Potluck Paradise : Favorite Fare from Church and Community Cookbooks

Here is the book that answers the age-old question: What should I bring?

Foodies Rae Katherine Eighmey and Debbie Miller first combed through hundreds of folksy cookbooks—often spiral-bound or homemade—compiled by church and community groups around the Midwest. Then they tested hundreds of the most popular recipes before winnowing the list down to 150 of the tastiest crowd-pleasing dishes: treats such as Swedish Tea Ring, Oven Barbecue Spareribs, Corn and Tomato Casserole, Refrigerator Cookies, Blueberry Buckle, and Party Punch. Recipes are organized by course, so it's as easy as pie for the reader to find the perfect dish for the long community table.

Eight 1950s menus-with-recipes for gatherings such as a Card Party and a Ladies Club Luncheon will help today's savvy host create memorable retro gatherings for friends and family. Food and entertaining lore gleaned from the cookbooks and the authors' recollections of growing up in the Fabulous Fifties transport readers back to a time when shared food and hospitality reigned supreme.

Debbie Miller is a historian and aficionado of community cookbooks who works as a reference specialist at the Minnesota Historical Society.

Dave Wood is the author of numerous books about midwestern culture, including My Mother the Arsonist, and Other Toasty Tales.