cover image Yankee Magazine's Church Suppers & Potluck Dinners: Cookbook

Yankee Magazine's Church Suppers & Potluck Dinners: Cookbook

. Villard Books, $25 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-679-43208-1

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. (June)