Make New Memories with Twists on Old Recipes in Southern Living’s ‘Recipe Revival’ [REVIEW]

Southern Living puts a new twist on classic recipes with Recipe Revival. (Photo by Jathan Fink, Jadeworks Entertainment)

We have been Southern Living readers for decades, although neither of us were born when the magazine debuted in 1966. We’ve also collected their cookbooks for years, and they are among some of the most dogeared volumes in our culinary library. That’s why we are always delighted when one of their new cooking titles hits bookstore shelves, because we know that it is going to be filled with tried-and-true recipes we can’t wait to make ourselves. Their latest addition, Recipe Revival, is no different. 

Over the last fifty years, Southern food has evolved as cooks embraced new flavors, tweaked family favorite recipes, and even reinvented new, healthier options of traditional classics. Yet that is the beauty of this volume. It does what the editors at Southern Living do best. It juxtaposes the old with the new, and quickly has us salivating over all the new mouth-watering concoctions presented here and photographed in vibrant color.

Take the 1960s Apple Coffee Cake, for example. While the classic recipe is still delicious, it is made absolutely decadent as a Caramel Apple Coffee Cake with streusel topping, yet is still deceptively easy to prepare.

Then there are the 1980s Tacos al Carbon for lunch, which use grilled flank steak and fresh salsa. These were all the rage back in the day, but now they too have been updated. Now try Poblano Fish Tacos with flash-marinated grouper and a grilled salsa, crumbled queso fresco a twist of lime. Yum!

For those of you who love Joe’s Crab Shack, you’re likely familiar with the 1980s Lowcountry Seafood Boil, where potatoes, onions, crabs, garlic, lemon, shrimp, corn and smoked sausages are tossed in one pot with loads of spice for a messy but delicious meal folks still love. Now imagine all these flavors in a cool, main-dish Shrimp-Boil Potato Salad. The only downside to the update? You no longer get to wear the bib aprons and eat with your fingers.

As a kid born in the 1970s who grew up in the South, most families struggled financially and made use of every bit of food in the kitchen. Nothing went to waste. This was definitely true with watermelon. Although everyone loves eating the red flesh on a brutally hot summer’s day, did you ever try eating Watermelon Rind Pickles? That’s right, we even found a way to eat the rind, and they are surprisingly tasty! These days though, we’re mixing simpler Pickled Watermelon Rinds into a summer-perfect Southwest Watermelon Salad tossed with lime, cilantro, basil, chives, jalapenos, shallots, garlic and crumbled Cotija cheese. I guess even watermelon rind pickles had to grow up eventually!

These are only a sample of the delightful recipes shared in this book. All your favorites are here, including Macaroni and Cheese, Chicken Pot Pie, Barbecued Spareribs, and more. But you’re going to love all the updates too! If you’re like us, you’re going to spend a couple hours just flipping through the pages in wide-eyed wonderment, walking down memory lane as you remember all those dinners your mom used to make, yet eager to try every new versions too.

The editors at Southern Living have never steered us wrong before, and they’re not starting now. Pick up a copy of Recipe Revival, and soon you’ll be making lifelong memories, cooking up new traditions your whole family will cherish (and savor) in the years to come.

RECIPE REVIVAL: SOUTHERN CLASSICS REINVENTED FOR MODERN COOKS
By the Editors of Southern Living Magazine
368 pgs. Oxmoor House. $27.95