Just a Few Miles South: Timeless Recipes from our Favorite Places

Michel, the chef and restaurateur behind four Kentucky restaurants, shares simple and satisfying recipes from each of her eateries in this charming cookbook. Utilizing local ingredients, she offers down-home Southern recipes starting with hearty breakfast options that include grits, red-eye gravy, and soft buttermilk biscuits. A rich hollandaise butter adds a touch of decadence to her “Bluegrass Benedict,” and her sweet potato, gruyere, and caramelized onion quiche breathes new life into an old classic. She goes deep on sandwiches, breaking down the humble item into its component parts and offering recipes for white, wheat, and rye breads; instructions for roasting meats; and innovative creations such as the “Turkey Rachel,” a corned beef sandwich made with homemade Russian dressing, and the “Wallace Cubano,” a Kentucky-inspired take on the Cuban sandwich. Soups and stews include “Bourbon Trail Chili” and a creamy chicken and mushroom soup, and among the salads on offer are a classic black bean and corn salad and a straightforward Greek salad. The clincher is Michel’s desserts, of which the standouts are luscious glazed lemon bars, decadent “Danger Brownies,” and an apple cranberry bourbon crunch pie. Home cooks will enjoy the simplicity and heartiness jam-packed into this collection. (Apr.)