For nearly twenty-five years, Mildred Council—better known by her nickname, Mama Dip—has nourished thousands of hungry folks in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Her restaurant, Mama Dip's Kitchen, is a much-loved community institution that has gained loyal fans and customers from all walks of life, from New York Times food writer Craig Claiborne to former Tar Heel basketball player Michael Jordan.

Mama Dip's Kitchen showcases the same down-home, wholesome, everyday Southern cooking for which its namesake restaurant is celebrated. The book features more than 250 recipes for such favorites as old-fashioned chicken pie, country-style pork chops, sweet potatoes, fresh corn casserole, poundcake, and banana pudding. Chapters cover breads and breakfast dishes; poultry, fish, and seafood; beef, pork, and lamb; vegetables and salads; and desserts, beverages, and party dishes.

The book opens with a charming introductory essay, a savory reflection on a life in cooking that also reveals the story behind Council's nickname. It is both a graceful reminiscence of a country childhood and the inspiring story of a woman determined to make her own way in the larger world.

Average Customer Review: ( 59 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.

In addition to the receipies, the story of Mama Dip's life was inspiring. It gives us a glimpse into the life of a poor southern family. The book is worth buying for this story alone.

I'm anxiously awaiting additional titles from her!

42 of 43 found the following review helpful:

NOTHING COULD BE FINEROct 13, 2000

When it comes to Carolina Country Cooking, Dip is simply the best. No wonder people line up at her Chapel Hill restaurant, patiently waiting for the South's best fried chicken (crispy-golden outside, juicily tender inside), her heavenly fried chicken livers, her marvelous chicken pot pie. And oh those collard greens cooked with a piece of side meat. Dip has made this Southerner mighty happy by putting all of these recipes -- and oh, so many more-- in her new cookbook. Also, by telling her story of growing up poor "but not knowing it" because of her close and loving family. We should all be so lucky. A Chapel Hill fan.

55 of 58 found the following review helpful:

A Good Base for Southern Soul CookingMay 16, 2004
By Derrick Peterman
This book starts out with a delightful autobiographical story of Mildred Council and her life of cooking for her large family, and later opening a restaurant. She talks about using local, seasonal ingredients. Unlike most foodies, this knowledge was necessary for survival of her poor sharecropper family. I found this short story worth the price of the book alone.

A transplanted Midwesterner in California, I bough this book to expand my cooking skills to include southern cooking / soul food. The recipes are all pretty simple, suspiciously simple suggesting a few trade secrets have been left out. Ms. Council admits as much, encouraging the reader to experiment and play around with her recipes. That's nice, and I respect Mama Dip's need to hold family/trade secrets, but I would have preferred more insight into how to experiment, to guide the reader. (A good example is Paul Kirk's Championship BBQ Sauces, where the secrets are not revealed, but plenty of insight is given for the reader to develop their own secret sauce.) Thankfully, there are cooking tips here and there, often given out in a folksy manner. Certainly one of the best things about this book is that with so many simple recipes, everyone will benefit from it.

Some of the recipes were surprisingly good in their simplicity. The Creole Shrimp, Fried Okra, and Fried Catfish turned out great. (Per Mama Dip's encouragement, I added a couple of my own ingredients to the mix.) The Baked Beans had a muddy taste, without much character to it. A couple others turned out a little bland. I have some philosophical differences with Mama Dip's Pecan Pie recipe. For the record, I think it needs brown sugar and perhaps some other ingredients for a richer, deeper flavor. Using light Karo syrup, butter, sugar, eggs, and pecans, and nothing else, I think Mama Dip's pecan pie tastes too light. (Of course, nobody is asking me to make my Pecan Pie on the Today Show as Ms Dip has, but that's what I think.)

The fact that this book has resonated so well with Southern reviewers certainly means a lot, but I can't give a book five stars that seems to give out a number of incomplete recipes, and gives the reader little insight on how to round them out. And not everything turned out great. But don't get me wrong, I loved reading this book, and it's been a good tool to expand my cooking skills to include Southern Cooking/Soul Food.

36 of 37 found the following review helpful:

A Real Cookbook at LastAug 25, 2000
By Barbara B. Powell
I first saw Mama Dip on the Food Network. I immediately went online to find the cookbook that was mentioned. I now have a book of recipes and techniques that I can leave for my children when I am gone. I was afraid that I would have to write down my techniques etc. but she did it for me. What a wonderful read the book is also. I can hardly wait for her to find time to put another collection together. What a wonderful woman.

26 of 27 found the following review helpful:

Mama Dip's KitchenNov 14, 2000

The Best of the best - this cookbook has true old-time southern recipes with easy to follow instructions. This lady cooks exactly like my Alabama grandmothers - deliciously!

See all 59 customer reviews on Amazon.com