Cooking With Crabs And Beans In The South

By Frank Stasio

Published September 1, 2015 at 12:04 PM EDT

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Sandra Gutierrez is the author of 'Beans and Field Peas' and other cookbooks looking at Latin American and southern cuisine.

Matt Hulsman

The book cover of 'Beans and Field Peas,' a southern cookbook by culinary instructor Sandra Gutierrez.

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Gutierrez is an adopted southerner who sees beans and field peas used a lot in the south and her native Latin American cuisine.

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Bill Smith is the chef at Crook's Corner in Chapel Hill and author of the southern cookbook 'Crabs and Oysters.'

Soleil Konkel

The book cover of 'Crabs and Oysters,' a southern recipe book by Crook's Corner chef Bill Smith.

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Bill Smith has been eating crabs and oysters since his childhood down east.

From soft-shell crabs down east to baked beans cooked with a slab of pulled pork, crabs and beans are unquestionably essential to southern cuisine especially in North Carolina.

The “Savor the South” cookbook series identifies the region’s most delectable treats and assembles recipes using those ingredients. The latest batch of books includes new titles “Crabs & Oysters” (UNC Press/2015) and “Beans & Field Peas” (UNC Press/2015), which will both be released Monday.

Host Frank Stasio talks to Bill Smith, chef at Crook’s Corner and author of “Crabs & Oysters," and Sandra Gutierrez, food writer and author of “Beans & Fields Peas” about some of the South’s most treasured recipes.