Deep Run Roots: Stories and Recipes from My Corner of the South

Deep Run Roots is a culinary work by Vivian Howard featuring 250 recipes celebrating the flavors of North Carolina's coastal plain. A New York Times bestseller and IACP Cookbook of the Year, the book demonstrates the culinary richness of Deep Run, North Carolina, Howard's home region. Organized by ingredient with recipes for all skill levels, the book includes photographs for every recipe alongside narrative storytelling. It features both simple time-honored preparations and dishes from Howard's acclaimed restaurant, Chef and the Farmer, which she opened in 2006 in nearby Kinston. Facing economic recession in her town, Howard committed to buying from local farmers, working with abundant sweet potatoes, blueberries, shrimp, pork, and beans. This led her to cook using traditional methods of resourcefulness, creativity, and food preservation passed down through generations of Southerners. Recipes include family favorites such as Blueberry BBQ Chicken, Creamed Collard-Stuffed Potatoes, Fried Yams with Five-Spice Maple Bacon Candy, Chicken and Rice, Country-Style Pork Ribs in Red Curry, and Braised Watermelon, along with desserts like Warm Banana Pudding, Peaches and Cream Cake, and Pecan-Chewy Pie. The book also contains 200 additional recipes for breakfasts, weeknight dinners, holiday dishes, seasonal preserves, and traditional preparations.