Familiar Fare: Tasting Kentucky: Favorite Recipes from the Bluegrass State

“We’ve got it all here in Kentucky!” boasts author and chef Maggie Green. “Diverse people, diverse traditions, diverse heritage; world-class sporting events and top-notch college sports; lakes, rivers, farmland and mountains—all intersecting to provide ingredients, cooking techniques and grand occasions that bring everyone to a table spread with food and traditions that only Kentucky can offer.”

Tasting Kentucky: Favorite Recipes from the Bluegrass State showcases the state’s exuberant cuisine, from classic barbecue, Hot Browns and catfish with beer cheese grits to innovative fusions of regional and global flavors. The cookbook features breakfast dishes, appetizers, salads, entrees and desserts from the Bluegrass State’s best restaurants, cafés, diners, barbecue joints and bed-and-breakfasts.

Recipes include Buttermilk Pancakes with Bourbon-Vanilla Whipped Butter, Goetta (Hogs n’ Oats Sausage), Chorizo-Cheddar Corn Fritters with Cilantro-Jalapeño Aioli, Zesty Cheese Straws, Jack’s Lounge Mint Julep, Butternut Squash with Maple-Bacon Butter, Orange Hazelnut-Asparagus Salad, Keeneland Burgoo, Roasted Cauliflower and Pecan Soup with Mint Oil, Grilled Lamb Burgers with Mint Burger Sauce, Fried Chicken with Hickory Drizzle, Pork Roast with Sorghum Rub, and Jackson’s Orchard Apple Strudel, to name a few.

Registered dietician and culinary nutrition consultant, Maggie Green, a Kentucky native, is the owner of the Green Apron Company. Besides being an author, she is the editor of several well-known trade cookbooks, including the 75th anniversary edition of Joy of Cooking and BakeWise. She holds a BS in dietetics from the University of Kentucky and a degree in culinary arts management from Sullivan University’s National Center for Hospitality Studies. She lives in Ft. Wright with her husband and their three children.