Why Dying Down South Is More Fun! by: Pat Conroy

Recently, for my birthday, my friend Susan, gave me a wonderful 'cookbook with a story' kind of cooking by Pat Conroy...
It is written in a southern kind of lingo ("Coach would say, "Sit down in your seat, Randy, you fool. And hush your mouth, boy."
Randy's Dad was 'school superintendent' but coach was 'the boss'..." )....
Pat's writing that accompanies his recipes is quite amusing....
Imagine a chapter on...Vidalia Onions.....
The story about Vadalia Onions is longer than the recipe pages.
But my favorite one is....
Why Dying Down South Is More Fun!
I believe that only a fellow southerner, who conjurs up familiar images of the scrumptious food served 'after the memorial service' can fully appreciate this kind of writing and his humorous approach to a very serious and sacred event.....
Pat Conray says this, and I quote:
"Southern grief at a funeral of a loved one often gets 'mollified' by the scrumptious feast that follows the ceremony. In the South, you often eat as well after the burial of a family member or friend as you do on Thanksgiving Day or Christmas.
It is the custom of the place for friends to bring a dish of delicious food to the home of the deceased-it is one of the binding social covenants that still survive in even the most estranged enclaves of the South."
Cooking food for a grieving family and friends is still one of the classiest ways to send a love note that I can think of.
I still get teary-eyed and grateful when I think of the sheer amount and quality of the food that the people of Beaufort and Fripp Island, South Carolina, sent to my house after the deaths of my mother and father. My family was overwhelmed by the kindness of the neighbors who had loved our parents. They cared for us, fed us wonderfully well, comforted us, and eased the grief of our parents' passing with astonishing grace.


America's favorite storyteller is back--this time with a cookbook that is also a memoir of good food and good company, from his beloved South to France, Rome, and beyond.
One hundred recipes are featured, from Breakfast Shrimp Grits to Mocha Macaroons.

Author Bio:Pat Conroy
Conroy is the son of a career army man and a Southern woman with a passion for poisonous snakes. Several novels include .....The Prince of Tides, Beach Music, The Water Is Wide, My Losing Season.

Pat Conroy is a master storyteller and passionate cook, Conroy believes that "a recipe is a story that ends with a good meal."