December Thrifty - Week 5 #1 ~ Georgia Cookbooks: Savannah & Atlanta

Savannah a la Carte, published in 1999. Recipes were collected by the Savannah Symphony Women's Guild.  The Savannah Symphony was founded in 1953 and at the time of publication  averaged 300 performances a year. The chapters are based on annual events held by the symphony and a few themed parties as well.  The first chapter is Picnics in the Park or On the River with many light entrées and desserts. The title is taken from the Symphony's most attended event of the year. Next up, Chamber Concerts, features the Maestro's favorites recipes, including a salmon mousse and osso buco. A Jazz brunch incorporate New Orleans favorites, while French Favorites features, brie, pate, seafood and rabbit.

The remaining chapters touch on a South of the Border theme, Exotic Adventures - with a Pacific Rim vibe, Mediterranean Feasts - both Greek and Italian, and lastly Gala Affairs.

An Atlanta Tradition, published in 1983.  This copy is the second edition with the first published the previous year for a total of 15,000 copies.  The recipes were compiled by the Marist School Parents Club.  The Marist School is a private Catholic college preparatory institute located in Atlanta, Georgia.  It was founded in 1901 in downtown Atlanta as a boys military school and moved to its current location in 1962 and currently admits both males and females.

The recipes include appetizers & beverages, casual entertaining, soups & breads, entrées, vegetables & accompaniments, sweets and a bonus chapter. At the start of each chapter is a dish contributed by a local restaurant with a brief profile of the donor.  Each recipe has a list of the cookware and or equipment needed to complete the dish in the side margin - very useful! Some interesting drinks I found in the beverage section were for a Scarlett O'Hara (lime juice, cranberry juice with Southern Comfort) and something I may actually try to make - Homemade Kahlua. In the casual entertaining chapter there was a dish titled Bourbon Hot Dogs - basically wieners marinated in a bourbon & brown sugar mixture.

There was a recipe for homemade Aplets which I remember seeing around the holidays while growing up. The bonus chapter is filled with numerous sandwich fillers and recipes for relishes and sauces.

The book was a gift to previous owner from her friends and was inscribed" The Best Way to a Man's Heart". Not sure if it worked out for "Debbie", but she did use the book and seemed to be fond of the Pineapple Casserole as it was the most used recipe. She also tried the Minestrone Soup, a Shrimp Casserole (marked excellent!) and Poppy Seed Chicken (I have made this dish and promptly tossed it - blergh).