Bless Your Heart: Saving the World One Covered Dish at a Time (Paperback or Softback)

What would the South be without deviled eggs at the church potluck, or a family reunion where nobody remembered to make baked beans and sweet tea? Is it possible to celebrate a holiday without crunchy sweet potato casserole? Patsy Caldwell and Amy Lyles Wilson don't think so, either. Every occasion in the South comes with its own essential menu, and they're all here in this collection of time-honored favorites.

Want to show your team pride with the spread at your next tailgating bash? Lifelong Southerners Patsy and Amy have got you covered with desserts that boast every color in the SEC. No matter the particular moment of life you encounter, this is your go-to encyclopedia of Southern cooking and traditions around the table.

In Bless Your Heart, you’ll find dishes such as:

• Buttermilk Pie with Pecans
• Beef Stroganoff
• Cajun Green Beans
• Chili Cheese Pie
• Peach Pecan Muffins

Bless Your Heart provides recipes that are proven to comfort and satisfy your family and the people who may as well be kin. Whether the occasion is a holiday gathering, a garden party, or one of life's unexpected events, food is the common denominator in the South. Patsy and Amy understand the craft of Southern cooking, and how few things are as nurturing as a meal lovingly prepared in the traditions of the South.

There's a recipe here for every situation in which a Southerner may find themself. You'll enjoy the familiar stories of traditions in Dixie along the way and no doubt pick up a new idea or two of ways to celebrate Southern culture, nourish your loved ones, and make new memories. 

Patsy Caldwell has been a culinary professional for more than fifty years in a career that has included teaching, catering, cooking, and writing. She is a mother of two and grandmother of two. She lives in Charlotte, Tennessee, next to the water tower with her husband Bill, where they enjoy entertaining anywhere from two to twenty-two people, depending on the occasion.

Writer Amy Lyles Wilson was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. Now based in Nashville, Tennessee, Wilson wrote the text for the New York Times bestselling cookbook Cooking with Friends, and her essay “The Guts to Keep Going,” about helping her mother adjust to widowhood, was featured on National Public Radio’s “This I Believe” and appears in This I Believe II: More Personal Philosophies from Remarkable Men and Women (Henry Holt, 2008). Wilson holds academic degrees from Millsaps College, the University of Mississippi, and Vanderbilt University Divinity School. An affiliate of Amherst Writers and Artists, she leads writing workshops on such topics as creativity, spirituality, and grief. You can find her at www.amylyleswilson.com.