Cross Creek Cookery

by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Robert Camp (Illustrator)

The Classic Book on Southern Cooking
First published in 1942, Cross Creek Cookery was compiled by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings at the request of readers who wanted to recreate the luscious meals described in Cross Creek -- her famous memoir of life in a Florida hamlet.
Lovers of old-fashioned, down-home cooking will treasure the recipes for Grits, Hush-Puppies, Florida Fried Fish, Orange Fluff, and Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie. For more adventuresome palates, there are such unusual dishes as Minorcan Gopher Stew, Coot Surprise, Alligator-Tail Steak, Mayhaw Jelly, and Chef Huston's Cream of Peanut Soup.
Spiced with delightful anecdotes and lore, Cross Creek Cookery guides the reader through the rich culinary heritage of the deep tidal South with a loving regard for the rituals of cooking and eating. Anyone who longs for food -- and writing -- that warms the heart will find ample portions of both in this classic cookbook.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Memoir, Food

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1942

About the author

People know American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings for her novel The Yearling (1938).

This author lived in rural Florida with rural themes and settings. Her best known work, The Yearling, about a boy who adopts an orphaned fawn, won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1939 and was later made into a movie of the same title, The Yearling. The book was written long before the concept of young-adult fiction, but is now commonly included in teen-reading lists.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The hardbound book costs upwards of $75, so I was thrilled when another booklover found me paperback copies of this at a thrift website! I love Rawlings' writings and this was no exception, even though nonfiction. Her sense of humor and appreciation of nature is wonderful and wonder-filled. Although she, and cooks of the time, did a few things which would have been prohibited by law, now, there is a deep respect for all of the natural food sources she uses in her recipes. Be warned, though, she owned Dora the cow, which gave unsurpassed milk and rich cream--which are used in many of the recipes! (I have to admit, however, that it was a few pages before I realized that Dora was a cow!) The book is a source of real "down-home" country, southern cooking and it makes one feel "at one" with Rawlings to bake or roast, etc., items which she incorporated in her daily life!

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not much of a cook these days, but I loved the anecdotes surrounding these authentic Southern recipes prepared by a favorite author of mine, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. With the amount of cream and salt pork in these recipes, I'm surprised there are many Southerners left! Some of the odd ones (to this urban northerner anyway) include: Gopher Stew, Blackbird Pie, Poke Weed on Toast, Jellied Tongue, and Cream of Fordhook Soup (fordhooks are a kind of bean)! One of my favorite stories is the one about dinner with a famous writer who found two pellets in his very tender breast of chicken. Rawlings had shot the chickens for dinner because neither she nor her cook could catch any of them!

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun read after visiting MKR's home at Cross Creek. My favorite words are the ones she has for Black Bottom Pie: "I hope to be propped up on my dying bed and fed a generous portion. Then I think that I should refuse outright to die, for life would be too good to relinquish." I also enjoyed the story about poet Wallace Stevens who found the cooking at Cross Creek so tempting he abandoned his diet. At this point in time, it's hard to imagine that this was an actual, working cookbook for many people -- we just don't eat this way today -- but whether you use the recipes or simply read them for enjoyment, Rawlings' writing is a treat.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

While Northern influences abound, this is an interesting glimpse into Florida cooking of a bygone era. It is interesting to see how attitudes towards certain foods have changed, like sea turtle eggs. Yikes!

[Michael Reilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marjorie Rawlings is best known as the author of "The Yearling". She also wrote a best selling memoir, "Cross Creek", about moving from New York to rural Florida in 1928. I haven't read either book but evidently in "Cross Creek" she has many descriptions of country cooking with a Florida flavor.

She published this cookbook in 1943 in response to readers asking her for recipes. Over the years I have seen several references to the book as one of the great American home cooking books.

I was disappointed. Many of the recipes are standard 1940s fancy dining recipes like Salmon Loaf, Shrimp Newburg, and Cheese Soufflé. The longest chapter is on deserts. She has a long selection of cakes, pies, cookies, ice creams and brownies, most of which are not particularly Floridian. We do get a good amount of pecan deserts and some guava and mango treats.

There are some hardcore Florida recipes. Alligator tail steak "is truly delicious. It is like liver or veal". The recipe for Gopher Stew starts with "Wash the decapitated gopher. Cut the shell away from the meat.". We also get some poke weed and chayote recipes.

The recipes are written for an experienced cook. Rawlings is partial to cream sauces so many recipes begin with "make a cream sauce." The recipe for Pot Roast Bear instructs you to "cook until tender, two to four hours."

At this point this book is a curiosity and a picture into 1940s cooking. I usually dog ear recipes in a cook book to try out. I didn't dog ear any in this book.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across this book making the rounds of book fairs, as this appears to be somewhat of a collectible item. Having never read The Yearling I wasn't sure whether or not it would appeal to me, but as I love cookbooks, and this one seemed to convey a sense of down country charm, I decided to buy it. I must confess I am one of those weirdos who reads cookbooks as literature. Of course, not all cookbooks succeed in this fashion. Some are simply recipes with some light banter but are essentially just that. Others are more like memoirs with food interspersed between, where the food becomes part of the family history and the fabric of the author's life. Cross Creek Cookery/i> is the latter kind of book. It feels as if you are being let into not just her kitchen, but also her home. I normally like to make recipes before I rate a cookbook, but I feel as though there is far too much sugar, cream, and fat in the recipes that simply do not fit into my lifestyle. Don't get me wrong, they seem delicious, and I'm sure I will eventually make some the recipes, perhaps for a special occasion. They are the kind of recipes that require a certain amount of foreknowledge about cooking in general, as they are sparse on instructions, or even things like oven temperatures. But this is fairly commonplace for older cookbooks and doesn't present an insurmountable hurdle to make them cookable. It has the flavor of Floridan food and culture, which is rather more Southern that I would have at first thought, but all to the better for it.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, I was very curious about many foods mentioned, for example, corn pone and swamp cabbage. Looking those up online led me to a cookbook by Rawlings herself, published in 1949. My library only has one copy kept in the downtown location, off the stacks. I'm grateful I was allowed to borrow it.
Amazingly, Rawlings provides over 200 recipes in Cross Creek Cookery. Yet, as many have mentioned, the cookery is so much more than a compilation of recipes. Rawlings weaves fascinating and humorous stories to give the recipes a social context, a cultural milieu, a location in time and place. In this indirect way, Cross Creek Cookery serves as a cultural and natural history reference to the Southern U.S., very specifically the central Florida scrub (a now endangered habitat consisting of certain pines, scrub oaks, saw palmettos, and other flora). For anyone who enjoys cooking or old cookbooks, Southern food, or cultural history, or anyone who wants to try a new recipe, this book is a savory treasure. (I would love to dine in a restaurant where I could try some of the mouth-watering meals and rich desserts!)

[Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

My southern grandmother cooked, but she did not entertain like MKR did, so her cooking was more basic. Think I like my grandmother's better. But I did like the style of this book, MKR's introductions to the recipes. I'm about ready to reread Cross Creek.

Despite what GoodReads thinks, I have read this umpteen times. My copy is a hardcover, without dust jackey, published in early 1940s. Maybe it's a first edition, but it has splotches here and there. Maybe it had one belonged to a good cook (which I am not). Cookbooks make great reads when one is sick -- too sick to eat but not too sick to dream about food.

[Georgetowner · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much more than a cookbook! It is a peak into backwaters Florida before we drained the land for amusement parks. The illustrations are thoughtful and suiting to the anecdotal prose that accompanies some really fabulous recipes. A few years ago I visited MKR's Florida home, which is now a museum, and loved being able to picture the place as I read this charming cookbook! Time to start cooking!

[Sara Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to find a well used first edition with notes written in the margins and names of past owners written on the front cover, it was even given as a Christmas gift in 1998. The beauty of passing tradition is deep within every page.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

a pleasure to read! she is a very gifted cook and keeper of the table.

[Deborah Cleaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting view of rural poverty cookery back in the day.

[Lynn Bolton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stories of Cross Creek, and great recipes!

[Debby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have enjoyed reading books by and about Majorie Kinnan Rawlings for a second time. A compliment as I almost never re-read books.

[Scott Satterwhite · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good standard southern American (Florida) cookbook. My favorite is the Brunswick Stew, which I make easily with vegetarian "meat"

[Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

On this reread I dropped the book down a star. I like it but I don't love it.
The recipes are a combo of Florida vernacular, East Coast hoity-toity Ladies Luncheon dishes, and fancy dinner party menus. I prefer the backwoods recipes she included. I do love the style and the writing, the way the recipes are presented and their clarity.
Miz Rawlings was raised in Washington DC and schooled in the upper mid-west. She did not move to Florida until she was over thirty. The friends who she entertained were the East Coast literary set, but her close friendships were with the local people of Cross Creek. Altogether she was a remarkable woman and I love her fiction.
I'll hang on to my copy of Cross Creek Cookery as it is a first edition -- why discard it now?

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up cooking with this book. It was my mom's and one of the first that I remember. Lots of interesting recipes and with background on an era in Florida that has disappeared. I still use many of the recipes today. Back in those pre-computer and pre-television days, most Southerners did a lot more physical labor; undernourishment not obesity was the problem then. One also has to remember (as the author constantly points out) these recipes were not everyday fare; most of them were prepared primarily "for company."

[Shauna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This for me was a trip down memory lane. My grandparents and great grandmother lived in this era, in the heart of Florida. It was passed down to me dogeared and torn, underlined with all of my great grandmothers favorite recipes. Along with truly southern recipes Rawlings gives little antedotes on life, stories about Florida. Cross Creek Cookery really gives you a flavor of what life is like in Southern Florida.

[David Brightbill · Rating 5 out of 5]

My wife, a 3rd generation Floridian, sniffs and says that Rawlings wasn't a real southerner and that her recipes aren't authentic. Despite her Yankee upbringing, Rawlings was a keen observer and recorder; especially of the foodways of her cook.

I enjoy the stories scattered among the food as much as the recipes themselves. It's sort of the foodies companion to Cross Creek. I've got jellied chicken on my to-do list.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the commentary given with each section and recipe. It makes Cross Creek Cookery as much a commentary on life in Florida in the 1930s and 1940s as it is a recipe book. Many of the recipes are nearly impossible to make as they require "cream from a Jersey cow" or alligator steaks, but they're all fun to read. Rawlings loved cooking and clearly had a talent for it. The recipes are a blend of her Florida recipes and her mother's more traditional recipes.

[Helena · Rating 3 out of 5]

The recipes are not always practical to follow (because really, how many of us keep Jersey cows around for fresh cream?), but they make interesting reading. Rawlings fans know she prided herself on her excellent cooking, so it's nice to get a peek into her kitchen.

[Malinda]

I'm a big Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings fan. This is a cookbook that has some amazinging great recipes which she and her live-in cook used to use during her life in the early 1900s. The lobster newburg recipe is worth the price of the book. But, there is so much more!

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is more than a cookbook, threaded throughout with not only really good recipes, but truly inspiring words of wisdom.

Make the Parker House Rolls. Make Evadne's Gingerbread. What the hell, just make everything.

[Julie Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this up in St. Augustine while on vacation as a souvenir and read it in a couple of days. Really a classic look at Southern cooking in 1942 as well as a great sample of this lyrical, humorous author's style.

I gulped it down and instantly started on my other souvenir, Cross Creek.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great snapshot of the times and Florida cooking. But MKR wasn't much of a cook according to her maid, Idella Parker ( who is still alive & living in Jacksonville). Idella did most of her cooking from memory which she learned from her mother.

[Darlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book is an insight into life in North Central Florida, with all the wonderful food and people and places that encompasses. When combined with my weekly trips to the farmers market, this book guarantees some down-home eating that satisfies the body and soul.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just some good ol' food included in this teasury of Florida's finest receipes

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

<3 <3 <3 Love this cookbook.

[Lana Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delish recipies and funny stories all wrapped up into one! Love this book and the glimps it gives into Marjorie's life and best of all her kitchen.

[Max Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm unapologetic about my crush on M. K. Rawlings – how could you not love a woman publishing not one, but multiple recipes for swamp coot? Julia has nothing on Margorie!