This month, Local Cookbooks takes on Gravy Wars: South Philly Foods, Feuds & Attytudes by Lorraine Ranalli, which is a fascinating look at the South Philly gravy (aka tomato sauce) culture, describing in hilarious detail the endless debates that Lorraine’s family had (still has!) over the proper way to make gravy, and whose is best. The book, which includes at least 9 gravy recipes (with multiple variations), plus a plethora of other South Philly faves from scaloppini to pizza to biscotti, is certainly a must-have for anyone raised Italian in this area, and an entertaining read for the rest of us.

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Local Cookbooks is a feature at MLD where we share a recipe from a cookbook with local ties. Have a cookbook we should consider? Let us know.

This month we’re featuring Corked & Forked by Keith Wallace, released in August 2011. Yes, that’s two recipes in a row from this cookbook, but 1) we really like it, and 2) it’s very appropriate for the season, so we couldn’t resist. For a little more on the book, check out our last post. We promise a different book next month (…though this certainly won’t be the last we see of C&F).

While the pork chop recipe we featured was decidedly simple, this month we’re moving into more advanced territory. This recipe is a play on the traditional Turducken (where a chicken and duck are stuffed inside a turkey); it features a turkey breast for the meat, and uses the essence of both chicken and duck, without the absurd stuffing process. This playful, yet quite usable approach is a great representation of Corked & Forked’s fun approach to cooking.

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Local Cookbooks is a feature at MLD where we share a recipe from a cookbook with local ties. Have a cookbook we should consider? Let us know.

This month we’re featuring Corked & Forked by Keith Wallace, founder of The Wine School of Philadelphia, released in August 2011. As Wallace is known (previously to this book, at least) more for his drink knowledge than his cooking, one of the unique aspects of this book is that every recipe has a suggested drink pairing. Many are wine, but beers, cocktails and even coffees are also included.

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New feature here at MLD, where we share a recipe from a cookbook with local ties. Have a cookbook we should consider? Let us know.

Today we’re celebrating the end of summer with The Grassfed Gourmet Fires it Up by Rita Calvert and Michael Heller (which was released in April 2011). Although the authors are based out of Maryland, the Grassfed Gourmet series (which contains one other book, by a different author) is published by Eating Fresh Publications of Haverford, PA.

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