Yankee Magazine's Church Suppers & Potluck Dinners: Cookbook [Hardcover]

Yankee Magazine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 18, 1996

Looking for a fresh idea for a family dinner, something quick and easy to feed last-minute guests, or a special treat to take to a potluck? Not to worry. In Yankee Magazine's Church Suppers & Potluck Dinners Cookbook, you'll find over 275 delicious and time-saving dishes famous throughout New England.

To compile this book, Yankee Magazine approached hometown churches and other popular community organizations across the region and asked them to share the recipes that are consistently everyone's local favorites. Hundreds of recipes flooded Yankee's mailbox, but only the very best made it into these pages.

The result: this remarkable collection of true family classics and simplified gourmet feasts. From hearty casseroles to impressive company fare, rustic soups and inventive salads to luscious desserts that will win raves from kids and grownups alike, every recipe in Magazine's Church Suppers & Potluck Dinners Cookbook is a surefire winner.

With an emphasis on convenience as well as taste, these dishes don't require special trips to the gourmet shop. Many can be prepared from produce on hand in your refrigerator and staples in your pantry, making them perfect for busy days or surprise company. (Also included are dishes that can be made ahead of time for last-minute preparation.) Need to make corn bread for 40, pancakes for 65, or chocolate cake for 100? Find the precise instructions in the chapter "Recipes to Feed a Crowd." And every chapter is complemented by wonderful suggestions for hosting potlucks and entertaining larger groups in general.

Packed with crowd-pleasing recipes -- plus beautiful illustrations by Pamela Carroll -- Yankee Magazine's Church Suppers & Potluck Dinners Cookbook is sure to keep them coming back for more.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The homespun fare served at New England's traditional pancake breakfasts, community cookouts and church potlucks is the ethnic cuisine of Yankee territory. The editors here have canvased such organizations as church groups and historical societies to come up with over 250 local New England recipes for chowders, main dishes, sides and desserts. Most are inexpensive and simple to prepare for family suppers and large group gatherings. Many recipes, not especially low in fat, sodium or calories, rely on convenience foods to achieve their familiar tastes. Among the more distinctive regional fare are Surf and Barnyard Stew (with turkey sausage and shrimp), Fresh Tomato Pie (with a Bisquick crust) and Cranberry Pot Roast. Made-from-scratch recipes like those for Sweet Milk Pancakes, Root Beer Cake and Cranberry Surprise Pie capture the expected New England blend of simplicity and country goodness. Suggestions for hosting a potluck gathering, rules for "potluck politeness," some recipes for a crowd (Sunshine Salad made with lemon gelatin, canned pineapple and grated carrots to serve 75-100) and small-town gathering anecdotes fill out this culinary collection of regional Americana.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Any invited to a potluck supper will find this especially useful: it packs in potluck-oriented basic dishes which are quick and easy to produce, and which lend to bringing to an organized function. Enjoy an excellent collection of dishes which range from vegetarian to meat-inspired, plus the usual range of desserts and breads. -- Midwest Book Review

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 306 pages
• Publisher: Villard; 1 edition (June 18, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679432086
• ISBN-13: 978-0679432081
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #430,453 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Andrea Chesman is a food writer and the author of many cookbooks, including The New Vegetarian Grill (Harvard Common Press, 2008) and Serving Up the Harvest (Storey Publishing, 2007). Her book, The Vegetarian Grill (Harvard Common Press, 1998) was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Book Award and received a 1999 National Barbecue Association Award of Excellence. She is also the author of The Roasted Vegetable (Harvard Common Press, 2002) and 366 Delicious Ways to Cook Rice, Beans and Grains (Plume-Penguin, 1998), Summer in a Jar (Williamson Publishing, 1985), and Pickles and Relishes (Garden Way Publishing, 1983), Mom's Best One-Dish Suppers (Storey Publishing, 2005), Mom's Best Crowd-Pleasers (Storey Publishing, 2006) and co-author of Mom's Best Desserts (Storey Books, 2002) and The Classic Zucchini Cookbook (Storey Books, 2002). She was editor of Yankee Magazine Church Supper and Potluck Cookbook (Villard, 1996) and editor of and contributor to the Family Circle Good Cook's Book (Simon & Schuster, 1993). She has also edited numerous gardening books, including The Big Book of Gardening Skills (Storey Communications, 1993). Her work has appeared in Cooking Light, Vegetarian Times, Organic Gardening, Fine Cooking, Food & Wine, The New York Times, Natural Health, and several other magazines and newspapers. She was a contributing editor for Vermont Life for 12 years and is currently contributing editor for Edible Green Mountains.
Andrea Chesman lives in an historic farmhouse in Ripton, Vermont, where the poet Robert Frost boarded. She lives with her husband and two sons. When she is not at work on a writing project, she edits and indexes cookbooks for numerous publishers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This one's a keeper!, October 12, 2000

By 

"ratesta" (Wilmington, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yankee Magazine's Church Suppers & Potluck Dinners: Cookbook (Hardcover)

This cookbook contains a pleasing variety of recipes, from the simplest soups and breads to elegant entrees and desserts. A collection of family and hometown favorites from the New England area, it is sure to bring fresh ideas into the kitchens of its readers. Many of the recipes are suited to certain seasons, including a chapter of hearty stews and chowders that will bring the warm fuzzies to the coldest winter day. For those who garden or love fresh produce, the Vegetables and Side Dishes chapter is filled with unique ways to enjoy the produce all summer. Having sampled many of the recipes, I have tasted elegance from the Herbed Cheese Spread all the way to the Chocolate Cheesecake! Many of the recipes are designed to be time savers for the busy family and some can be made the day before serving. The fact that most of them can be made from ingredients that are already in stock is an extra bonus for cooks on the go. There is also a handy section on Recipes to Feed a Crowd that can stretch your offerings into servings for 20 - 100. Whether you are hoping for a new twist on an old classic, or something to impress the neighbors at your own potluck, this is a must read for cooks and food lovers alike. Complete with helpful hints and a few vignettes for your reading pleasure, the recipes offered within will have even your finicky eaters asking for seconds.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BEST COOKBOOK EVER!, April 28, 2005

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E. Schaffer "nj2ca" (Orange, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Yankee Magazine's Church Suppers & Potluck Dinners: Cookbook (Hardcover)

Every time I make a dish from this book I am asked for the recipe. It never fails! A mainstay in our house!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good recipes, January 24, 2010

By 

mountaingal (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Yankee Magazine's Church Suppers & Potluck Dinners: Cookbook (Hardcover)

Good recipes, including some for large quantities, that don't call for ingredients that you don't usually have in kitchen. My kind of cooking.