Southern cooking is growing in popularity with regular folk as well as top chefs who have been putting their own unique spin on the regional cuisine.

Interested in trying it yourself, but don’t know where to start? Pick up a copy of the just-published “Southern Living 1001 Ways to Cook Southern” (Oxmoor House, $34.95) by the experts at the Southern Living test kitchen.

For years, Southern Living magazine has been the bible of all things Southern. At 928 pages, this doorstop-sized cookbook contains four decades’ worth of tried-and-true, authentic Southern recipes. Learn the proper way to cook grits, fry chicken, make cheese straws and brew sweet tea. If you’ve ever wondered just what the heck pimiento cheese and hush puppies are, you’ll learn the origins of these foods here.

This tome also explains how to properly season a cast iron skillet, gives tips on restaurants in Southern states, and weighs in on debates over certain Southern foods. (What’s the difference between sweet cane syrup, sorghum syrup and molasses?)

Bon appetit, y’all.