Betty Crocker's Casual Country Cooking: Home Cooking at Its Best

Bread and butter pickles. Brandy apple butter. Brown bread. New England boiled dinner. Seafood gumbo. Unpretentious meals are celebrated here, while the Betty Crocker editorial board keeps a mind attentive to health considerations: every recipe is followed by per-serving nutritional information, which includes calorie count and measures of protein, carbohydrates, fat, cholesterol and sodium. The fare is solidly American--strawberry ice cream and peanut brittle, but no truffles--and as such may becalm, but the homegrown accent was chosen deliberately, and reflects the well-known Crocker tradition. Organization is straightforward, with six chapters taking up poultry and fish; meats; vegetables; baked goods; a chapter on harvest-time foods; and finally, desserts. Among the standouts: lemon-filled coconut cake, sticky buns, chili-cheese cornbread, hoppin' John, Minnesota wild rice soup and wild salmon with hazelnut butter. While the very solidity of the spread may not bring many surprises or cast an especially wide net, there is plenty of good stuff here. Photos not seen by PW. (Aug.)