Southern Living Country Music’s Greatest Eats: Showstopping Recipes & Riffs from Country’s Biggest Stars

I can’t decide what I’m enjoying most about this cookbook: the musician contributors, the recipes, or the photos.

I grew up on country music. Actually, in those days it was called Country & Western, which was later shortened to C&W; somewhere along the line the “&W” was dropped, with only “country” music surviving. Thank goodness it did! The contributors of the recipes in this cookbook travel across the time span, ranging from some of the more traditional heavy-hitters such as the Oak Ridge Boys (Orange Dreamsicle Cake), Hank Williams, Jr. (Cajun Rice Casserole), Wynonna Judd (Grace’s Favorite Broccoli-Rice Casserole), Alan Jackson (Alan’s Favorite Chicken Salad), and my personal favorite Randy Travis (Quick-and-Easy Hot-Water Cornbread) to today’s stars such as the Eli Young Band (Aunt Donna’s Chicken and Noodles), Sarah Darling (Grandma Alice’s Pumpkin Bars), Cody Alan (Jalapeño Cheese Cornbread), the Zac Brown Band (Louisiana Blue Crab Stuffed Catfish Fillets), Laura Bell Bundy (Gluten-Free Spaghetti Pomodoro), and so many more! The musicians are listed alphabetically at the beginning of the book, for easy reference.

As evidenced from some of these titles, the recipes are just as varied as the musicians. They run the gamut from easy casseroles and main dishes (John Murphy’s Corn Casserole, from Allison DeMarcus; Amy’s Pot Roast, from Amy Grant; Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole, from Trace Adkins) to the more gourmet (Elk Shepherd’s Pie, from Craig Morgan; Coffee-Cured Filet Mignon, from Chris Young; Minted Pea Soup, from Katie Cook). But I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the one dessert recipe that was a staple in my house when I was growing up in Louisiana: Hello Dollies, recipe here from Alecia Davis. I’m warning you, these are so easy to make and SO ridiculously addictive…

Tying all of these recipes and musicians together are the photos and the stories, which are what make the book more than just a cookbook. As a reader, you can step into the musicians’ everyday lives for just a bit, sit at their kitchen tables, and enjoy the talk of food, family, and “country” music — or C&W, or Country & Western, or whatever it’s called today or tomorrow.

Featured Recipe: Grilled Chicken and Fruit Summer Salad

The Cookbook Basics:

Paperback (10.1 x 8.3 inches)

272 pages

75+ recipes; color photos

About the author: Tanner Latham spent 10 years as a travel editor at Southern Living magazine, covering the South and telling the region’s stories through its food, destinations, and characters. Currently Tanner hosts the nationally-distributed storytelling podcast Authentic South, which explores Southern culture through food, music, art, the land and the characters who define the region.