Heartland

America is coming back to basics, and nowhere is the art of transforming fresh, seasonal ingredients into appealingly homey dishes practiced with more flair than in Midwestern kitchens. A lifelong resident of the Midwest, award-winning author Marcia Adams celebrates this diverse and bountiful region with more than 200 recipes that capture the spirit of Heartland cooking.

Heartland food conjures up delightfully nostalgic memories of pies cooling on a windowsill, silky preserves canned for the long cold winters, soft white sugar cookies bursting with raisins, generous breakfasts of farm-fresh eggs and country sausage, and hearty soups simmered to savory perfection. The region boasts unparalleled culinary diversity: tender Iowa lamb, Minnesota wild rice and salmon, Michigan morels and fiddlehead ferns, Wisconsin cheese and ducks -- the list goes on and on. And each generation of immigrants has preserved its cultural heritage in the form of a flourishing ethnic cuisine.

Adams has traveled throughout the Midwestern states in search of the very best recipes the region has to offer, from near-forgotten family favorites to the exciting new creations coming out of the Heartland's professional kitchens. She includes classics like Snicker-doodles, Wilted Country Salad with Bacon Dressing, and Stewing Hen with Cornmeal Parsley Dumplings; regional favorites like Cincinnati Chili and Frango Mint Cheesecake; plus a selection of innovative new dishes that make the most of indigenous Midwestern ingredients, such as Pork Pot Roast with Couscous and Sauteed Perch Fillets with Fresh Cucumber Relish.

With dozens of color photographs and Marcia Adams's warmly evocative text, Heartland presents an unforgettable portrait of the people, places, and food that, epitomize American regional cookery.

Marcia Adams is the author of Cooking from Quilt Country, the IACP/Seagrams Award winner for best regional cookbook of 1989, and the host of PBS's popular "Amish Cooking from Quilt Country" series. She is a columnist for McCall's and writes frequently for national magazines, including Gourmet, Midwest Living, and the New York Times. Marcia Adams and her husband, Richard, live in northern Indiana.