‘Are You Ready’ for UM Cookbook? It’s Here

The Ole Miss Department of Nutrition and Hospitality Management hosted the launch party at Off Square Books to unveil its long awaited cookbook, Are You Ready.

Ole Miss Department of Nutrition and Hospitality Management releases raft of recipes.

Are You Ready was the prevailing theme of the September 6 weekend in Oxford, as residents and visitors celebrated the first home football game of 2013. Ole Miss foodies kicked off the season as only Oxford foodies can do it—by gathering Friday evening to share wonderful stories and great food at a cookbook launch party.

The Ole Miss Department of Nutrition and Hospitality Management hosted the launch party at Off Square Books to unveil its long awaited cookbook, Are You Ready. The cookbook commemorates the department’s 100^th anniversary of promoting good nutrition, health, and sanitation for all Mississippians.

The 238-page Are You Ready  cookbook contains more than 211 recipes, ranging from soup to nuts. Nutrition and Hospitality students offered launch-party guests a taste-sampler from the cookbook, including Bacon-Tomato Tarts with Raspberry Chutney, Knock Me Out Brownies, and Bacon Pecans. The new cookbook complements the 1989 Rebel Recipes cookbook, and in fact, contains a few favorite recipes from the earlier cookbook, each noted with a thumbnail image of the Lyceum.

Are You Ready contains vintage photographs and stories about some of the school’s most ardent fans. In her welcome remarks, Dr. Kathy Knight, Interim Director of the Nutrition and Hospitality Management Department, noted that the cookbook was a collaborative effort by numerous Ole Miss supporters and alumni, along with students in the program. She singled out project editor Charlotte Oakley, writer Amber Grey, art director Jeremy Roberts, artist Lisa Paris, foreword contributor John T. Edge, and Wimmer Cookbooks project collaborator Melanie Tatum Thompson.

Proceeds from sales of the cookbook will be used to fund student and departmental activities. The book retails for $35, and is on sale at Off Square Books and other book stores and gift shops in the region, at the Ole Miss Lenoir Hall, and online through http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/nhm.

— Laurie Triplette, ldtriplette@aol.com

Laurie Triplette is a writer, historian, and accredited appraiser of fine arts, dedicated to preserving Southern culture and foodways. Author of the award-winning community family cookbook GIMME SOME SUGAR, DARLIN’, and editor of ZEBRA TALES (Tailgating Recipes from the Ladies of the NFLRA), Triplette is a member of the Southern Foodways Alliance (SFA)  and the Southern Food and Beverage Museum (SOFAB). Check out the GIMME SOME SUGAR, DARLIN’ web site: www.tripleheartpress.com and follow Laurie’s food adventures on Facebook and Twitter (@LaurieTriplette).