Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to review Southern Grit.

The book is filled with an array of delicious recipes and colorful images. I think this would be a great addition to anyone's cookbook collection. The recipes are nicely organized and easy to follow.

“I am a chef, mother, wife, plant enthusiast, animal lover, thrifter, MacGyverer, and protector of tradition. I believe in the old way of doing things, but am the first to stand in line for progress and change.

The South is the place I ran from and then returned to. The place I decided to settle down, but a house, raise a family, and build a business. It’s the place I called home and now, the home I’ve chosen. The South that has shaped me is what I want to share with you.”
— Kelsey Barnard Clark

Prepare yourself for a mouthwatering journey with Kelsey Barnard Clark's captivating book, "Southern Grit: 100+ Down-Home Recipes for the Modern Cook." As a renowned chef and multitasking mom, Barnard Clark infuses her passion for cooking and hospitality into every page, inviting readers to embrace the flavors and warmth of the South.

With over 100 accessible recipes, "Southern Grit" effortlessly combines traditional Southern dishes with a fresh and contemporary twist. From the moment you open the book, you'll be enticed by the delightful aromas of dishes like the indulgent Bomb Nachos, the refreshing Savannah Peach Sangria, and the irresistible Roasted Chicken and Drippin' Veggies. And let's not forget the six variations of Icebox Cookies that will surely become a household favorite.

The book not only tantalizes the taste buds but also enchants the eyes. The beautifully styled photographs of finished dishes and the inviting Southern home atmosphere will transport you to the heart of Barnard Clark's kitchen. Alongside the recipes, she shares invaluable tips for stocking the pantry, effortless entertaining, and maintaining a guest-ready home, whether you have toddlers running around or not.

If you have enjoyed reads like Joanna Gaine’s "Magnolia Table" and Reese Witherspoon’s “Whiskey in a Teacup", "Southern Grit" will be a delightful addition to your collection. Fans of Kelsey Barnard Clark and her triumphant journey on Top Chef will appreciate her warm and authentic approach to cooking. This book is a treasure trove for home cooks who not only crave the vibrant and comforting flavors of the Deep South but also love to create unforgettable experiences for their loved ones.

The author’s personality shines through her self-branded "spicy Joanna Gaines" persona, infusing every page of "Southern Grit" with her infectious enthusiasm and undeniable talent. Her victory as the Fan Favorite on Top Chef, alongside her winning the entire season, speaks volumes about her culinary prowess and her ability to captivate audiences with her unique style.

This flavourful masterpiece deserves a place on every food lover's shelf. Kelsey Barnard Clark has crafted a treasure that pays homage to tradition while embracing the joys of contemporary homemaking. Prepare to embark on an adventure, where the rich flavors and hospitality of the South come alive in each and every recipe.

A huge thank you to Chronicle Books, Kelsey Barnard Clark and NetGalley for the e-book. All opinions are my own.

Love Southern food? Unless you’re from the South, you probably haven’t had years of experience cooking and eating it. If you want to learn some of the basics and create authentic southern dishes, you’ll want to pick up Southern Grit: 100+ Down-Home Recipes for the Modern Cook by Top Chef winner, Kelsey Barnard Clark. This is a beautiful cookbook and will inspire readers to get to the kitchen immediately.
The recipes included are for modern southern dishes that are trendy and unique as well as some classics. The photographs are beautiful (Antonis Achilleos, photographer) and will get anyone’s mouth watering. Besides good recipes, this cookbook includes helpful chapters and hints on knife skills, stocking a southern pantry, and helpful kitchen tools, as well as cleaning as you go and even gardening hints. The recipes are written in the traditional way, so they are easy to follow; both beginning and experienced cooks will find that cooking from this excellent cookbook is easy. The recipes are mostly fairly easy and call for ingredients that are easy to find in mainstream grocery stores.

There is an excellent recipe for Pimento Cheese, a southern classic, as well as fried cornbread and black-eye peas with greens. Clark also includes several southern cocktails for those who wish to imbibe while eating the delicious southern food including appetizers, salads, breads, main dishes, and lots of mouthwatering desserts.

Cooking southern is fun, and this cookbook will help readers find their southern cooking niche with food that will be requested by family and friends over and over again. Highly recommended. Yum!

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Mouth-watering recipes on every page, with added educational tidbits and background. As a southern girl myself, the recipes did not disappoint!

I think that the recipes in this are more for upscale restaurants catering to tourists than from a typical southern home, but I will give it credit for making fancy out of common and easily available ingredients! Even though I won’t personally be making any of the recipes, it’s a gorgeous book to look through. The photos are outstanding.

Living in the north means that I have always been fascinated with the Southern style of cooking. In fact, the first time I left New England (to visit my aunt in Tennessee) the thing I was most excited about was being able to finally try grits!!! Southern Grit is full of tons of recipes that I cannot wait to try! In fact, my husband is very much looking forward to taste-testing! The book is full of great recipes with beautiful pictures! I would highly recommend this one to anybody interested in a little southern hospitality.

Interesting and tasty recipes! Thanks to netgalley for providing me access to this book! Loved trying the new recipes

This cookbook was full of interesting recipes. Since reading I’ve tried a few out and I found the steps easy to follow.

The only negative I found was a rather large amount of the book was devoted to anecdotes and stories about the recipes, and hosting/home advice rather than recipes - that’s not my particular preference when cooking (although I know some people do like this, it’s just personal taste.)

The introduction section in particular came across as quite condescending (although I think the author was going for sassy?) and the recipes themselves are very fancy and require a lot of ingredients/steps which is not what I thought I was getting from a southern cookbook.

If you’re a fan of the author or this type of cooking then great, but it was a kiss from me.

The recipes in this book look wonderful, and I plan to try a couple of them. I was a little surprised to see the cleaning and organizing advice because I thought this was a cookbook, and primarily it is, with that bit of extra content added. The styling and photos are beautiful.

Southern food always look so good! And this recipe book was no different! I can't wait to try some recipes out.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Really loved how great most of these recipes sound and look! will have to buy this book for sure!

Southern Grit: 100+ Down-Home Recipes for the Modern Cook by Kelsey Barnard Clark is a beautiful cookbook filled with mouthwatering recipes! I can’t wait to try the bomb nachos, buttermilk biscuits, cream cheese pound cake, and peach sangrias. #SouthernGrit #NetGalley

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ -- All kinds of yummy!

As someone who loves to cook and has annoyingly picky eaters as offspring (😂), I am always looking for new and interesting meal ideas. Enter SOUTHERN GRIT. First off, this was a beautifully illustrated book. It was full of gorgeous photos and visually appealing typography. A very important part of any cookbook (IMO). It was also choked full of information on stocking a southern pantry, tools to have on hand, canning 101, and basic cooking vocab. 🙌🏻

The recipes themselves were well laid out and with easy to follow instructions. Many include variations and notes. I have only gotten around to trying a handful of the recipes (Chicken Liver Pâté and Fig Jam -- AMAZING, Papa Karl’s German Potato Salad -- AMAZING, Bacon, Spinach, and Mushroom Quiche -- YUMMY, and Mom’s Carrot Cake -- MY carrot cake loving daughter was in HEAVEN).

Honestly, so many recipes caught my eye that I can see this cookbook becoming one of my favorites! 🙌🏻

**ARC Via NetGalley**

I love cookbooks and cooking especially southern food and especially when they are written by a TOP CHEF winner like Kelsey Barnard Clark.

This cookbook is a must for every cooks kitchen. Who among us doesn't like Southern style nachos, peach sangria, icebox cookies plus all of the standards like fried chicken, cheese grits and buttermilk biscuits.

The photos are beautiful but I hate that there aren't pictures of every recipe.

There is a wealth of information about pantry ingredients, basic tips on prep and entertaining.

This one is a miss for me. "Southern Grit" is filled with great photography and has gorgeous fonts and layouts, but is just too inaccessible. The recipes are on the formal side and many require a significant list of unique ingredients. What really turned me away though, was all the extra commentary on homemaking and hosting. It was rather condescending and struck me as out of touch.

I would only recommend this to people interested in very Southern and rather fancy cooking.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

Kelsey Barnard Clark was a great competitor on Top Chef, sharing her Southern charm and recipes to a television audience. Capitalizing on her popularity, the chef recently released a cookbook called Southern Grit: 100+ Down-Home Recipes for the Modern Cook.

The introductory chapter gives readers information on essential pantry and refrigerator ingredients, tools, knife skills, canning information, and entertaining helps. There are tips and hints for readers and a few pictures to inspire and entice. The classic Southern dishes have modern twists, so those looking to bring down-home dishes into the present will like this cookbook.

The following are the recipe sections, with some of the standout dishes.

Happy Hour Bites & Sips: Classic Boiled Peanuts; Bomb Nachos; Homemade Salsa; Meyer Lemonade

Greens: BLT Butter Bean Salad; Cornbread Panzanella Salad; Street Corn

Potatoes, Grains & Pasta: Smashed Crispy Potatoes; Dirty Rice; Potlikker Field Pea Risotto

Seafood: Po'boys with Remoulade; Cornmeal Catfish with Green Goddess Dressing

Eggs & Poultry: Breakfast Casserole; Roasted Chicken and Drippin' Veggies; Bama's Chicken Pot Pie

Pork & Beef: Girl Boss Steak with Confit Onions and Mushrooms; Rosemary and Garlic Pork Tenderloin; Pot Roast and Leftover French Dip Sandwiches

Breads & Pastries: OG Buttermilk Biscuits; Golf Cart Cinnamon Rolls; Key Lime Crunch; Stairway Red Velvet Cake

Overall, there are a lot of great recipes in this cookbook, though I wish there were more photographs of the completed dishes. Readers who like Southern cooking will enjoy the updates to some of their favorite dishes.

I love TopChef so I was thrilled to stumble across this cookbook. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC. As a southern girl myself I found this cookbook to be filled with practical and delicious recipes for everyday life and the average home chef. I appreciate the organized table of contents at the beginning of the cookbook as many cookbooks lack this kind of layout! The cocktail section is amazing too. I can't wait to make the pepper jelly and pepper jelly brussel sprouts to enjoy with gameday this weekend.

I'm not Southern enough for the recipes in this book, y'all. Photography was excellent, though.

I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a good cookbook of Southern favorites. I loved Kelsey, the author, on Top Chef, she was so creative and this book reflects her personality. I loved the pictures too, the ones of the food and also pictures of family and friends, and houses and rooms decorated in Southern style.

I want to try these recipes - squash casserole, baked cheese grits, baptism quiche, rosemary and garlic pork tenderloin, icebox cookies, and key lime crunch. They all sound delicious! 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Pros: What first caught my attention about this book was its title--I live in the south and loved seeing a cookbook dedicated to southern food. (Once I started reading, I loved that the dedication is to generations of women, because food is important to southern women!) What made me want to read this book is the author--I loved her season of Top Chef (and she's a Chi Omega). The photography in this book is lovely, and I appreciate when cookbooks have lots of photos of the food because that gives me a guide to see if my cooking attempt is on track. Another thing I appreciate in cookbooks is when the recipes are accessible to cooks with all levels of experience and when the recipes call for ingredients that can be found at any (southern) grocery store--this cookbook does both. While reading, I kept a list of recipes I want to try--smashed crispy potatoes, smoked gouda grits, baked cheese grits, baked corn grits, rosemary focaccia, buttermilk biscuits . . . really all the carbs! I also always like a new breakfast casserole to try, and the rosemary and garlic pork tenderloin sounds delicious. Oh and a southern cookbook wouldn't be complete without a red velvet cake recipe!

Cons: None that I can think of--this book offers a great variety of southern cooking!

Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the opportunity to read this cookbook!