Growing up in Scottdale, Westmoreland County, B. Smith was denied membership in the Future Homemakers of America. The unspoken rule was that although she excelled in home economics class, she was barred from the club because she was black.

So what did she do? Started her own home economics club and made herself the president, thank you very much.

That same gutsy determination has propelled Ms. Smith all the way to the top in almost every job she's tackled: model, restaurant owner, interior decorator, television host, product spokeswoman, lifestyle expert -- and now, cookbook author.

She's written two previous books, but she described those as "lifestyle books" rather than cookbooks; they contained recipes, but the recipes weren't the sole focus. Her new book, "B. Smith Cooks Southern-Style," is all about the recipes.

"I had fun doing it, although it killed me," she said, laughing. "It's the most difficult thing I've ever done."

And that's saying something, coming from a woman who has tried just about everything.

"I have multiple personalities," she joked.

Most of the hats she wears she first donned when she was still growing up in this area. She has fond memories of cooking with her parents and grandmother, and she reminisces about taking turns with her three brothers to get up early in the mornings and make pancakes or muffins before school.

Her mother, she said, went "upscale" when they had company, trotting out the fine china.

"I loved all that. I loved the holidays," she said, recalling homemade jelly, rhubarb pies and the stylish parents who molded her character.

And when she encountered home economics class in junior high, she got swept off her feet, embracing cooking and sewing with a passion.

If she'd known about culinary schools, "I might have tried to do that and modeling" all at once.

As it was, however, home ec took a back seat to modeling for a few years.

While still attending Southmoreland High School, she heard about a modeling school in Downtown Pittsburgh and asked her dad if she could enroll.

His answer: "Absolutely not."

A week later, she approached him again and emphasized that it also was a finishing school.

He relented.

Good thing. She went on to grace the covers of 15 magazines, becoming Mademoiselle's first black cover model in 1976.

Even while modeling, she retained her love of cooking and entertaining. When she traveled to European cities -- Paris, Milan, Vienna -- for modeling jobs, she found she avoided loneliness by inviting people over and cooking for them.

"It seems like an oxymoron -- modeling and food," she said. But in her cookbook introduction, she notes, "Over time I learned how to enjoy the food I loved by eating in moderation."

Indeed, in the cookbook she replaces some high-fat and high-sodium ingredients with healthier counterparts -- not always a concern in the South, the land of sausage gravy, chitlins and boozy desserts.

What's a Pittsburgh native doing writing a Southern cookbook anyhow?

Well, her mother's cooking had strong Southern influences. And Ms. Smith has traveled all over the United States, as well as the world, so she's not exactly limited to one cooking style. Besides, she's always featured Southern-inspired cuisine in her three "B. Smith's" restaurants in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Sag Harbor, N.Y.

Her first restaurant ownership attempt fell through, but that didn't stop her. She approached friends who were starting a restaurant group, asked for a job and took careful mental notes about what happens in a restaurant before opening day. She started out working in the coat room, climbed all the way to manager, and eventually convinced her friends she had a good concept for her own restaurant and they should back her.

In the course of decorating the restaurants, she developed her line of home decor products that now sells in Bed Bath & Beyond stores. And a side benefit of the restaurants: She met her husband, Dan Gasby, in her first restaurant. They have one daughter, Dana.

The restaurants and the new cookbook go hand in hand. Many of the foods featured in the cookbook are either served in her restaurants or reminiscent of her restaurants' cuisine.

Plus, "it helps to have a chef" when testing recipes, Ms. Smith said, chuckling.

Not that this is a chef-made book with Ms. Smith's name on the front. She created the recipes herself and then passed them along to tester friends.

She thought of all the Southern foods she'd tasted in her travels as a television host, then jazzed them up. For instance, she used a typical combination when creating her Grilled Okra and Tomato Salad, but "you usually don't think to grill okra." She did, and her husband loved it.

"My mother used to cook okra, and I hated it," he told her.

Originality shows through in the meats she features, too: alligator, pheasant, rabbit, turducken.

Some of those entrees have historical roots. She researched Southern cooking and included much of what she learned in essays introducing each chapter. There are plenty of recipes for those who don't live in alligator country, though: biscuits, corn bread, peanut soup, Louisiana-style seafood, pork and beef tenderloins, upscale mac & cheese, and seven recipes for grits, including one grits dessert.

"B. Smith Cooks Southern-Style" (Simon and Schuster, $35) took about 18 months' work and was a "labor of love." And although she's happy with the final product, she's already "redoing the recipes in the book, making them lighter, being more creative.

And so she moves on. Next up is a handbag collection. Later this year, she'll debut a new PBS television show.

"I'm always looking for my next project."

Sweet Potato Spoon Bread

PG tested

B. Smith writes, "Spoon bread, also known as 'batter bread,' is a sweet, moist cornmeal-based dish closer in consistency and taste to pudding than bread. I like to serve this sweet potato-flavored version as a side dish with meat and poultry."

• 3 cups whole milk
• 1 cup yellow or white cornmeal
• 4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
• 2 cups mashed sweet potatoes
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3 large eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a round 2-quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large saucepan, pour the milk and cook over medium heat. Slowly whisk in the cornmeal to avoid any lumps. Continue whisking; as the milk heats to steaming, the mixture will thicken, about 3 to 4 minutes. Allow to come to a gentle boil and cook for about 1 minute. Turn off the heat and add the butter, whisking until it melts.

In a large bowl, stir together the mashed sweet potatoes and baking powder. Stir in the warm milk mixture and mix until smooth. Beat in the eggs a little at a time, blending well after each addition.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until the edges are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve immediately.

Serves 8.

-- "B. Smith Cooks Southern-Style"

Braise of Black-Eyed Peas and Greens Soup

PG tested

• 1 1/4 cups (about 10 ounces) dried black-eyed peas, or two 15-ounce cans cooked black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup diced sweet onion, such as Vidalia
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1/2 cup diced carrots
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 cups chopped kale or collard greens, stems discarded
• 1 cup diced pork, ham or smoked turkey breast
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken stock or broth
• 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 cup cooked barbecued rib meat, shaved off the bone and chopped, optional for garnish

If using dried black-eyed peas: The day before serving, in a large bowl, place the dried black-eyed peas. Cover with water and let soak overnight. Drain and rinse thoroughly. Or, to quick-soak the peas, place them in a large pot or Dutch oven, cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat, cover tightly and let stand for 1 hour, then drain and rinse thoroughly. (If using canned black-eyed peas, previous steps should be skipped.)

In a large Dutch oven or saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, celery and carrots, and sauté for about 5 minutes, until tender. Add the bay leaves, kale or collard greens, and meat to the pot, and saute, stirring frequently, for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the chicken stock, black-eyed peas, Creole seasoning and oregano to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the peas or tender.

Remove bay leaves and season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls, and serve immediately, garnished with chopped rib meat if desired.

Serves 6.

-- "B. Smith Cooks Southern-Style"

Coconut-Pecan Cake

PG tested

Our frosting was not quite stiff enough, causing a bit of it to slide down the cake sides. If we had it to do over, we'd try refrigerating the frosting for a little while to stiffen it before spreading. An alternative solution would be to frost only the tops of the cake layers, as if this were a torte.

• For the cake
• 3 cups cake flour, plus more for dusting pans
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 large egg yolks (reserve whites for frosting)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups unsweetened coconut milk
• For the filling
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed milk)
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup coconut-flavored rum
• 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 1 1/2 cups chopped toasted pecans
• For the frosting
• 1 1/4 cups light corn syrup
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon coconut extract
• 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To make the cake, coat three 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick baking spray, line the bottoms with waved paper, and spray the paper. Dust the pans with flour, tapping out the excess. In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter until creamy. Gradually beat in the sugar. Beat for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Beat in the whole eggs, one at a time, until well blended. Beat in the yolks and vanilla.

With the mixer on low speed, alternately beat in the flour mixture and coconut milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, mixing until blended.

Divide the batter among the prepared pans, spreading evenly. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and turn the cakes out onto wire racks to cool completely.

To make the filling, in a medium saucepan, beat the egg with a fork. Add the granulated and brown sugars, evaporated milk, and butter, and stir well to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the filling boils. Remove pan form the heat and stir in the rum, coconut and pecans. Transfer to a small bowl and let filling cool.

To make the frosting, in a small saucepan, bring the corn syrup to a boil.

In a large bowl, with the electric mixer on medium speed, beat the egg whites for about 4 to 5 minutes, until soft peaks form. With the mixer on high speed, gradually drizzle the hot corn syrup into the egg whites in a thin, steady stream. Beat for about 2 minutes, until stiff peaks form. Beat in the coconut extract. Gently fold in 1 cup of the coconut.

To assemble the cake, place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread with half of the filling. Top with another cake layer and spread with the remaining filling. Top with the remaining cake layer. Spread the frosting completely over the sides and top of the cake. Sprinkle the entire surface with the remaining 1 cup of coconut, pressing gently so it sticks to the frosting.

-- "B. Smith Cooks Southern-Style"

Sweet Potato Salad with Orange-Maple Dressing

PG tested

• 3 pounds red-skinned sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1/4 cup brown raisins

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a large pot, steam the sweet potatoes in batches until just tender, about 15 minutes per batch. Transfer them to a large bowl and let cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, make the Orange-Maple Dressing by whisking together the olive oil, maple syrup, orange juice, vinegar, ginger, nutmeg and salt.

Add the green onion, parsley, pecans and raisins to the cooled sweet potatoes. Pour the Orange-Maple Dressing over the potato mixture, and toss gently to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. This salad can be made several hours ahead of time; cover and refrigerate until serving.

-- "B. Smith Cooks Southern-Style"

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