-The Midwest is rising, - writes Minnesota native Amy Thielen, host of Heartland Table on Food Network--and her engaging, keenly American debut cookbook, with 200 recipes that herald a revival in the region's cuisine, is delicious proof.

Amy Thielen grew up in rural northern Minnesota, waiting in lines for potluck buffets amid loops of smoked sausages from her uncle's meat market and in the company of women who could put up jelly without a recipe. She spent years cooking in some of New York City's best restaurants, but it took moving home in 2008 for her to rediscover the...