Mrs. Whaley Entertains: Advice, Opinions, and 100 Recipes from a Charleston Kitchen Book

Charleston, that slightly starchy though gracious Southern city, seems an unlikely place to have made a heroine of the decidedly unstarchy Emily Whaley. Yet Mrs. Whaley's remarkable garden was a standard stop for many years on the Historic Charleston Foundation's annual garden tour, and Mrs. Whaley (who, despite her gregarious informality, had impeccable Southern bloodlines) was a popular social fixture, having founded the Cotillion, the city's most upscale dancing school. Entertaining was Mrs. Whaley's second-favorite hobby, and Mrs. Whaley Entertains is a slim, delightful collection of family anecdotes and timeless Southern recipes, salted liberally with Mrs. W.'s strong opinions ("Never serve anything to a guest that you haven't made successfully two or three times and made quite totally yours") and abundant good humor ("A good hostess simply wants you to enjoy yourself and won't care a whit if you refuse something as ungodly looking as an oyster"). Emily Whaley died in June 1998; this pleasant guide to Southern hospitality is a fitting memorial. --Barrie TrinkleRead More