April 2011

For a selection of materials for media use, including a jacket image, author photos, and illustrations, please go to www.ibiblio.org/uncp/media/castle/

Contact: Gina Mahalek, Director of Publicity
919-962-0581
gina_mahalek@unc.edu

THE NEW SOUTHERN GARDEN COOKBOOK
Enjoying the Best from Homegrown Gardens, Farmers' Markets, Roadside Stands, and CSA Farm Boxes
By Sheri Castle

(Chapel Hill, N.C.) According to Sheri Castle, "When it comes to flavor, freshness trumps, and it shows on our plates."

In THE NEW SOUTHERN GARDEN COOKBOOK: Enjoying the Best from Homegrown Gardens, Farmers' Markets, Roadside Stands, and CSA Farm Boxes (University of North Carolina Press; April 2011; hardcover/$35.00; ISBN 978-0-8078-3465-7), Sheri Castle aims to make "what's in season" the answer to "what's for dinner?" 	

This timely cookbook, with dishes for omnivores and vegetarians alike, celebrates and promotes delicious, healthful homemade meals centered on the diverse array of seasonal fruits and vegetables grown in the South, and in most of the rest of the nation as well. 

Increased attention to the health benefits and environmental advantages of eating locally, Castle notes, is inspiring Americans to partake of the garden by raising their own kitchen plots, visiting area farmers' markets and pick-your-own farms, and signing up for CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) boxes from local growers. 

THE NEW SOUTHERN GARDEN COOKBOOK offers over 300 brightly flavored recipes that will inspire beginner and experienced cooks, southern or otherwise, to take advantage of seasonal delights. Castle has organized the cookbook alphabetically by type of vegetable or fruit, building on the premise that when cooking with fresh produce, the ingredient, not the recipe, is the wiser starting point. 
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While some dishes are inspired by traditional southern recipes, many reveal the goodness of gardens in new, contemporary ways. From Stirred Corn and Seared Sea Scallops with Lime Sauce to Roast Beef, Boursin, and Asparagus Bundles to Chilled Raspberry Soup with Key Lime Shortbread, Castle’s signature recipes will entice cooks to enjoy the bounty of the season.
			
"Choose foods that are as fresh as possible, minimally processed, and inherently delicious," says Castle. "When you start with the highest-quality ingredients you can find (which aren't necessarily the most expensive), it's easy to cook well."

A North Carolina native with a distinctive, down to earth voice, Sheri Castle is a Chapel Hill-based food writer and cooking instructor who melds culinary expertise, storytelling, and humor to inspire people to cook with confidence and enthusiasm. 

THE NEW SOUTHERN GARDEN COOKBOOK is chock-full of clearly written, reliable recipes designed for home cooks—from novices to experts. Peppered with tips, hints, and great stories, these pages make for good food and a good read.

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THE NEW SOUTHERN GARDEN COOKBOOK
Enjoying the Best from Homegrown Gardens, Farmers' Markets, Roadside Stands, and CSA Farm Boxes
		
By Sheri Castle
 456 pp., 24 color illus., index
Hardcover/$35.00 
ISBN 978-0-8078-3465-7
Publication date: April 30, 2011
For more information: http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/T-8964.html
www.shericastle.com

CONTACTS
Publicity: Gina Mahalek, 919-962-0581; gina_mahalek@unc.edu
Sales: Michael Donatelli, 919-962-0475; michael_donatelli@unc.edu 
Rights: Vicky Wells, 919-962-0369; vicky_wells@unc.edu

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Advance Praise:
"Celebrates a diverse array of seasonal fruits and vegetables"—People Country

"Sheri Castle offers a vision for Southern cuisine that's based wholly on locally grown, seasonal foods. . . . The ingredient lists are seductive on their own, but Sheri is a warm and engaging writer with the kind of practical wisdom that enlightens any kitchen."
—Oxford American

"A "New Southern Cookbook We Love" Editor's Pick and Southern Living Test Kitchen Approved!" —Southern Living

"Inspired by the bounty from our Southern soil, seasoned author Sheri Castle challenges chefs to think fresh. . . . The book is a perfect marriage of recipes and stories, blending practical tips and delightful anecdotes into a collection that's as much a narrative as it is a recipe guide."—SavorNC

"A go-to guide for how to cook those fruits and vegetables--from Jerusalem artichokes to persimmons--that intrigue you at the farmers market but leave you stumped in the kitchen. . . . Regardless of whether your 'garden' is a pot of herbs growing on a back porch, a half-acre garden plot or a farmers market, Castle's book can help you cook whatever you buy, grow or pick yourself."—Raleigh News & Observer

"Timely in that it taps into the booming locally grown food movement and celebrates the pleasures of fresh, seasonal food. . . .Written in a casual, conversational style that gives the reader the feeling of being in a cozy kitchen listening to Castle as she cooks." —The Mountain Times