Taste of Home is returning to its rural roots and putting family cooking front and center in its latest title, Taste of Home Farmhouse Favorites. The reader-generated media brand is bringing out tried-and-tested recipes for the cookbook, which publishes in October and shines a spotlight on food from source farms and country cooks. This keepsake collection of comforting recipes comes directly from real cooks who live in—or long for—the country. And their heartwarming stories are as much a part of the book as their blue-ribbon recipes.
“So many home cooks are looking for comforting, wholesome foods these days,” says Mark Hagen, executive editor of print and digital books at Trusted Media Brands. “They’re getting back to baking yeast bread, using garden-fresh vegetables, and preparing foods that create memories around the kitchen table.”
The 336-page book provides more than 100 family meal ideas, from all-American barbecue to freshly baked breads, with plenty to go around for every kind of cook and every appetite. Classics such as Fried Chicken and Homemade Biscuits, as well as modern takes like Bacon-Blue Cheese Stuffed Burgers are balanced with healthy options such as Chicken Nectarine and Avocado Salad. Delicious desserts include Strawberry Crumble Pie and Mocha Truffle Cheesecake. The recipes are organized into easy-to-browse categories—Down-Home Lunches, Oven-Baked Breads, and Crowd-Pleasing Snacks—presented with large colorful photos of real people feeding their families.
“Creating Taste of Home Farmhouse Favorites seemed like a great addition to our popular line of cookbooks right now,” Hagen says. “It’s all about wholesome foods, honest living, and the overall satisfaction of country life—and that includes fantastic meals.”
The publisher is also releasing the fifth edition of The Taste of Home Cookbook in October. This collection of recipes for updated classic meals aims to help readers save money and cut down on trips to the grocery store, especially helpful during cold winter months or stay at-home orders owing to the coronavirus. This new edition also reflects the growing baking trend sparked by the pandemic, when tasteofhome.com’s baking tab saw a massive uptick in traffic. In response, the publisher created a new baking community called Bakeable.
“More people are baking than ever before,” says Hagen. “It’s become a wonderful new hobby for family cooks. People are truly returning to home cooking: baking breads, decorating cookies with the kids, and experimenting with new flavors and cooking techniques.”
The Taste of Home Cookbook offers step-by-step directions, how-to photos, and guides for a range of recipes along with a number of cooking styles. The book has entire chapters devoted to baking everything from breads to bakeshop specialties, appealing to both established pros and novice bakers and cooks alike.
This year’s edition also features a bonus book of cooking hacks designed to save both time and money. Taste of Home Kitchen Hacks, Hints & Tips comes inside the larger cookbook but can be removed and kept somewhere convenient for home cooks. The bonus book includes recipes for homemade seasonings, sauces, and mixes, including Homemade Honey Mustard, Biscuit Baking Mix, and Oven-Fried Chicken Coating Mix.
“We wanted to give readers something useful,” Hagen says. “The bonus book exceeds our goals with smart why-didn’t-I-think-of-that ideas, great new recipes, and beautiful full-color photography. It’s one book you’ll reach for time and again.”
