” the Southern mother expresses her financial wisdom in a nutshell. “I still have three checks”). The recipes included are truly precious antebellum throwbacks, such as dove and oyster pie, crabmeat imperial and charlotte russe, served in cut-glass crystal with ladyfingers. With holiday cheese balls, homemade mayonnaise, stuffed eggs and plenty of bourbon, these authors good-naturedly toast their Southern mothers, as they recognize, not ungratefully, that they are also becoming them. (Apr.)
