Gena Knox

Not until she was an adult and living far from home did Gena Knox realize how strong a role food had played in shaping her sense of identity and connection to community.

 “Growing up in Reynolds, there were no restaurants, no red lights, not even a yield sign,” says Knox of her small hometown in south Georgia. “We didn’t go out to eat because there was nowhere to go!”

 Instead, it was in the kitchen and around the table at home where family culinary traditions were nurtured. And it was the bounty of the farmland around them that anchored those time-honored recipes.

 In her new cookbook, Southern My Way: Simple Recipes, Fresh Flavors ($34.95), Knox puts a modern, healthier spin on favorite childhood dishes and reflects on an upbringing where seasonal eating was simply a way of life, not a movement.

 “What we grew we shared with family and friends,” Knox recalls of life on the farm. “If we took a neighbor a basket of peaches they would send us home with a sack of purple hull peas or ripe tomatoes or fresh squash.”

 Even her first entrepreneurial forays—she worked at a peach packing shed and sold boiled peanuts on the side of the road—were inspired by the region’s abundant seasonal harvests.

 It was after moving away that Knox began tweaking the recipes she was raised on, lightening them with contemporary flavors and ingredients, simplifying them for a new, faster pace of life. Leaning in to what she describes as an “irresistible pull toward the kitchen,” she invited friends to test her healthier version of beloved Southern specialties, the dog-eared favorites from old Junior League cookbooks such as deviled eggs, artichoke and rice salad, fried catfish and pimento cheese. Their emphatic reaction was “This tastes just like the original! You need to write a cookbook!” 

 Southern My Way—a sequel to her first book, Gourmet Made Simple—is her response; it’s filled with approachable recipes (all with prep times under 20 minutes) for classic dishes with made-from-scratch taste and farm-fresh appeal. “When you use fresh ingredients, you have to do very little else to make it taste good,” the author says.

 Knox—who with her husband Davis also founded Fire & Flavor, a line of grilling products and gourmet seasoning salt blends and rubs as well as brining mixes—peppers the pages with stories of visits to local farmers and artisans, and families who keep the region’s foodways and farming traditions alive and vibrant. 

 “I went back to farmers who influenced my life and talked to them about their lifestyles and passions,” she says. “We have real value in the South with ample farming land and long growing seasons. Seeing the faces and listening to the stories of those who raised and nurtured the food on the table is a special satisfaction.”  

My Signature colors are…peaceful cool colors for my home but, when it comes to clothing, sunshine yellow is my favorite.
The one thing I can’t live without is…a good glass of wine in the evening.
My favorite museum is…the Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia.
I get my best inspiration from…travel, my mom’s cooking and old Southern cookbooks.
When I get an unexpected day to myself, I like to…catch up on reading magazines and organizing my kitchen cabinets. I love a clean kitchen!
Every home needs…an herb garden and good knives.
The ingredient that can make all the difference in a dish…fresh herbs.
My favorite way to entertain at home is…a sit-down dinner for six or eight.
The one place in Atlanta I always take guests is..the Westside, for shopping and eating. I love the roasted chicken sandwich with green goddess dressing at Star Provisions. The chocolate and walnut meringue is my weakness—very sweet, but not too filling. I usually grab a half dozen to have as an after-dinner treat. 
The car I drive is…a Volvo Cross Country.
When I’m not cooking for others, I like to eat…fish and really good bread.
The place I love to travel is…all over, but especially through small Southern towns.
My fashion sense of style is best described as…I don’t know that I really have a sense of style, but I do love the classic looks of Audrey Hepburn and Jacqueline Kennedy.
My proudest professional moment came when…I first saw my cooking products on the shelves of Whole Foods, Kroger and Publix.
My favorite dish to prepare at home is…risotto with seasonal ingredients; so many people think risotto is hard to make but it is actually one of the easiest dishes—and so delicious!
The persons I look up to the most are…two amazing women—my mom and my mother-in-law.
The biggest influence in my work is…Davis, my husband.
My Sunday routine is…enjoying my coffee, waking up Neely, my son, and spending as much time with him as possible before the work week begins.
My favorite prepared foods shop is…Whole Foods; I love supporting my customers.
The first thing I see when I wake up is…Hamp, my Boykin Spaniel, greeting me at my bedside.
Other than my own, my standby cookbook is…Fresh Every Day by Sarah Foster.
What most people don’t know about me is…I was bitten by a copperhead snake when I was 16. Never fish barefoot in south Georgia!
My favorite place for quiet contemplation is…my morning run.
The item I won’t leave home without is…a bottle of water.
The one piece of advice I’d give any aspiring cookbook author is…don’t be afraid to dive in. And get ready to work hard!

 FAVORITES AT HOME 
Favorite table linens: My husband’s grandmother Dot’s white linen napkins that have a beautiful “D”  monogram
Favorite dinnerware: My Herend “Chinese Bouquet” when I have guests, even if we are having burgers; why have china if you are not going to use it? 

Favorite flower: Ranunculus

Favorite music: Willie Nelson; I have loved him since I was a little girl   

Favorite wine:  Sparkling rosé
Favorite artisanal food: Boiled peanuts and Sweetgrass Dairy cheese
Favorite artist: Luke Allsbrook 

Favorite furniture style: Anything with simple, clean lines 

Favorite architectural style: Colonial Revival