A real-deal Southern cook

The result — “A Real Southern Cook: In Her Savannah Kitchen” (Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt, $25) — is a remarkable comeback story and tribute to the legacy of black cooking in America since slave times.

As Charles writes in the opening essay of the 100-recipe volume, she learned to cook at the side of her beloved grandmother, when she was just 6 years old. “When she cooked, she got so much joy out of it, in bringing all us together,” Charles said in an interview. “Everybody came over to grandma’s house. They just loved my grandmother’s cooking.”

She said she had been wanting to write a book since her Lady & Sons days: She just never got around to it. The book marks the first time she wrote down her recipes for a home kitchen. “Usually I just eyeball the food to death, feel it, and tastetastetaste,” she says in the introduction.

I’m so glad she finally made her book a reality. It’s a gold mine of seriously good country cooking, wisdom and family memories. My only problem was deciding what to fix from it.

Charles gives us recipes for Lowcountry classics (Hoppin’ John, crab casserole, Savannah red rice), and her spin on Southern staples like squash casserole, tomato pie, potato salad and coconut layer cake. In one indispensable chapter titled “Some Things You Have to Know How to Make to Be a Good Southern Cook,” she provides a lesson for the likes of Panfried Chicken, Buttermilk Cornbread, Shrimp and Grits, Fried Green Tomatoes and other regional essentials.

When I asked Charles to point me to some of her favorites, she said: “My grandkids love certain things over and over again — like the macaroni and cheese. For my older nieces and nephews, it’s the collard greens and the cheesy meat loaf.” She’s partial to her grandmother’s pot roast and cornbread dressing. “My sister and myself, we do this once a year,” she says of the dressing. “We start on Thanksgiving, and we fix it for Thanksgiving and Christmas.”

As a person who loves creamy grits, I was drawn to Charles’ easy recipe for shrimp and grits. No need to add much dairy to the grits — the sauce takes care of that. Made made with cream and Boursin cheese, it’s rich enough to transform a plain pot of grits into something extraordinary. “I wanted to jump in that pot,” Charles said, recalling the day she developed the recipe.

Though shrimp and grits is traditionally served at breakfast or brunch, it would make a lovely quick supper with a simple salad. Charles suggests her Bright Peppers Salad — basically marinated bell peppers and onions — and I concur. If you are in the mood for a little something sweet at the end of the meal, you might place a bowl of her Country Fried Apples on the table.

If you think red-velvet cakes are all the same, you haven’t tried Charles’ showstopper. The crumb is dense and super-moist, thanks to the addition of a generous amount of vegetable oil. And though it’s a snap to top the finished cake with chopped pecans, Charles likes to stir nuts into the frosting. “I think that’s the best way. I love it.”

This woman knows her way around layer cakes. Next time, I’ll do both.

Recipes

Here are three recipes from Dora Charles’ “A Real Southern Cook: In Her Savannah Kitchen” (Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt, $25). You can make all three — a main dish, salad and dessert — in less than a half day, and have a lunch or supper that will wow your guests.

Shrimp and Grits

The secret to Dora Charles’ version of this Lowcountry classic is lots of cream and a little Boursin cheese with shallots and chives, which makes a rich sauce for spooning over a basic pot of grits.

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

3 bacon slices, stacked up and sliced thin crosswise

1½ cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons shallot-and-chive Boursin cheese

2 tablespoons dry white wine

2 tablespoons snipped fresh chives, plus more for garnish if desired

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 pound large (21–25 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined

Down-Home Country Grits, kept warm (see recipe)

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and cook the bacon until golden. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Pour out all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the skillet. Stir in the cream, Boursin, wine, chives, salt, and pepper and stir constantly over medium heat to make a slightly thickened sauce, about 3 minutes. Once the sauce is smooth, add the shrimp and cook until they’re pink all over and cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Spoon a serving of warm grits onto each plate and top with the shrimp in their sauce. Divide the bacon bits among the plates. Garnish with chives if desires. Serve immediately. Serves: 4

— Adapted from “A Real Southern Cook: In Her Savannah Kitchen” by Dora Charles (Harcourt Mifflin Harcourt, $25)

Per serving: 521 calories (percent of calories from fat, 76), 27 grams protein, 4 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 44 grams fat (24 grams saturated), 308 milligrams cholesterol, 861 milligrams sodium.

Down-Home Country Grits

1 ⅓ cups quick-cooking white grits

5 cups hot water

½ teaspoon salt, or more to taste

2 tablespoons butter

Ground black pepper to taste (optional)

Put the grits in the large saucepan you plan to cook them in. Fill the pan halfway with hot water, swish the grits around a little, let them settle to the bottom, and pour off the water; repeat two more times. On the third and final rinse, tip the pan slowly and carefully, holding the grits back with your hand, and pour off as much of the water as you can without losing the heavier grits—it’s fine if the lighter grits float up and go down the drain.

Add the 5 cups hot water to the rinsed grits and stir with a whisk. Add the salt. Cover the pan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Lift the lid to stir often, and watch that the pan doesn’t boil over. As you stir the grits, you’ll notice that after 15 to 20 minutes they will suddenly start jumping around and making a popping sound; this means that the water is disappearing. Then it’s time to turn the heat down to low, and leave the grits to simmer. Keep the lid on and, from time to time, give them a good stir.

After the grits have cooked for an hour, stir in the butter. Taste the grits for salt and add more if you need to, as well as the pepper, if you’re using it. Serve right away, or cover and keep the grits warm on the stovetop over low heat. Stir them every now and then and check to see if you need to add a little more hot water. They’ll keep for hours this way. Serves: 4

— Adapted from “A Real Southern Cook: In Her Savannah Kitchen” by Dora Charles (Harcourt Mifflin Harcourt, $25)

Per serving: 243 calories (percent of calories from fat, 24), 5 grams protein, 41 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 6 grams fat (4 grams saturated), 16 milligrams cholesterol, 32

Bright Peppers Salad

Little more than bell pepper, onion, herbs and dressing, this colorful salad makes a nice healthy side. You can use it in place of traditional cole slaw, or serve it as a condiment for tacos or any kind of grilled meat, fish or chicken. Leftovers keep for days in the refrigerator and taste better the longer they marinate.

5 bell peppers of many colors, cut into thin slices

1 medium red onion, cut into thin half-moons

2 tablespoons champagne vinegar, rice vinegar, or other mild white vinegar

5 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

A large handful of chopped mixed fresh herbs of your choice: parsley, dill, chives, and/or mint

Combine the pepper strips and onion in a large bowl and toss with the vinegar. Set aside for 10 minutes or up to ½ hour.

Add the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Toss well and taste for seasoning. Scatter the herbs over the peppers and onions and toss together. Taste again for seasoning and serve. Serves: 8

Per serving: 113 calories (percent of calories from fat, 72), 1 gram protein, 7 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 9 grams fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 19 milligrams sodium.

Very Red Velvet Cake

Vegetable oil makes this heavenly layer cake dense and moist. A copious amount of red food coloring turns the layers bright magenta.

For the cake

2 ½ cups cake flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 ½ cups sugar

1 ½ cups vegetable oil

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 tablespoons red food coloring (from two 1-ounce bottles)

For the icing

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, softened

1 (1-pound) box confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1 cup chopped toasted pecans

To make the cake: Set the oven to 350 degrees and adjust the rack positions to the middle and top third. Spray three 8-inch round cake pans well with baking spray.

Sift the flour with the baking soda.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs well, then beat in the sugar, oil, and vinegar. On low speed, slowly add the flour and beat in well. Add the buttermilk slowly, then the vanilla, and then the food coloring.

Pour the batter evenly into the pans and rap them on the countertop several times to eliminate any air bubbles. Bake for 12 minutes, then rotate the pans from shelf to shelf so they bake evenly and bake until the tops spring back when lightly touched, about 25 minutes altogether. Let the cakes cool in the pans on racks for 15 minutes.

Run a knife around the sides of the pans and invert the cakes onto the racks to cool completely. Once they’re cool, refrigerate the cakes for 20 to 30 minutes to make icing them easier.

To make the icing: Place the cream cheese and the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer, and mix with the paddle attachment until quite smooth, about 3 minutes. Slowly add in the confectioners' sugar, and mix well, about 3 minutes, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Put one cake layer upside down on a cake plate or cake stand and cover the top evenly with frosting. Add a second layer, and spread with more frosting. Top with the third layer, and spread frosting evenly around the sides of the cake and on top; check for any places where you can see through to the cake. Finally, sprinkle the pecans evenly all over the top of the cake.

Once the frosting sets, cut into slices to serve. This cake keeps for up to 2 weeks in a cake keeper, but once it’s ready, people want to dive right in. Serves: 16

— Adapted from “A Real Southern Cook: In Her Savannah Kitchen” by Dora Charles (Harcourt Mifflin Harcourt, $25)

Per serving: 591 calories (percent of calories from fat, 55), 4 grams protein, 63 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 37 grams fat (10 grams saturated), 58 milligrams cholesterol, 165 milligrams.