Drawn from the long-running Wallaces' Farmer magazine, this cookbook and advice manual shows how creative home cooks fed the soul and spirit of America's heartland from the 1890s to the beginning of World War II. In this guide, surprisingly useful to cooks today, are treasured family recipes and helpful hints on cooking the way your grandmother's mother taught her. Along with these classic dishes are long-forgotten tips on the "domestic arts"--like how to substitute for a missing ingredient or how to stop your party-line neighbor from "Eavesdropping over the Telephone."

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...