Cookbooks

"In a Southern family, there's always someone who makes one dish, one thing they're truly great at," says Tandy Wilson of City House, in Nashville, Tennessee. "These recipes tend to be 'talked,' passed down from cook to cook." That's the case with the chef's favorite sweet potato casserole, a dish inherited from his grandmother. Instead of the standard marshmallow topping, the recipe uses sorghum syrup for a rich, deep sweetness, and chopped roasted peanuts for a pleasing crunchy contrast. "Now every Thanksgiving," Wilson says, "it's my job to make Nana's sweet potato casserole."

These dangerously addictive little bites fueled countless 1950s and '60s bridge parties from Greenwood Mississippi, to Greenville, South Carolina, before being rescued from recipe-box oblivion by modern Southern cooks like Martha Hall Foose. And thank goodness. Magic happens when a cracker slowly sops up the fat from smoky, crisping bacon; it transforms into something more akin to piecrust. Unadorned, bacon crackers are pure pork perfection. The addition of a tine bundle of rosemary needles makes for a fancified version, while topping the "belt" of bacon with a bit of brown sugar adds a hint of sweet to the smoke.

Spelt spaghetti has an incredible nutty taste and is a great alternative to regular spaghetti, as it's high in wheat bran fiber, or beta-glucans, which help keep our cholesterol levels in check.

Roasted butternut squash shines in this hearty, family-friendly fall pasta dinner.

I learned the joys of putting potatoes in bread during my time in the Napa Valley, so the flavors here are resonant of that magical place, but don't be afraid to change up the herbs or play with nuts and olives.

This soup is a terrific choice for those over sixty, as it's abundant in nutrients one especially needs later in life. These include healthy plant protein (older adults are prone to protein insufficiency), fiber, vitamin K, potassium, lysine to aid in calcium absorption, and folate to help reduce homocysteine levels, which are a major risk factor for heart disease. And of course, all soups are soft and so are a favorite for anyone with dental difficulties.

You will need to start the brining process two days ahead.

This truly comforting one-pan supper contains three of our 5-a-day, and the chicken fulfills half of our daily vitamin B12 needs, helping us make healthy red blood cells.

The most tremendous veggie casserole in the history of veggie casseroles! I started making it around Thanksgiving as an alternative to broccoli-rice casserole, but it has slowly crept into other meals throughout the year. It's irresistible.

This dough is remarkably easy to work with and is a striking shade of mahogany.

Elegant enough for company and fast and easy enough for a weeknight, this classic chicken dish will never disappoint.

Another great twist on classic bolognese, this simple dish is one of my family favorites. The secret is the crispy leaves of fresh oregano, which give the saucy base and silky pasta extra punch.

Don't let the humble name fool you. These little cookies are bursting with flavor. They're reminiscent of those fig cookies you had as a kid-raised to the third power. The cream pastry is tender and flaky, and the honey-kissed filling, just sweet enough, is deepened by plump Medjool dates. They're also bite-size and adorable.

Braised with balsamic vinegar and tomatoes, beef short ribs are the kind of deeply flavorful, comforting main you want on a chilly Sunday night.

When I traveled to Sicily, I must have eaten no fewer than ten versions of eggplant caponata, and I never got sick of it! I also learned about the agrodolce—or sweet and sour—flavor profile that's so predominant in this dish, and in lots of Sicilian cuisine. My version of caponata is really flexible—serve it with crostini as a make-ahead appetizer, or even as a side dish. The addition of the briny capers, anchovies, and acidic vinegar help cure the eggplant and other veggies, so this dish only gets better in a tightly sealed container in the fridge, where it will last for up to a week.

You can always buy barbecue sauce that's to your taste-there are so many kinds on the market now-but this is the one I've come up with over the years, and it's what we use when we make our barbecued St. Louis spareribs at Sweetie Pie's.

You can use any grain you like in these ooey-gooey, cheesy stuffed peppers.

Appalachian apple stack cake is communal cooking at its finest. Originally, each layer was baked at home by individual cooks, likely in cast-iron skillets, then brought together and assembled for church suppers and gatherings. Instead of the spongy cakes we're used to today, these layers are more like cookies—firmer, so they slowly soften beneath liberal applications of apple butter and cooked apples. This recipe stays mostly true to those principles. Instead of individually baking the layers one skillet at a time, though, use a cake pan to trace a pattern on parchment paper and trim circles of rolled dough to fit it. Bake two layers simultaneously (more if you have a convection oven). The edges of the cake layers won't be as perfectly neat as if you'd baked them in skillets or cake pans, but that's all right. This is a rustic cake.

This pizza dough recipe can be made with storebought active dry yeast or fresh yeast. It makes enough for two 12-inch pizzas. For the best flavor and texture, be sure to stash the the dough in your refrigerator for at least 24 and up to 48 hours before using.