cover image Junior League Centennial Cookbook

Junior League Centennial Cookbook

Association of Junior Leagues Internatio, Junior League International. Clarkson N Potter Publishers, $29.95 (416pp) ISBN 978-0-385-47731-4

Since their initial publication in the 1950s, more than 18 million copies of local Junior League cookbooks have been sold, with proceeds supporting programs that further the League's mission of improving social conditions, promoting volunteerism and developing the potential of women. This volume, part of a 100-year celebration of the Junior League (founded in 1901), is the first collection of the ""best"" recipes culled from books 200 League chapters and includes sidebars about the organization's history. Recipes, credited to place but not date of origin, are conventionally organized (e.g., ""Party Food, Appetizers & Beverages,"" ""Vegetables & Side Dishes"") and highlight regional American specialties, with none too demanding of the busy home cook. There are plenty of meat dishes (No Peekie Roast Beefie, Austin Fajitas, New Orleans Grillades), seafood recipes (Maine Seafood Bake) and poultry (Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya; Glazed Wild Duck). Other local dishes include Hearts of Palm Swamp Cabbage, Nashville One-Pan Fudge Cake and Chocolate Bourbon Pie. Literary Guild selection. (May)