Southern Delicious for Every Day and Every Occasion

Story by Lyda Kay Ferree, The Southern Lifestyles Lady. Excerpted from Come On Over! © 2021 by Elizabeth Heiskell. Photography © 2021 by Angie Mosier. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

Today Show contributor Elizabeth Heiskell is known for her Southern flair and delicious crowd-pleasing dishes, and now she’s helping home chefs take the guess work out of cooking in Come On Over!: Southern Delicious for Every Day and Every Occasion.

With Come On Over!, you don’t have to wait for the holidays to make something special: these are recipes and tips for making every meal worth celebrating. Chapters are broken down by the occasion, and every page is filled with Elizabeth’s bubbly personality and spirit.

In the Weekdays chapter she shares The Good Chicken and her Farro and Salmon Bowls, both of which stand up against the rigorous scrutiny of her three daughters. Diet Days includes tongue-in-cheek options like Fat Lady Soup and the Bone Broth recipe that had her local butchers concerned. Game Days includes tailgate favorites, and School Days has lunches that every kid will look forward to. Most importantly, these recipes are designed to be easy, fuss-free, and guaranteed to please.

Elizabeth is a cook and caterer, founder of Debutante Farmer Bloody Mary Mix, and author of What Can I Bring? and The Southern Living Party Cookbook. When she’s not charming viewers of Today, she has also appeared on Hallmark’s Home & Family and Today in Nashville and has been featured in “The Atlanta Journal-Constitution” and “The Mercury News.”

VIP: Talk about the title of your new book “Come On Over”!

Elizabeth Heiskell: This book title was just so natural. If somebody is inviting me somewhere I say what can I bring? I invite them to my house and I say come on over. It’s an easy way to say this is gonna be a good, casual time. Come on like you are…. The title of the book just fits!

VIP: What are some of your favorite recipes in your new book?

EH: For the spring/summer season the things that I look most forward to are summer veggies—pretty vegetables like peas, but I am waiting on the tomatoes, squash and all the real superstars of summer. As soon as that first batch of tomatoes comes in, I’ll be in the kitchen making tomato pie. This recipe is so easy. There is no reason to get hung up on the pie crust. We used a store-bought crust in this recipe in my new cookbook. When the tomatoes and basil are in season and you put some mozzarella and Parmesan cheese on that….yum!

I would much rather you spend less time in the kitchen and more time with your guests. I would put anybody else’s recipe up against my Squash Casserole in this cookbook. It is super, super simple! Squash is a very delicate summer veggie. If you put too many flavors in this casserole, you will lose it. The cheese and the cream sauce are the stars of this show, and the squash very happily takes the back seat.

VIP: Did you prepare some of the recipes in your new cookbook and take to the Today Show staff to sample and help you select favorites to include in your new book? If so, what were their favorite recipes?

EH: The Today Show is the marker for whether a recipe is something that will be universally or at least nationally loved. As soon as that recipe comes out, they know whether it’s a hit by how it’s trending. My Executive Producer of the Today Show knows what recipes will trend and which ones will not trend in the entire US, not just in the South. A lot of the recipes we have prepared on the Today Show are in this book. Caesar Chicken Wrap will be one of the best dishes your children have ever had. Every single recipe in this cookbook was one that I wanted to use. I still have a list of at least 50 more recipes that were not used. We test these recipes, and I know immediately whether they work or not.

VIP: How did your work at the Viking Culinary School in Greenwood, MS help you in your career?

EH: I was Head Chef there for 8 years. I taught cooking classes and represented Viking cooking classes all over the US and at food festivals. That was a gift. It really made so many connections for me. It helped me know that I could be on TV and I could write a book. It changed everything!

VIP: Talk about some of your favorite spring/summer recipes in your new cookbook. Do you have a favorite recipe in your new book?

EH: It depends upon my mood. That shows how I feel about this new cookbook. In the summer I enjoy the deviled eggs, ice cream sandwiches (They are divine and could not be easier!), lots of fruits and vegetables, Watermelon and Tomato Gazpacho, Peach Sangria, Fried Green Tomatoes (yum), and who doesn’t like a Moon Pie?

I’m intimidated by long recipes. I wanted this book to be one that people of all ages whether they have cooked for 40 years or 40 minutes to be able to use this book. I ask young girls to cook, and everybody loves what they make. It’s a homerun! Immediately they get gratification. and then it starts a lifetime of wanting to cook.

In the Beach Days chapter of my new book I feature a Cornbread Salad, which is an attractive presentation and a yummy, filling salad which we serve in the summer. I was a guest at a party where this salad was served. I am real skeptical of salads where people can hide things in it. I made my husband try it first, and he loved it. I must have eaten 4 servings of it! Ever since then it has been in my summer repertoire. But it is good anytime of the year.

And everybody loves the Tomato Pie. Other good summer recipes include the Ice Cream Sandwich Dessert, Corn and Red Onion Guacamole (I love, love, love!), Shrimp Boil, and Fish Tacos with Lime Crema. Occasionally I allow myself to have a milkshake, which is perfect on a hot summer day. Two milkshake recipes are in my new cookbook: Boozy Caramel-Coffee Milkshake and Brandy-Vanilla Milkshake.

VIP: Summer will arrive soon. What beach/water towns do you most enjoy?

EH: As a child I went to the Mississippi River sandbar and was told I was at the beach. I love the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I am obsessed with Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and I love Grayton Beach, Florida.

VIP: When will you return to the Today Show?

EH: Producers are going back to the studio, but it will probably be fall before they have people like me going back. I can do the show from home from my cell phone and I Face Time the producers. I do my demo just like I was on my show. Viewers can see me. On May 3 I will promote the launch of my new book. The pub date is May 4 in the 8am hour. I will return to the Today Show on May 14 in the 10am hour.

VIP: Do you have time or make time to return to the Mississippi Delta?

EH: I’m on my way to the Delta now. There is nothing like it. I plan on retiring in the Delta, and my husband loves it there.

VIP: What are you enjoying about living in Oxford, Mississippi?

EH: There is always something to do in Oxford. You could go out every night. The university provides such a resource for fun and enjoyment. There are great restaurants and great clothing stores. The real thing about Oxford: this town will wrap its arms around you. It is very, very special! There’s no place like it!

VIP: How do our VIP Magazine readers order your Bloody Mary Mix?

EH: The Debutante Farmer Bloody Mary Mix is under the Elizabeth Heiskell brand now. In Memphis you may buy it at Busters or Social. Currently I am concentrating on my catering company, books, and TV. We’re putting every ounce of energy we have back into catering. We have not been catering events for almost a year. We’re so happy to be back in our kitchen with our clients that we love and catering weddings, birthday parties and so on. Next year we will be 109 percent focused on catering, TV, and this book.

What to Know

Elizabeth Heiskell’s new book Come On Over! is available in bookstores. To order a personalized book, call Square Books in Oxford, MS at (662) 236-2262. The author will sign the book, and the bookstore will ship it to you.

www.ElizabethHeiskell.com