In B. Smith’s Southern Cooking A-Z, she explores the rich and diverse cuisines of the American South—from Cajun to creole, Soul food to “New Southern.”

Laced with engaging anecdotes about culture and history, Smith’s recipes equal parts instructive and entertaining.

Hers isn’t a cookbook for elaborate dinner parties or calorie counters, but rather a guide for those unafraid to smoke a pig and toss back a few sliders. From Smith’s mouthwatering catfish fingers to her Jambalaya, her Kentucky Burgoo, and the entertaining stories she tells while teaching you her tricks, B. Smith’s Southern Cooking A-Z will show even the most skeptical reader why the Wall Street Journal has hailed her as “One of the most formidable rivals of Martha Stewart.”