Fannie Flagg's Original Whistle Stop Cafe Cookbook

Flagg, author of the novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe , later made into the movie Fried Green Tomatoes , follows up both with something culinary and, logically, Southern. Her Alabama-inspired fare may not be healthy, but it's genuine, including blue plate specials and plenty of gravies (chicken; giblet), stews (Brunswick; beef), pies (pecan; black bottom), and jams (muscadine). This jauntily designed cookbook also offers enough first-person splash to entertain. ``When I moved to California, I found myself surrounded by health freaks,'' Flagg whines, and explains how the South helped her to get revenge: with biscuits, cobblers, ``creatures that swim'' (e.g., fried oysters, which really don't), creamed onions, and fried okra. And, three recipes for fried green tomatoes. Photos not seen by PW. (Nov.)