R. W. Apple, Jr., of The New York Times credits third-generation Alabamian Frank Stitt with turning Birmingham into a "sophisticated, easygoing showplace of enticing, southern-accented cooking." His southern peers think his cooking may have a more profound sense of place than any of theirs. His food is rustic and homey, but sophisticated in method.

Now, Alabama's favorite son has written a long-awaited cookbook that features his enticing Provencal-influenced southern food. More than 150 recipes range from the traditional--Spicy Green Tomato and Peach Relish, Spoonbread, and Pickled...

There are some places worth traveling to just for the food: Rome, Venice . . . and now, Birmingham, Italy.

In this companion to his first, best-selling cookbook, the beloved Southern chef Frank Stitt travels to Italy and brings the best of Mediterranean cuisine back home. To Stitt's mind, the two regions--Italy and the American South--share commonalities. Both native cuisines have a tradition of turning humble ingredients--ground corn, bitter greens, cured pork, the daily catch--into poetry on the plate. And as the chef points out in his lively introduction to the book, this is elemental...