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New Cookbook Captures Tennessee’s Hometown Cooking
A sample page from the newly released Tennessee Hometown Cookbook
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Tennessee native Kent Whitaker (Chattanooga) and co-editor Sheila Simmons have compiled a traditional collection of hometown recipes from across the state. Tennessee Hometown Cookbook
is published by Great American Publishers (www.greatamericanpublishers.com; Kosciusko, MS) and is available locally in bookstores and gift shops and on amazon.com.
The 240-page cookbook contains more than 300 recipes. In addition to selecting recipes that represent Tennessee’s signature style of cooking, the editors ensured that every recipe is easy to follow. “We pay particular attention to the way the recipes are presented. Ingredients are listed in order of use with instructions that are clear and concise. We focus on good ole home cooking and bring you recipes that can almost always be made right from your pantry."
“Don't expect a lot of difficult, gourmet recipes that require a special trip to the grocery store,” adds Whitaker. “Because these are just down-home recipes like your Momma and her Momma made.” Reading the recipe titles makes this claim obvious when you see favorite dishes like Country Fried Okra, Skillet Spaghetti & Meatballs, Candied Yams, White Beans & Cornbread, Old-Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake, Country Sugar Cream Pie, and Country-Style Honey Cookies.
A new generation of hometown cooks will enjoy updated favorites like Easy Red Velvet Cake, 4-Ingredient Butterscotch Cake, Tortilla Meatloaf, Pineapple Porterhouse & Jumbo Shrimp with Island Butter, and Easy Potato Supreme. While busy cooks that need to plan ahead will discover a full chapter of Crockpot, Casserole, and One-Dish meals. There are crockpot versions for Chicken & Dumplings, Red Beans & Sausage, and Pineapple Chicken & Rice. One-dish skillet meals like Beef & Taters, Skillet Pork Chop Dinner, and Cajun Skillet Shrimp will keep dirty dishes at the minimum.
Those of you who confess to reading your cookbooks like novels, will enjoy the sidebars to be found throughout the book. There is a generous helping of stories about food-related festivals across the state. From the Lauderdale County Tomato Festival in Ripley to the Shady Valley Cranberry Festival from the World's Biggest Fish Fry in Paris to South Pittsburg's National Cornbread Festival there's a celebration to suit every taste.
Tennessee Hometown Cookbook is great for the armchair traveler as well as the perfect addition for any home cook’s library. It is a collection of tried and true recipes that will be enjoyed by Tennessee natives, visitors or anyone who enjoys a good cookbook. With so many recipes for dishes that families have enjoyed over and over again, Tennessee Hometown Cookbook, the first book in the State Hometown Cookbook Series, meets the series’ goal of “saving your recipes for the next generation of hometown cooks.”
Here is one of the recipes from the cookbook:
 Spicy Chicken & Pineapple Salsa
1 (8-ounce) can pineapple chunks (save liquid)
¼ cup minced red onion
¼ cup diced green bell pepper
2 tablespoons lime juice
1½ tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon cumin powder
Pinch of salt and black pepper
In a bowl, combine Pineapple Salsa ingredients; refrigerate. When ready to serve, spoon over cooked chicken before serving.
4 to 6 bone-in chicken breasts
2 tablespoons hot sauce
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Reserved pineapple juice from Pineapple Salsa recipe
2 teaspoons prepared jerk seasoning or Cajun seasoning
1 small onion, minced
Garlic powder
Directions for Spicy Chicken with Pineapple Salsa: Rinse chicken; pat dry. Combine hot sauce, cinnamon and pineapple juice in a zip close bag. Add 1 chicken piece at a time. Turn and coat each piece evenly. Sprinkle
jerk seasoning, minced onion and garlic powder over both sides of chicken. Place
chicken in a single layer in a baking dish. Bake in oven at 400° for 35 minutes, until
chicken juices run clear.
Tennessee Festivals included in Tennessee Hometown Cookbook |
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International Biscuit Festival
Knoxville • May
The International Biscuit Festival celebrates that most perfect of foods – the Biscuit. This unique event brings over 20,000 Biscuit lovers from across the nation to downtown Knoxville each May to enjoy Southern food and culture.
www.biscuitfest.com |
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World's Biggest Fish Fry
Paris • April
Start with 1,325 pounds of cornmeal, 212 pounds of salt and 10,000 pounds of fresh Kentucky Lake catfish. Add all of this with the annual Fish Fry Rodeo, the grand parade, street dances, sporting events, arts and craft shows and square dances, and you will have the World's Biggest Fish Fry.
www.worldsbiggestfishfry.com |
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Big Kahuna Wing Festival
Knoxville • 3rd weekend in June
Combining some of the best hot wing recipes from teams around the region with all of the other exciting activities, the Big Kahuna Wing Festival is one fantastic event, all for the benefit of the Empty Stocking Fund and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Knoxville. A full-lineup of some of Knoxville’s best musical talent are on hand to entertain the crowd. The World’s Fair Park in downtown Knoxville will host the festival just steps away from the historic Sunsphere.
www.bkwfestival.com |
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Bloomin' Barbeque & Bluegrass
Sevierville • May
Bloomin' Barbeque & Bluegrass features the Tennessee State Championship BBQ Competition where an estimated 2,832 pounds of meat will be cooked by teams from across the United States. Some 20,000 attendees will also enjoy world-class bluegrass musicians, arts and crafts, kids games and the one and only Mountain Soul Vocal Competition.
www.bloominbbq.com |
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Annual Tennessee Strawberry Festival
Dayton • May
The Tennessee Strawberry Festival started in 1947 as a one-day festival to celebrate the large strawberry crops of Rhea County, which, at its height, produced about four million quarts of berries each year. Now a 10-day long extravaganza, the festival is a celebration of small-town life and includes a Classic Car Cruise-in, Pancake Breakfast, Pie and Cake Baking Contest, and a Strawberry Shortcake dinner.
www.tnstrawberryfestival.com |
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Cosby Ramp Festival
Cosby • May
The ramp, or wild leek, belongs to the sample family as chives and garlic. Long used by Native Americans for medicinal purposes and early settlers in cooking, the ramp still is an integral rite of spring in regional cooking. The flavor is similar to that of garlic and onion, but more pronounced and musty. The ramp has been called "the sweetest tasting and vilest smelling vegetable in Nature's bounty." The Cosby Ramp Festival has been held every May since 1954 and includes a recipe contest featuring fare such as Green Eggs & Ramps and BBQ Chicken served with Ramps. Other events include a Maid of Ramps contest, Appalachian crafts, country, gospel, bluegrass and rock & roll music. |
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Grainger County Tomato Festival
Rutledge • Last weekend in July
The Grainger County Tomato Festival was organized in 1993 to promote the local tomato crops and to provide exposure for area artists, craftsman and non-profit organizations. Events include music, beauty pageant, 5k run, art show, car show, Civil War camp, and tomato wars. This event is sponsored by the Rutledge Lion's Club and has become one of the largest free festivals in East Tennessee.
www.graingercountytomatofestival.com |
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Big BBQ Bash
Maryville • June
The Big BBQ Bash is held in Founder’s Square in historic downtown Maryville, TN, located at the scenic foothills of the Smoky Mountains. The event is a barbecue cook-off and fundraiser for the Helen Ross McNabb Center, created by the Leadership Blount Class of 2007. BBQ teams are invited to “smoke up or shut up” by cooking their best plates of barbecue.
www.mcnabbcenter.org/event/big-bbq-bash |
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Tennessee Fall Homecoming
Norris • Second Weekend of October for 3 days
Regional cooks prepare favorites like cornbread, fried pies, and chicken and dumplings. There are early pioneer activities such as cane grinding on a mule-powered mill, sheep herding, and lye-soap making. Festival goers enjoy performances by over 350 traditional old-time, folk, country, gospel, and bluegrass musicians.
www.museumofappalachia.com |
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Unicoi County Apple Festival
Erwin • October
The festival, consistently named one of the Southeast Tourism Society's Top 20 Events in the Southeast and a two-year winner of a Northeast Tennessee Tourism Association's Pinnacle Award, is a premier two-day event that features handmade crafts, a variety of unique foods, two entertainment stages highlighting local, regional and national talent, large children's area, Blue-Ridge Pottery Show and Sale, Apple Festival Pageant, tennis tournament, cooking contest and much more.
www.unicoicounty.org |
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Cleveland Apple Festival
Cleveland • Second Saturday in October
The Cleveland Apple Festival is a family event that takes place on the courthouse square in downtown Cleveland. Held annually, the festival offers a juried art and craft show, live bluegrass music, food booths, horse and hay rides, entertainment, an auction, and children's activities. Children's rides are free, and there is free parking.
www.clevelandapplefestival.com |
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Great Pumpkin Festival and Weigh Off
Allardt • October
Pumpkin growers and locals gather to judge the largest pumpkin. The Allardt Weigh-off record breaker and state record pumpkin weighed in at 1,051 pounds. In addition to breaking records, the festival includes a recipe contest, costume competition, car show and quilt show.
www.allardtpumpkinfestival.com |
Buy the Book Here
Published August 3, 2014
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