Cookbook Club

Gullah Geechee Home Cooking

By: Erin Byers Murray

It’s been a whirlwind few weeks of holiday entertaining. I hosted family for Christmas and then traveled to visit more family. It was, in short, a lot of cooking. And while there were a slew of cookbooks from professional chefs and recipe developers that arrived last year touting fail-proof ideas and dishes for entertaining, the book I kept turning to was Emily Meggett’s Gullah Geechee Home Cooking: Recipes from the Matriarch of Edisto Island—her straightforward, unfussy, easy-to-pull-off recipes fit right into my classic Southern holiday spread. 

GullahGeecheeFINAL Cover

Meggett was a home cook at every point of her life—as she was growing up, as a mother of 10 children, and as a professional cook for a family that wasn’t her own. Meanwhile, she cooked for anyone and everyone she came across (and still does!)—the plumber, neighbors, friends on the beach. Her mantra is to always cook a little extra and give something away. And she never arrives anywhere empty-handed (a rule of thumb that felt especially prescient during the holidays). Her recipes read that way, too. Many of her dishes feed 10 or more, another bonus when you’re hosting a group. “I cook big,” she writes, and this time of year, I think we all should, too.  

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Date Published: 01.09.23
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About The Author

Erin Byers Murray

Erin Byers Murray has been digging into stories about food and wine for more than twenty years. Based in Nashville, she is the editor-in-chief of The Local Palate and has authored or co-authored half a dozen books, including deep dives into oysters and grits, as well as several cookbooks. Her work has been published in multiple publications, including Food & Wine, Wine & Spirits, the Boston Globe, and three editions of Best Food Writing.

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