This cookbook will be a great fit for people who want vegetarian versions of high calorie traditional dishes and are comfortable with lots of cheese, flour, fat and fake meat. That's not me, but I can see the appeal of some of these dishes as an occasional treat.

No nutritional information is listed for the recipes, and after plugging in the ingredients for one dish (Baked Nashville Hot Cauliflower) and finding that each serving came to a whopping 1,428 calories, I am reluctant to want to make a lot of her dishes. That's more than I should be eating in a day, and it's not even a complete dinner.

There are not many pictures of the recipes, which is always disappointing. There are quite a few that I'm just not interested in without seeing what the dish will look like. Also, a lot of them just don't appeal to me. There are lots of gumbos and other tomato-based casserole type of dishes that are just not my thing.

Recipes that are vegan are marked with a green V, but I noted at least one recipe marked vegan that was not (a broth that was made with Parmesan rinds). Most of the recipes are not vegan, and substitutes are not offered.

The author is NOT vegetarian, though she says that she tries to eat less meat these days for health reasons. There is a lot of talk in the cookbook about eating animals -- intros to recipes that tell you that it was traditionally made with squirrel or rabbit, talk about butchered hogs, talk about how much she likes the chicken version of this, etc. that is likely to put off many vegetarian readers. I just can't see how her raving about the delicious taste of haggis (animal stomach stuffed with "other critter organs" and oats, and then boiled) has a place in a vegetarian cookbook.

Many of the recipes are incredibly "junky" too. The Three Cheese Broccoli Bake calls for ingredients like Velveeta processed cheese, crushed Ritz crackers and a cup and a half of heavy cream, for instance (and at 6 servings in this recipe, it clocks in at 876 calories and is presumably just a side dish).

Also, this is not a great cookbook for gluten free folks. Flour, Ritz crackers and bread are used in many of the recipes.

Would I use some of these recipes for a special dinner or holiday dish? Probably. Would I buy this cookbook for the few times I'd use it for this? Sorry, no.

The one recipe I am intrigued to try is her Fake-on Bacon, which is made by soaking rice paper strips in a smoky spiced maple and soy sauce marinade and baking until crisp. It sounds really good and I do plan to try that one.

**I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review purposes.

I received an ecopy of this book in exchange for a fair review

This book is really useful and it really serves two purposes: it's a vegetarian cookbook but also gives insight into southern cooking. A two-fer!
I'm really interested in trying the Georgia peanut soup and the sweet potato souffle- I think they will be a nice addition to switch up our dinners.

There are many colour photos that make the recipes look yummy and do-able, although there was definitely room for more photographs. Even a few with multiple cooked items on the page would be nice (example: there are three deviled egg recipes- they could all be on a plate!)

The recipes are pretty easy to follow and most ingredients in them aren't hard to find in regular grocery stores. I think this is a book that would be useful to most home cooks looking to veg some classic southern recipes.

Southern food and vegetarian don't normally go hand in hand, but this book shatters that myth. Some real interesting, delicious, and unique looking recipes.

"The New Vegetarian South" is a tasty dive into the flavors of southern tables - sans meat. Some of the recipes in the cookbook are Southern favorites that have always "been vegetarian." Some are meatless takes on favorites and provide meat alternative suggestions. Some are new Southern tastes. Some include a fair amount of dairy/cheese. Some are simply vegetables and seasonings.

With gorgeous produce coming into season at my local farmers market and from friend's gardens, I'm queueing up recipes from this cookbook to make. Already the Corncob & Leek Broth was a simple and tasty way to get every last bit of goodness from sweet corn. Other recipes I plan to make in the near future include Corn Bisque; Tomato Gravy; Warm Sweet Onion Dip; Vegetable Purloo; Cheddar Corn Pudding; Crunchy Tomato Pie; Company Succotash; Baked Limpin' Susan; & Salted Carrot Coins.

Free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This cookbook is available September 17th.

I like the concept for this cookbook. You don't often think of Southern food when you think of vegetarian food, but really there is a lot of traditional Southern food that already is vegetarian or can easily be converted with a few substitutions. There are several recipes here I am looking forward to trying, especially the Jambalaya, Southern Fried Tofu Nuggets, and Vegetable Stuffed Pie. As always, I feel there should be at least one photo for every recipe and that is the not the case for this cookbook so I deducted one star for the reason.

This is a brilliant recipe book filled with some amazing recipes. The photos that accompany the recipes are beautiful as well.

4 1/2 stars

I've heard that one question omnivores frequently ask of vegetarians is where they get their protein. That is not the question I'm asked most. The one I'm asked most is: if you started eating meat again, what's the first thing you'd eat?

My answer to that question has altered over the years because I find new recipes by chefs who know what they're doing so I no longer miss my favorite foods. As chef Jennifer Brule puts it in her new cookbook, The New Vegetarian South, by combining different things you can obtain the "flavor profile" of many of your favorite dishes without eating meat. 

One of those foods I frequently mention is fried chicken. My mother used to make a mean southern fried chicken, and, frankly, I thought that was going to be one of those things that would just be a great memory until I saw Brule's recipe for Southern Fried Tofu Nuggets, which is going to be one of the first recipes I try from this cookbook. Brule introduced me to a new method of preparing tofu and that is soaking it in brine. The recipe seems as though it will take some time, hopefully it will be worth it--and that's another missed food I'll cross off my list.

Brule also includes sections on different types of gravy. One, a Sawmill Gravy, which I've only heard called Sausage Gravy, is another going onto my immediate cook list. I am glad that she uses vegetarian sausage, which I have been using frequently in my cooking to add texture and flavor. So many vegetarian chefs seem to disdain using faux meats, but I've found that some of the better ones work very well as meat substitutes in traditional recipes. And they're quick.

Savory pies. The past few years I've made pithiviers (puff pastry filled with veggies, cheese, and herbs) for Christmas dinner, with varying degrees of success. I've found that the more I experiment, the more I learn and the better the outcome. Brule includes an entire section on savory pies, which I can't wait to try. Savory pies seem like of the ultimate vegetarian comfort foods next to mac and cheese and mashed potatoes. One of the pies I can't wait to try is Vidalia Onion and Clemson Blue Pie with Pecan Pretzel crust. Each one of those ingredients makes me say yum.

My tentative try list includes her recipes for crab cakes, which uses heart of palm, and oyster po' boy, which uses oyster mushrooms. I'm sure my trepidation regarding the crab cakes is because I've only ever used heart of palm in salads (you might remember it became really big during the South Beach Diet craze) and can't imagine their texture resembling crab, but I will give it a try (and I'm a sucker for anything that uses Old Bay seasoning). On the other hand, I have heard about substituting oyster mushrooms for oysters because of the similar taste. I just haven't easily been able to locate oyster mushrooms (but then I can't say that I've tried with any vigor).

There are also sections on appetizers, including some tempting warm dips, soups (oh, peanut soup I hear you calling my name), and side dishes.

Brule states in her introduction that by exchanging plant-based ingredients for meat doesn't necessarily make these recipes healthy, but what it does is gives those of us who eat a plant-based diet, an opportunity to rediscover those foods we loved and discover new foods. While not all of the recipes look like foods I'll enjoy, most do and I'm anxious to give them a try.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wonderful book! This is a must-have for any public library, and a must-own for any vegetarian. It's a book that can be labeled, "safe for meat eaters," because the recipes are so versatile and unique, but completely accessible..

I really wanted to love this cookbook. I try to only eat small portions of meat 3-5 times a week and typically find it easier to take Vegetarian and Vegan recipes and just add a little bit of meat when I want to so I gravitate towards these types of cookbooks. However, this book just didn't really do it for me.

I'll start with the good first. The few pictures they had were beautiful. Those recipes did actually look enticing. Also, some of the vegetable recipes, like the herbed cauliflower rice and some of the soup/broths sounded good The author also wrote a little preface for most recipes which felt nice and homey. Instructions seemed pretty easy to follow.

Yet, I found a lot that I did not love about this book. First off, almost no pictures. Few of the recipes sounded alluring enough for me to actually make and with no pictures, I wasn't really tempted. With so many cookbooks the have a picture for every recipe, only seeing a few for the whole book was a huge letdown.

There was also no nutritional facts. I realize many do not care about this, yet I do and feel like it is something I should mention since others feel strongly about this too. However, I do not mark down for this specific letdown to me.

Many recipes use meat substitutes. I am really not a fan of this. I eat a mainly plant based diet and find that the expensive and tasteless meat substitutes are unnecessary and are normally not very healthy after all the processing it goes through. Some people may be okay with this, but if you aren't, it is good to know that there are many recipes that just use those substitutes. There is also a lot of cheese. I am dairy free and realize this book is just titled Vegetarian and not Vegan, but it would have been nice to have one of the many homemade Vegan "cheese" sauces out there included as a substitute at least since she did go through the effort of marking some recipes as Vegan. One more page with that recipe would have helped this book appeal to quite a lot more people.

While the book was a letdown to me, I feel like the author really did try to make it nice and the recipes may well be delicious, the few pictures certainly look it. I just wish she would have included more!!

This is a very appealing cookbook. The recipes are written clearly and sound delicious. I've been a vegetarian for a long time and I'd like to own a copy of this. Some of the recipes are traditional and have never contained meat, like cheese straws, onion dip, deviled eggs, tomato gravy, three-cheese broccoli bake, cheddar corn pudding, company succotash and cornbread. For other recipes, the author has replaced meat with plant-based ingredients, like senate bean soup, jambalaya, roasted cauliflower étouffée, "oyster" po' boys, Charleston's country captain and dirty rice. This book has beautiful photography, but unfortunately most of the recipes are not accompanied by pictures. There is also no index to this book. The beginning of the book has a list of meat substitutes like tofu, seitan, mushrooms, beans and cauliflower. Vegan dishes are highlighted in the table of contents and on the actual recipe pages.

The recipes are grouped into the following categories: Appetizers and Snacks; Soups, Stews, Broths and Gravies; Hearty Main Dishes and Casseroles; Savory Pies; Vegetables and Side Dishes; Pickles; and Breads from the Oven, Skillet and Slow Cooker.

Some of the other recipes that drew my attention included: garden-stuffed summer tomatoes, kale chips, corn bisque, winter tomato and rice soup, gumbo, Brunswick stew, baked Nashville hot cauliflower, southern fried tofu nuggets, "crab" cakes, tomato pudding, roasted vegetable potpie with cream cheese peppercorn crust, individual crunchy mac and cheese, dill pickled beets and cheddar and herb biscuits.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

I hope the finished product has more pictures! There are some good sounding recipes, but it didn't 'wow' me.

I was expecting some exciting new Vegetarian recipes but instead founds myself paging through recipes I constantly come across. I'm not sure where the writer is from but I didn't get enough of that southern feel in this book. I like when cookbook writers inject some of their personality to accompany the recipes and there was little personality in this book. Few recipes stood out as ones I would like to pass along.

I received an ARC copy for Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have been thinking a lot lately about becoming a vegetarian so I found this book at the best time. This cookbook has a lot of delicious looking recipes and they all look easy to follow. I can’t wait to try these recipes out.

First off: Don't Worry!! Just because this is a vegetarian cookbook does not mean there aren't oodles of fried foods, fatty snacks and mayo to enhance those delicious vegetables.

Exhibit A - the Warm Corn Dip.
You get a lot for the 2 cups worth of dip that the recipe makes. It squishes in 3 cups of corn, 1 cup of cream cheese, 1/2 cup each of sour cream, mayo and cheese, an entire onion and 3/4 cup of red pepper. I know that veggies tend to shrink when you cook them (in this case, using 3 tablespoons of butter), but the feat is still impressive. *I have not included all of the ingredients, so check the book if you would like to create this snack correctly.*

Exhibit B - Tomato Pudding.
What do you get when you combine a stick of butter, 8 cups of bread, tomatoes and spices? A delicious, sweet side dish that I am equally afraid of and drawn to. Sue me. I would love to make this dish, but perhaps with less butter.

Exhibit C - Salted Caramel Bourbon Pecan Sweet Potato Souffle.
Yeah, I don't think I need to explain that one.

This was an extremely fun read for me. The book is filled with indulgent, rich dishes. The Tomato Gravy and Chocolate Gravy recipes instantly put me in a happy food trance! Luscious! Low cal? No. Low Fat? Not in a million years. Fun and full of flavour? You bet! And the recipes go on and on - Cheese Grits Casserole, Vidalia Onion and Clemson Blue Pie with Pecan Pretzel Crust, Slow Cooker Pecan Cinnamon Rolls with Buttermilk-Cream Cheese Glaze...

While this is not my cup of soup, I certainly understand that there is a market waiting for this cookbook. And I cannot wait to try the Tomato Pudding!

*There is at least one recipe that contains gelatin, which is not vegetarian. Cheese also is listed often, which (depending on the cheese) is not always vegetarian either, but finding vegetarian cheese is fairly easy. Replacing gelatin with a non-animal based product would affect the recipe amounts and or instructions, so this was a let down for me.*

This book was intriguing. The idea of making recipes usually dependant upon bacon grease and butter is interesting. There are many I am excited to try especially the black-eyed peas and the Southern Fried Tofu Nuggets.