Chicken and dumplings. Biscuits and gravy. Beans and fatback. To any list of wonderful culinary partnerships, add the duo of Casada and Pressley. In "Celebrating Southern Appalachian Food: Recipes & Stories from Mountain Kitchens," Jim Casada and Tipper Pressley combine wide knowledge, hands-on experience, and a conversational approach into a sure-fire recipe for enjoyable reading and fine dining. Together, they are the helpful neighbors everyone dreams of, presenting recipes across the range of meats, vegetables, fruits, and grains of the Appalachians, with useful asides on everything from greasing the pan and sifting cornmeal to cutting the dough for fried pies. In the face of the charcuterie board and the over-complication of commodities as basic as coffee, this is a book whose watchword is simplicity. It deals in the basics from an era where most food came from garden, pasture, pen, field, and stream, where the spices were few and the recipes were hand-me-downs, and yet the meals were as mouth-watering as they were belly-filling.

This is a masterwork, a joyous expedition into a culinary present that flows from a rich and storied past, and Casada and Pressley help with every page to assure assure it will have a future. --Rob Simbeck, author of "The Southern Wildlife Watcher" The book is more than a cookbook. It is a history of southern Appalachia foodways. "Casada and Pressley's volume is chock full of goodies, especially those I remember from Mom Kale's Sunday dinners." --Wilford Kale.