Julia Reed is a hoot. Her book But Mama Always Put
Vodka in Her Sangria is subtitled Adventures in Eating, Drinking,
and Making Merry. She covers the gamut along with recipes and travel tales.
And Reed’s indelible Mississippi Delta childhood provides a strong foundation
for her sassy stories. The title derives from a real life friend’s
mother, and only serves to give a sampling of some culinary adventures. She
will make you hunger for food from Madrid to Paris to Kabul (from back in the
day as a reporter). Some of the highlights of the book come from her own
Southern garden and its bounty.
Come along to some fabulous parties. From the back cover: Shindigs
range from sultry summer suppers and raucous dinners at home to a Plymouth-like
Thanksgiving feast, and an upscale St. Patrick’s Day celebration. This
delightful collection of essays by Julia Reed, a master storyteller with an
inimitable voice and a limitless capacity for fun, will show you how to entertain
guests with style, have a good time yourself, and always have that perfect
pitcher of sangria ready at a moment’s notice.
I loved this book and appreciated that it was given to me by
a friend who was born in Mississippi and knew Julia Reed from school days. I
can’t wait to get together with her and hear some more. Meanwhile, pour a tall
glass of lemonade or sangria, plop yourself in a lounge chair, and prepare to
laugh. But Mama Always Put Vodka in Her Sangria is lighthearted,
witty, and sunshine on a cloudy day. This book made a flight of three hours
zoom by in no time. Now that’s a fun read.
