Delicious Thanksgiving Potluck Recipes: 25 Recipes For A Memorable Thanksgiving Experience

Who hasn't fantasized about leaving behind the chaos of everyday life and moving someplace where life is simplerWell, that's just what chef and food writer Paula Disbrowe did when she left New York City and moved to Texas. She traded her subway MetroCard for a pickup truck and her stiletto heels for a pair of down-home cowboy boots.In Cowgirl Cuisine, Paula tells her story through food. She weaves together romance, adventure, and more than a few laughs as she celebrates the beauty of flavorful food, fresh air, and her own wholesome recipes, all while taking home cooks on a journey well off the beaten path.Like Texas itself, the recipes in Cowgirl Cuisine are big-hearted and bold—whole-grain muffins bursting with berries, salads loaded with leafy herbs and avocado, and fiery bowls of chili. Paula's food is healthful and full of nutrients, but this is not a diet cookbook—cowgirls don't have time to count calories (besides, they burn it all off hoisting newborn calves, hiking the hills, and galloping off on long trail rides). Instead, this is food that is satisfying and easy to prepare, which leaves plenty of time for living life to the fullest.From hearty ranch breakfasts to fresh salads, spicy nibbles, seductive desserts, and killer watermelon margaritas, Paula's recipes are full of her signature zest, spunk, and spice. Start your day off right with Canyon Granola or Cowgirl Migas. For lunch, have a nourishing bowl of silky Roasted Pumpkin Soup with Red Chile Cream or Chicken and Citrus Slaw Tostadas. For dinner, try Gazpacho Risotto with Garlic Shrimp or Cowboy Pot Roast with Coffee and Whiskey. And be sure to save room for one of Paula's decadent desserts, such as Chocolate Pecan Squares or Dulce de Leche Flan with Pepita Brittle.In addition to her recipes, Paula includes humorous and heartfelt vignettes about wild animals on the loose, scorpions in the sheets, and Casanova cowboys. And the pages are filled with lush photographs of food and life on the range. Cowgirl Cuisine isn't just spurs and salsa—it's about following your dream. So saddle up and follow yours.

Fall in love with the magic of natural sugars!From honey and pure maple syrup to smoky muscovado, exotic coconut sugar, and more, there's a world of white-sugar alternatives just waiting to add mind-blowing flavor to your home baking. Real Sweet is the first naturally sweet baking book that's more "hip" than "hippie"—chockablock with eighty-plus recipes ranging from family-friendly favorites to dinner-party showstoppers. This irresistible collection includes Breakfast Cookies; Dark, Fudgy Muscovado Brownies; Raw Sugar and Mascarpone Caramels; and Maple Cream, Chocolate, and Walnut Tart—all without a speck of refined white sugar!Cookbook author and blogger Shauna Sever brings her fresh, modern, and charmingly funny style to this natural-sugars primer, along with tricks for converting your favorite white-sugar recipes, making Real Sweet the go-to inspiration source for the exciting range of natural and unrefined sugars and sweeteners on the market today.

For over twenty years, superstar rocker and New York Times bestselling author Sammy Hagar has been a culinary fixture through his iconic Cabo Wabo Tequila brand and his legendary restaurants. In Are We Having Any Fun Yet?, Sammy brings you into the kitchen, behind the bar, and into the center of the party like never before, spilling his secrets from a lifetime of rock-and-roll entertaining and making kick-ass food. Collecting his favorite recipes from home, the road, and his go-to vacation spots, Cabo and Maui, Sammy shows how you can bring a bit of rock and roll to every meal, with a step-by-step approach to preparing his favorite recipes and a bunch of celebrity chefs from around the globe to come along for the ride. Of course, nothing goes better with a great meal than a good drink. Here too are Sammy's greatest drink recipes accompanied by true stories of the wild nights that brought them to life.Complete with even more rock stories from the road and his table, over fifty food and drink recipes, and Sammy's tips for entertaining like a rock star, Are We Having Any Fun Yetshows you how to eat, drink, and party like the Red Rocker himself.

Eat Like a DivaFrom the owner of the much-buzzed-about Vegan Divas Bakery on New York City's Upper East Side comes this beautiful, elegant, and undeniably delicious cookbook full of cruelty-free fare that anyone can make at home.Previously a manager and owner of the Payard restaurant and pastry shops in Rio de Janeiro, where she began her confectionary career and honed her craft, Fernanda Capobianco is a fifteen-year vegan who has translated her love of chocolate and sweets into both simple and refined desserts that are healthy and 100 percent free of animal products. In The Vegan Divas Cookbook, Fernanda shares her unique take on vegan eating, with more than seventy-five recipes for sweet and savory dishes accompanied by mouth-watering photographs. She'll guide you through the basics as well as the finer points of plant-based cooking and baking, offering tips for stocking a plant-based pantry and suggesting easy swaps to replace animal-based oils and fats to create healthier, and better-tasting, dishes. Always conscious of visual appeal, Fernanda also provides entertaining and decorating tips for turning out perfect plates and beautiful baked goods—a hallmark of the Vegan Divas brand.You'll discover the secrets to Fernanda's coveted low-cal desserts, including remakes of familiar classics like Chocolate Chip Cookies, Carrot Cake, and Chocolate Mousse; as well as show-stopping treats like Chocolate-Coffee Mini-Bundt Cakes, Lime-Raspberry Cheesecake Pie, and Chocolate Liégeois with Tofu-Tahini Ice Cream. But desserts aren't the only treats in store. Go guilt-free with savory lunches like Spiced Red Lentil and Coconut Milk Soup, Roasted Kabocha Pumpkin with Peanut Sauce, and Blue Potato Kale Salad.Whether you've been following a plant-based diet for years or you're just looking to incorporate more whole foods into your meals, Fernanda's recipes are so tasty you'll never miss the butter, eggs, or refined sugars and flour. These light, fresh, delicious dishes are sure to convert anyone to a Vegan Diva.

Can't tell a Gin Fizz from a GimletThink a Sidecar is something you'd see at the racetrackIf your idea of a wild night is a few Lemondrop shots washed back with a Cosmo, you're in need of some cocktail therapy! And there's no one better to tell you everything you need to know about a Brandy Crusta, a French 75, a Cacha?a Swing, and much, much more than Ti Adelaide Martin and Lally Brennan, who will take you on a rip-roaring trip. . . .In the Land of CocktailsProprietors of the legendary New Orleans restaurant Commander's Palace, Ti and Lally are cocktail divas, spread-ing the gospel about how to make drinks properly, from why a true Sazerac can only be made with Peychaud's bitters to why hand-chipped ice is best for cocktails. In this marvelously entertaining book—both a guide to making some of the world's best cocktails and a memoir of the authors' lives surrounded by family, friends, and delicious food—there are recipes for familiar classics like the Corpse Reviver and the Old-Fashioned; New Orleans favorites like Brandy Milk Punch and the Sazerac; and new inventions created by Ti and Lally, such as their now-famous Whoa, Nellie!In the Land of Cocktails includes information on pairing food with cocktails, introductions to the beloved, boisterous Brennan family and their friends, and explanations of some of the unique, perhaps strange to some, words and ways of life in New Orleans. Filled with wit, sass, warmth, and lots of good times, In the Land of Cocktails is the ideal gift for cocktail lovers everywhere, whether you're a novice or an old drinking pro.

Our kids can be great eaters!After her son was born in 2007, Catherine McCord sought out resources to teach her how to prepare fresh, healthy, appealing meals for young kids—but she came up empty. With culinary school under her belt and a hungry baby to feed, Catherine started Weelicious.com, a website that has since grown into a comprehensive offering of kid-friendly family meals.Complete with beautiful color photos, tips and tools, lists of pantry staples, feeding plans, and more than seventy new recipes never before seen on Weelicious .com, Weelicious makes it easy to get kids eating healthy foods from their first bite. Catherine teaches parents how to turn their kids into great eaters who appreciate food and are open to exciting new flavors. With Weelicious you will:Stop being a short-order cook—whip up unique, delicious, and healthy recipes that everyone in your family, no matter what their age, will love.Inspire your kids to eat healthfully without resorting to sneaking or trickery—discover a wealth of great tips for getting kids to eat just by paying attention to how their food is prepared and presented.Get kids in the kitchen from day one—introduce kids to a variety of foods and include them in the cooking process to set them up for years of positive eating habits.Shop effectively (and make it fun)—bring your kids to the farmers’ market or grocery store for a hands-on learning experience when it comes to meal planning.Give kids some choice—strategically allow them to have more input and control over what goes into their bodies so they can “own” their choices.From first-food favorites such as Sweet Potato-Coconut Puree and The Teething Cookie to family-friendly Veggie Nuggets, Rice Cooker Mac and Cheese, Chicken on a Stick, Shrimp Tacos, and Cheesy Chicken Taquitos to treats like Banana Bread Cake, Raspberry-Cream Cheese Heart Tarts, and Chocolate Velvet Beet Cupcakes, these recipes are perfect for little taste buds and sophisticated adult palates alike—and best of all, every single recipe has been created with health and wholesomeness in mind.More than just a cookbook, Weelicious is the ultimate cooking bible for families—a resource that will stand the test of time as the family grows!

From Fairway Market's master buyer and author of the hugely successful Cheese Primer comes a celebration of the store's extravagant food collection and the stories surrounding its culture.Fairway, a local institution in New York City for more than fifty years, is the busiest food store in the world. There shoppers can find innumerable artisanal food products, which, for three decades, Steven Jenkins has traveled the world to find. With a wonderful narrative and anecdotes from the man who personally brought so many of the world's greatest foods to New York and the United States, readers will become more enthusiastic shoppers and better cooks. Jenkins's longtime associate, Mitchel London, provides recipes that will attract not only Fairway customers but any home cook who has access to great ingredients.

It's salty, smoky, and sweet. It's experiencing a culinary renaissance. It can make almost any dish better. It's bacon, and it's the best meat ever. And now, here's the book that celebrates that deliciously sinful strip of cured pork belly. In Bacon: A Love Story, popular bacon blogger Heather Lauer serves up a piping hot dish of fun and facts with this definitive love letter to what she calls meat candy. Heather explores the ins and outs of how bacon finds its way to your skillet and what to do with it when it gets there.Bacon: A Love Story features:Makin' Bacon: a tour of country-style bacon outfits and their time-honored methods and traditions. Hankering for some pepper, cinnamon, honey, jalape?o, or vanilla bourbon-flavored baconThey've got it! There are also tips for making your own signature cure."Bacon Nation": profiles of bacon-loving chefs across the country who incorporate the meat into their menus in increasingly innovative ways.There's Bacon in This?: Heather dishes out more than twenty delicious recipes for tons of bacon goodies like Bacon-Wrapped Tator Tots, BLT with caramelized bacon, Jalape?o-Bacon Pizza, and a few surprises like Bacon Bloody Marys and Bacon Brownies.Bacon 411: an extensive resource section on all things bacon.Written in a witty, engaging style and brimming with Lauer's infectious passion for the Best Meat Ever, Bacon: A Love Story is a must-read for anyone who loves bacon or is passionate about food.

Good Luck Life is the first book to explain the meanings of Chinese rituals and to offer advice on when and how to plan for Chinese holidays and special occasions such as Chinese weddings, the Red Egg and Ginger party to welcome a new baby, significant birthdays, and the inevitable funeral. Packed with practical information, Good Luck Life contains an abundance of facts, legends, foods, old-village recipes, and quick planning guides for Chinese New Year, Clear Brightness, Dragon Boat, Mid-Autumn, and many other festivals.Written with warmth and wit, Good Luck Life is beautifully designed as an easily accessible cultural guide that includes an explanation of the Lunar Calendar, tips on Chinese table etiquette for dining with confidence, and dos and don'ts from wise Auntie Lao, who recounts ancient Chinese beliefs and superstitions. This is your map for celebrating a good luck life.

Peanut butter makes everything better. Think about it: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. Cold Peanut Noodles. Peanut Butter Fudge. Still not convincedTry Peanut Butter Waffles, Pad Thai, or Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Centers. In The Ultimate Peanut Butter Book, the tenth addition to their Ultimate series, Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough offer up hundreds of recipes and variations for America's favorite spread. From comforting Peanut Butter Sticky Buns to decadent Peanut Butter Cheesecake to outrageous Elvis Spread (peanut butter, bacon, and bananas), The Ultimate Peanut Butter Book takes Peanut butter way beyond the same old PB&J.

With so many different health products, superfoods, and diets all vying for your attention these days, how do you know what you should really be eating?In The 10 Things You Need to Eat, New York Times health columnist Anahad O'Connor and veteran Food Network chef Dave Lieberman team up to cut through all the claims and studies and identify ten simple foods with undeniable health benefits that you can find in any supermarket. With wit and verve, the authors combine their individual areas of expertise to create a lighthearted yet illuminating book that presents the fascinating science behind these ten powerhouse superfoods, along with a plethora of recipes that feature them in easy-to-prepare and delicious meals.If you are serious about living healthfully, this is the one book you won't want to live without.

In chef Emeril Lagasse’s tribute to one-pot wonders, he shows there’s nothing more satisfying than a hearty meal prepared in your most cherished pot or pan. Whether baked in a cast-iron skillet, braised in a Dutch oven, seared in a hot wok, or simmered in a slow-cooker, Emeril’s Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders serves up delicious meals to fit any pan or palate.Go beyond your typical soups, stews, and casseroles to indulge in crave-worthy main courses like “BLT” Risotto or New England-Style Fish and Shellfish Chowder, and comforting classics such as Cola-Braised Pot Roast with Vegetables and Southern-Style Chicken and Dumplings. Emeril also explores the spice trail with his bold twist on some of the world’s global traditions—Indian Karahi Chicken, Korean Kimchi and Beef Stew, and Mexican Pork and Red Chile Posole.With more than 130 flavorful dishes and beautiful color photos throughout, Emeril’s recipes use foolproof techniques and staples from a well-stocked pantry to create filling meals that you’ll be proud to bring to the table. The perfect family dinner or star of your next potluck celebration is just one pot away!

Firm, ripe tomatoes. Golden corn. Fragrant basil. Juicy peaches. Nothing compares with the bounty of summer when colors, flavors, and aromas are at their peak and cooking is easier than ever. Fresh, ripe produce is so tasty and perfect on its own that creating a terrific summer meal can be stress-free, delicious, and fun.In Summer Gatherings, award-winning cooking instructor Rick Rodgers has compiled his favorite simple summer recipes that make the most of the season's flavors. Purposely casual, stripped to their essentials, these recipes are uncomplicated by elaborate sauces or fussy garnishes, focusing instead on the fruits and vegetables that make summer cooking what it is. With Watermelon, Tomato, and Mint Salad to Fried Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms; Soft Shell Crab BLT Sandwiches; Chocolate Cherry Parfaits; Grilled Chicken with White Rosemary Barbecue Sauce; Risotto with Tomatoes, Basil, and Ricotta Salata; and Cantaloupe Ice Pops, Rodgers will help you take full advantage of summer's bounty.From family cookouts to neighborhood block parties, from picnics on the lawn to picnics at the beach, the appetizing recipes and photographs in Summer Gatherings are guaranteed to satisfy and inspire all season long.

A renowned chef and nutritionist has the recipe for delectable meals with a healthy Mediterranean focus, featuring more than 100 recipes for flavorful, seasonal local foodHailed as the Napa Valley of the East, New York's Hudson Valley has become a major hub for local foods and agriculture—and Laura Pensiero's acclaimed restaurants are at the center of it all. Customers from near and far flock to Gigi Trattoria in Rhinebeck (named one of Hudson Valley's best restaurants in Hudson Valley Magazine) and Gigi Market and Catering in Red Hook to dine on Laura's interpretations of traditional Italian dishes that highlight the bounty of the farms, gardens, and artisans of the Valley.A celebration of the food of the Hudson Valley and the people who grow and produce it, Hudson Valley Mediterranean shows how to use seasonal ingredients to create delectable, nourishing meals. Here are more than 100 easy-to-prepare and cost-effective recipes made with the best ingredients and a touch of Mediterranean flair, including:Gigi Potato Gnocchi with Northwind Farm Chicken and Pea RaguBaked Macaroni and Cheese with Cauliflower and ChardFava Bean and Fregola SaladSpring (and Every Other Season) LasagnaSeared Salmon over Spring TrifolatiMr. Mink's Panzanella Salad with fresh herbsStrawberry Mascarpone TartThis local and seasonal food movement is happening throughout the country, and Pensiero invites everyone to bring these foods into their own kitchens and communities using regional resources—because cooking with fresh food harvested nearby brings pleasure to eating and connects people to their family, friends, and community.

William L. Hamilton loves a good gimlet. Rose's and lime. Straight up. Perfectly iced. Make the glass pretty too. "It ruined my reputation for thinking before I speak," he writes of that love. "I accept the trade-off." Like Lewis Carroll's Alice, when Hamilton sees it, he drinks it -- and tells the incredible tale.In "Shaken and Stirred," his biweekly Sunday Styles column, now an original book of his drinking adventures, the intrepid New York Times reporter offers a gimlet-eyed look at contemporary culture through the panoptic view of a cocktail glass. From the venerable martini to the young Dirty Jane, Hamilton shares his tip on the sip.You hold in your hands a guide to "how it goes down." Not a cocktail manual or a Baedeker to the bar scene but a drinker's guide to drinking. These are four-ounce adventures of cocktails and the people who make them, from the bartenders and chefs to the patrons, the politicians and the power players of the liquor industry.There are tales of the Champagne high life, the Long Island Iced Tea low life; men like Dr. Brown and his celery soda, and women like Eve and her Apple Martini. Hamilton's weekly Runyanesque rounds cover all the watering holes and their poisons, from the East Side's Southside to the Incredible Hulk in the Bronx, and monitors the latest trends, from the ultra-premium vodka wars to the Red Bull market. Shaken and Stirred is a report on a popular culture that comes alive after five, when the mood turns social and the moment is sweet (or sour, or bitter, or dry).Hamilton has also picked up the best (or the most unbelievable) cocktail recipes from bars, lounges and restaurants in New York City and beyond. There is common sense and creativity in the classics, and new inventions with their eye on the prize, such as the Huckleberry Ginn and the Bleeding Heart."drink me," said the bottle in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Hamilton has, in every instance, and bottled his thoughts in sixty-four essays that are as readable as they are drinkable. Mix a gimlet, or a Minnesota Anti-Freeze, or a Gibson or a Bone. And spend a night in, on the town.

From Dr. Barbara Rolls, one of America's leading authorities on weight management, comes a much-anticipated lifestyle guide and cookbook that empowers and encourages her readers to quit "dieting" for good, to feel full on fewer calories, and to lose weight and keep it off while eating satisfying portions of delicious, nutritious foods.The Volumetrics Eating Plan doesn't eliminate food groups or overload you with rules. It's a commonsense approach to eating based on Dr. Rolls's hugely popular Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan and her respected research on satiety that shows you how to choose foods that control hunger while losing weight. Along with menu planners, charts, and sidebars on healthy food choices, the 125 recipes put her revolutionary research into real and tangible instructions for every meal. The full-color photographs make these delicious recipes irresistible.With this important new guide to healthy eating and living, everyone can enjoy tasty and satisfying meals that will help them maintain their weight or lose those extra pounds while learning the pleasures of cooking the Volumetrics way.Volumetrics, Dr. Rolls's rigorously tested and proven system for weight management, incorporates sound research findings from around the world into a nutritious plan and shows you how to personalize it to suit your preferences and goals. It's all about choices, and The Volumetrics Eating Plan helps you choose the right foods for every meal and every lifestyle, without giving up flavor or diversity in your diet. No more "forbidden foods" or monotonous meals -- The Volumetrics Eating Plan will revolutionize the way you think about managing your weight and will guide you to a lifetime of healthy food choices.

The Dumpling: A Seasonal Guide by Wai Hon Chu and Connie Lovatt is the most comprehensive collection of dumpling recipes ever produced.Discovering that dumplings—as a category of food—have never been properly defined, Chu and Lovatt developed a definition that takes into account the ingredients, cooking methods, and shapes that most commonly define dumplings, not just in a particular region or culture, but around the world. "A dumpling is a portion of dough, batter, or starchy plant fare, solid or filled, that is cooked through wet heat, and is not a strand or a ribbon"This exciting collection shows us that not only are pot stickers, pierogis, and shao mai dumplings but so too are tamales, steamed cakes, and steamed breads. From Chickpea Dumplings in a Tomato Sauce (India) to Leaf-Wrapped Rice Packages Stuffed with Peanuts and Sausage (China), from Chocolate Tamales (Mexico) to a "Napkin" Bread Dumpling with Cherries (Austria), from Cloud-Shaped Bread Buns (Tibet) to Potato Dumplings with Cabbage Layers (Hungary), dumplings, whether steamed or simmered, are as fun to make as they are to eat. A truly passionate exploration of every dumpling type imaginable, The Dumpling contains dessert varieties, dumplings for gifts or entertaining, dozens of vegetarian and vegan options, fast and easy dumplings, as well as 21 pages of step-by-step dumpling making-illustrations. Arranged by month so as to encourage all of us to cook dumplings seasonally and year round, The Dumpling contains a recipe for every taste bud, table, and occasion. Chapters 10, 11, and 12 October No-Fuss Potato Dumplings Spiced Carrot Pudding Collard Greens with Corn Dumplings Chicken Paprika with Dumplings Bean Soup with Tiny Dumplings Chickpea "Fish" in a Spicy Onion Sauce Bacon and Sage Roly Poly Daikon Cake Cheddar Cheese and Potato Pierogi Lentil and Onion Pierogi Potato "Tamales" Stuffed with Chicken and Jalapeno Beef-Stuffed Plantain Balls in a Cassava-Corn Soup November Dumplings and Cocky’s Joy "Napkin" Bread Dumpling Turkey Stew with Stuffing Dumplings Cranberry Pudding Lord Randall’s Pudding, An Apricot Dessert Sticky Toffee Pudding Potato Dumplings with Crouton Centers Country Cabbage Soup with Large Cornmeal Dumplings Philadelphia Pepperpot Soup with Dumplings Large Beef- and Spinach-Filled Dumplings in Beef Broth Dumplings Stuffed with Pears, Figs, and Chocolate Pumpkin and Lentil Ravioli with Browned Butter and Rosemary "Little Ear" Dumplings Stuffed with Mushrooms in a Beet Soup December Root Vegetable Bread Dumplings Clootie Dumpling Starchy Coconut Stew with Slippery Rice Balls Guava Duff Potato Dumplings with Cabbage Layers John in the Sack Classic Christmas Pudding Chocolate Tamales Siberian Meat Dumplings Chestnut Ravioli with Sage Butter Sauce Chicken-Filled Dumplings in an Escarole Soup Dumplings Stuffed with "Stewed" Breadcrumbs

The bestselling author of Italian Grill and Molto Italiano delivers a gorgeous collection of mouthwatering recipes to bring some Italian favorites home.Chef Mario Batali's zest for life infuses the casual Italian fare that has made his restaurant Otto Enoteca Pizzeria a perennially popular New York City destination. Now you can have the flavors of Otto at home, with Molto Gusto, a collection of recipes for everyone's favorites, from pizza, pasta, and antipasti to gelati and sorbetti. Mario has written the definitive book on great pizza making for the amateur, the novice, the foodie, and the gourmet cook, teaching how to make really great pizza at home without any fancy equipment. Here too are recipes for classic pizza, Otto's special pizzas, and even kids' pizzas.Looking for something a little lighterTry the antipasti. Based on seasonal vegetables, with a few recipes showcasing seafood and meat, these dishes can make up an entire, healthy meal. Also included are many of Mario's favorite simple pasta dishes, and to finish it all off, fantastic recipes for gelati, sorbetti, and copette.Filled with Mario's infectious personality and love of robust flavors, and illustrated with luscious full-color photos, Molto Gusto makes it easy to spend a night on the town without leaving home.

How would you like to eat rich, flavorful, healthy food at home and not worry about calories?Today show nutritionist Joy Bauer has helped millions of people improve their health, and now she wants to improve their home-cooked meals as well. Tired of the misconception that you have to dine out to eat delicious food, Joy proves in Slim and Scrumptious that not only can you eat fresh, rich, and filling food, but that it is quick, affordable, and easy, too! Slim and Scrumptious features more than seventy-five recipes for every meal and every taste. Whether you want Double Chocolate Pancakes or Eggs Benedict for breakfast, Sesame Chicken Tenders or Spicy Pork Tacos with Sassy Slaw for lunch, or Spice-Rubbed Flank Steak with Chimichurri and Creamy Spinach for dinner, Joy shows you that classic, rich food can still be made to taste great with just a fraction of the fat and calories. She also includes fun snacks, desserts, and appetizers that will keep you satisfied all day long, such as Cinnamon Cheesecake Fondue, Frozen Hot Chocolate, and Banana Pecan Bread. With every recipe, Joy helps you stretch your food and cooking dollars for everything from a fast and easy family meal to a relaxing and romantic dinner for two. These meals are so amazingly delicious, no one (but the chef!) will ever know that they're healthy, too.

My name is Christy Jordan and I like to feed people.I come from a long line of Southern cooks who taught me home cooking is best, life is good, and there is always something to be grateful for. I created Southern Plate so that I could share the recipes and stories that have been passed down through my family for more than nine generations. You won't find fancy food or new-fangled recipes in this cookbook—just easy, no-fuss Southern favorites such as Chicken and Dumplings, Homemade Banana Pudding, Aunt Looney's Macaroni Salad, Fried Green Tomatoes, and Daddy's Rise-and-Shine Biscuits. (I want to make one thing as clear as possible: How your mama made it is the right way! I'm going to bring it to you how my mama made it, which is the only right way for me.) These stories and recipes come from my heart. They are a gift from my ancestors, but the ability to have them heard is a gift from you. Take a seat at the Southern Plate table; you're with family now.