These recipes, stories, jokes, advice, farm lore, and illustrations were collected from a wide variety of American agricultural sources from the 1880s to the 1950s.

    There, the combination of down-home comfort, fresh-from-the-farm ingredients, and dedicated preparation hooked her for life. Now the award-winning cookbook author and restaurateur serves up nearly two hundred contemporary interpretations of classic dishes—Shrimp Jambalaya, Slow-Roasted Pulled Pork Butt, Cheesy Grits Casserole; refreshing drinks, including Mint Juleps and Sweet Tea; and such satisfying breakfasts as Country Ham and Hominy Hash. And a table wouldn’t be Southern without the sides—Skillet-Fried Corn, Creamy Potato Salad, and Arugula Pesto Snap Beans. Be sure, too, to save room for Molasses-Bourbon Pecan Pie and Freestyle Lemon Blackberry Tart.From revealing the secret to fluffy buttermilk biscuits to giving us ideas for swapping out ingredients to accommodate any season, from providing tips for frying up chicken like a true Southerner to detailing barbecue fundamentals that put you on par with any pitmaster, Foster’s helpful sidebars ensure that your dishes will turn out perfect every time. You’ll also get expert tips on the essential equipment (cast-iron skillets, griddles, casserole dishes) and the ingredients no Southern pantry should be without (from stone-ground grits to Carolina Gold rice). As a bonus, Foster offers her “Sidetracked” feature, profiles of tried-and-true roadtrip destinations throughout the South where you can find the best fried catfish, barbecued brisket, big breakfast plates, and more. And finally, Foster’s lessons in pickling and canning guarantee that you can enjoy your favorite flavors all year round.With its handy list of resources and Southern pantry essentials, and entertaining stories, Sara Foster’s Southern Kitchen is an all-inclusive collection of Southern cooking in which simple feasts meet artisanal ingredients, traditional tastes meet modern methods, and fantastic flavors make every bite a succulent mouthful of Southern comfort.

    The Pillsbury Bake-Off(r) Contest presents the very best of what people are cooking today for their family and friends-for everyday dinners, special occasion desserts and mouthwatering breads. Now, for the very first time, more than 350 of the most sought after prize-winning recipes from this famed cooking contest are gathered in one book, complete with gorgeous color photographs and stories about the people and the inspiration that led to their award-winning recipes.But the Bake-Off(r) Contest is about more than just baking. . . certainly dessert time has never been the same since the introduction of Magic Marshmallow Crescent Puffs, Chocolate Silk Pecan Pie and the Tunnel of Fudge Cake, which became a household name in 1966. The Bake-Off(r) is also about wonderful savory dishes, such as Cowboy Steak 'n Veggie Soup, Grilled Chicken and Mango Corn Salad, Italian Zucchini Crescent Pie and the now-famous California Casserole, which captured the Grand Prize in 1956 and won its creator, Margaret Hatheway, a cook's tour abroad, where she introduced this most American of dishes to chefs all across Europe.Best of the Bake-Off(r) Cookbook is a sweet and savory record of how American cooking has evolved over the years, illustrating how home cooks have captured their ethnic heritages in dishes adapted from their grandparents' countries to modern kitchens and busier times. The stories are as inspiring as the recipes themselves, from 1955 winner Rosemary Sport's prize-a new pink range-which provided her family with the motivation to become proud new homeowners to 1996's Grand Prize-winner, Kurt Wait, a single parent, who with the help of his son developed his $1 million-winning recipe Macadamia Fudge Torte.Hundreds of the very best recipes are accompanied by enticing color photographs and organized by category: Soups, Sandwiches and Snacks; Main Dishes; Side Dishes and Salads; Breads; Sweet Rolls and Coffee Cakes; Cookies and Bars; Cakes and Tortes; Pies and Tarts; and Other Desserts. Each chapter is filled with personal profiles highlighting the people who created the recipes plus the wonderful and oftentimes humorous behind-the-scenes stories from the Bake-Off(r) Contest events: One contestant accidentally sat on her cake entry; another was notified that she was a lucky contestant via a citizens-band message broadcast by her town's postmistress.The recipes are sensational, the stories are uplifting. Best of the Bake-Off(r) Cookbook invites you into the kitchens and lives of the many people who over the years have made the Pillsbury Bake-Off(r) Contest the most loved, most respected showplace for this country's home cooks.