Southern Living 2021 Annual Recipes: An Entire Year of Recipes, Reviewed

Someone told me recently that, with all of the recipes available for viewing online, they no longer buy or have a desire to own cookbooks. While I certainly got their point, I have to say that I disagree. I cannot tell you how many times I have spotted a recipe online that I had planned to make, bought the ingredients, and then lost track of it, never again to be found. It’s for this reason (and many more) that I appreciate Southern Living coming out with a book of their best annual recipes, Southern Living 2021 Annual Recipes: An Entire Year of Recipes. If you are the same, you will no doubt appreciate their offering for 2021.

In my opinion, this book is worth owning for the dips alone. I am an avid fan of dips and spreads because of their versatility. You can use them as suggested (as a dip), as a potato topper, steak topper, sandwich spread -- the uses are endless. I tried a couple recipes from this book, and will be sharing them with you later because they are far too good to keep to myself. I have found that during the holiday season, nothing serves me more than having a delicious dip on hand to serve straight from the fridge, at room temperature, or bubbling hot from the oven. 

Obviously this book is more than just dips. There are recipes for every taste and inclination. This comprehensive book that includes an entire year of recipes between its colorful covers divides each section by month so that you can fix seasonally appropriate dishes, cocktails, and desserts. I love this idea!

Top rated recipes are pointed out at the very beginning of the book for your convenience. In my experience, top rated recipes are always winners, so you can make these with confidence. I can personally vouch for the Slow Cooker Chipotle Brisket Sliders. Delicious and crowd pleasing!

Vegetarians and vegans can rejoice. There are quite a few recipes that will suit them, including Tabatha Brown’s Vegan Mac & Cheese. If you’re a big fan of comfort food, there are plenty of offerings here, breakfast ideas, pasta, greens, seafood, and delicious baked goods.

Another thing I found particularly appealing about this book is that various recipes include suggestions for a variety of choices of ingredients to allow you to customize the dish the way you would like best. An example of this is a recipe called The Do-It-All Casserole with four separate variations including onions and Parmesan, mushrooms and thyme, pimento cheese, and buffalo ranch. I plan to try all four.
For those of you who are fans of dessert, pie in particular, there is an entire chapter on pie that includes “Five Tips from a Pie Pro,” great advice for a beginner. Among the pies in this chapter are Gingered Sweet Potato Pie with Pecan-Crumb Crust, Black Walnut-Buttermilk Pie, and Apple Pie with Rye Crust and Cider Caramel. Chocolate lovers, there is a chapter for you as well.

It is no exaggeration to tell you that every time I open this book I find something new that I want to cook or bake. For a year of prize winning, fan favorite recipes, this book is for you.

Recommended.

Disclaimer: I received a complementary copy of this book from Abrams books as a member of their 20 21–22 Abrams dinner party.

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