Classic Kentucky Meals

An award-winning food writer shares recipes for authentic Kentucky meals while profiling some of the state’s culinary staples and producers. True Kentucky cuisine tastes best at a full table. Friends and family share stories while passing delectables like roast chicken, bacon-kissed wilted salad and fresh butter for the spoon bread. Classic Kentucky Meals puts the state on the plate, highlighting the commonwealth of flavors from Mercer County meadows, a treasured Princeton smokehouse, Casey County’s sorghum fields, and Berea’s culinary traditions. Kentuckians cherish local cheese makers’ fine aged cheddars and sixth-generation millers’ crunchy cornmeals, and savor tender green bean varieties their great-great-grandparents would recognize and applaud. “A guided tutorial through five great menus of Kentucky flavors, with options for dressing up standards like corn bread and baked beans.” —Lexington Herald

Over 100 old-time recipes “authentic enough that one can easily cook like grandma (or her ma). A must for every kitchen and a nostalgic delight” (Louisville Courier-Journal). Kitchens aren’t just a place to prepare food—they’re cornerstones of the home and family. Just as memories are passed down through stories shared around the stove, recipes preserve traditions and customs for future generations. The Historic Kentucky Kitchen assembles over one hundred dishes from nineteenth and twentieth-century Kentucky cooks. Deirdre A. Scaggs and Andrew W. McGraw collected recipes from handwritten books, diaries, scrapbook clippings, and out-of-print cookbooks from the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections to bring together a variety of classic dishes, complete with descriptions of each recipe’s origin and helpful tips for the modern chef. The authors, who carefully tested each dish, also provide recipe modifications and substitutions for hard-to-find ingredients. This entertaining cookbook also serves up famous Kentuckians’ favorite dishes, including John Sherman Cooper’s preferred comfort food (eggs somerset) and Lucy Hayes Breckinridge’s “excellent” fried oysters. The recipes are flavored with humorous details such as “[for] those who thought they could not eat parsnips” and “Granny used to beat ’em [biscuits] with a musket.” Accented with historic photos and featuring traditional meals ranging from skillet cakes to spaghetti with celery and ham, this is a novel and tasty way to experience the rich, diverse history of the Bluegrass State.

Kitchens serve as more than a place to prepare food; they are cornerstones of the home and family. Just as memories are passed down through stories shared around the stove, recipes preserve traditions and customs for future generations. The rich, diverse heritage of Kentucky's culinary traditions offers a unique way to better understand and appreciate the history of the commonwealth. The Historic Kentucky Kitchen assembles more than one hundred dishes from nineteenth and twentieth-century Kentucky cooks. Deirdre A. Scaggs and Andrew W. McGraw collected recipes from handwritten books, diaries, scrapbook clippings, and out-of-print cookbooks from the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections to bring together a variety of classic dishes, complete with descriptions of each recipe's origin and helpful tips for the modern chef. The authors, who carefully tested each dish, provide recipe modifications and substitutions for rare and hard-to-find ingredients. This entertaining cookbook also serves up famous Kentuckians' favorite dishes, such as John Sherman Cooper's preferred comfort food (eggs somerset) and Lucy Hayes Breckinridge's "excellent" fried oysters. The recipes are flavored with humorous details such as "[for] those who thought they could not eat parsnips" and "Granny used to beat 'em [biscuits] with a musket." Accented with historic photographs and featuring traditional meals ranging from skillet cakes to spaghetti with celery and ham, The Historic Kentucky Kitchen presents a novel and tasty way to experience the history of the Bluegrass State.

To many, Kentucky means the greatest thoroughbreds in the world. To others, it is the home of the finest bourbon. But the obvious success of burgoo, Owensboro barbeque, and Harlan Sanders's Kentucky Fried Chicken carries the state's reputation for excellence to a wider audience. From the perfect mint julep to benedictine, from a classic hot brown to cheese chutney, Kentucky's Best captures the full range of the state's culinary delights. Linda Allison-Lewis combines traditional and gourmet dishes, offering recipes from all parts of the state and from beloved restaurants and inns. Start with a mouth-watering soup from Amelia's Field Country Inn or experience the wonderful smell of the Seelbach Hotel's Sourmash Bourbon Bread as it bakes in the oven. And be sure to save room for peanut butter pie from Gambill Mansion Bed and Breakfast or a slice of Kentucky Whiskey Cake! For special meals, check out sections such as "Lunch and Teatime Favorites" and "Derby Favorites." A delight to read as well as to use, Kentucky's Best also reveals the stories behind the favorites. Whether it's the story of Old Talbott Tavern, the oldest stage-coach stop in America, or the tale of young Alma Harbin's mistaking gladiola bulbs for onions when she first prepared potato salad for her husband-to-be, Allison-Lewis reveals a flair for storytelling.

This cookbook is full of delicious recipes that show off the best of Southern cooking, like Kentucky Fried Chicken and sweet treats with bourbon. You'll find easy-to-follow recipes for meals, yummy pies, and desserts that taste amazing. This cookbook lets you bring the comforting flavors of Kentucky into your home. Enjoy cooking dishes that capture the friendly spirit and great taste of Southern food.

Good food is as much a part of the Kentucky heritage as fine horses and bourbon whiskey. And nowhere is Kentucky's traditional cuisine better presented than in Out of Kentucky Kitchens by Louisville's own Marion Flexner. First published in 1949, the book has been popular with cooks and cookbook collectors ever since. A highly skilled hand in the kitchen, Marion Flexner compiled a representative gathering of delicious, thoroughly tested recipes of Kentucky specialties, many of them "heirloom" items given to her by friends and acquaintances. Colorful anecdotes about famous Kentuckians, hostesses, and cooks spanning 100 years accompany the recipes, taking the reader on a journey through Kentucky's culinary history and society. With this authentic Kentucky classic, cooks of older and newer generations can once again have a regional culinary guide that is a delight to use and read.

Born at the turn of the twentieth century in Cynthiana, Kentucky, Elizabeth Cromwell Kremer was a woman who strove for excellence in all things. Ever resistant to the constraints of social conventions, at a time when roughly 20 percent of the US workforce was female, Kremer worked her way up the ranks of the service industry. From the home economics classrooms of the University of Kentucky to the fine dining restaurants of Louisville and New York City, Kremer's tenacity, unconventionality, and dedication helped her build a legacy that celebrated the simplicity of good, traditional Kentucky country cooking. In 1967, after taking a twenty-seven-year hiatus from work to raise her family, Kremer reentered the business world at the age of sixty-five to open a restaurant for Kentucky's newly restored Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill. Under her guidance, what began as a small sandwich shop flourished into the iconic Trustees' Table restaurant at Shaker Village, which continues to attract guests from all over the world. In Simplicity and Excellence: Elizabeth Kremer from Beaten Biscuits to Shaker Lemon Pie, authors Deirdre A. Scaggs and Evalina Settle compile the first-ever biography of this incredible woman. Each of Kremer's classic recipes is bookended by charming and inspiring stories of her life, drawn from oral history passed down by Kremer's family and friends as well as archival materials. A gastronomic history like no other, Simplicity and Excellence effortlessly paints a portrait of one of the most influential forces behind the preservation of Kentucky's culture through its cuisine.

A follow up to the best-selling original, this second volume of Comfort Food Diet Cookbook offers 416 new family friendly recipes for hearty all-time favorites with fewer calories than expected. In addition to hundreds of recipes, the book consists of testimonials and photos from actual dieters, a six-week meal plan, notes on exercise, tips on making healthy food choices, and more. Realistic portions combined with exceptional taste put pleasure back in healthy eating without sacrificing quality or satisfaction. After all, the Comfort Food Diet is about what people can eat, not what they have to give up.