Dolly-liscious!
Happy Thursdee! We got a lot of cookbooks to review around here, and we probably keep way too many of ‘em (we both need more storage for cookbooks alone!). Of course there are your everyday cookbooks, restaurant/chefy ones, and those that are so beautiful you may want to display on your coffee table… and then there’s the case for celebrity cookbooks.
While often, the celeb books are just a cash grab, sometimes they’re pretty good! And this year, the patron saint of country music, Dolly Parton, published her own cookbook with her sister, Rachel. It’s called Good Lookin’ Cookin’: A Year of Meals.
EK: You know she loves to eat and cook! One of her famous sayings is, “my weaknesses have always been food and men—in that order,” and so it’s no surprise that food is a big part of her brand.
I tried her Coconut Cake box mix a while back, and could not believe how good it was! You can buy her cake mix from Duncan Hines or make the recipe on page 85 of her new book—it is her Easter Tradition and starts with a white cake mix, so making a cake box line isn’t so farfetched!
AU: Everyone likes a little help from the grocery store!
EK: If you google ‘Dolly Parton cookbooks,’ you immediately see five cookbooks that Dolly has written throughout her career. Her previous cookbooks are a hot commodity. For example, a used copy of Dolly’s Dixie Fixins is going for $252 on Thrift Books. Lucky for all of us, you can get a taste of Dolly’s home cooking for a lot less in her new cookbook.
Like we said earlier, she teamed up with her sister Rachel Parton George for this book, and it has as many pictures of the sisters as it does the recipes. My favorite thing about the book is that it is organized by months. That was common in cookbooks many years ago, but fell out of fashion. Now, it seems like a refreshing change and it’s easy to pick this book up and look for a festive recipe to make for any celebration and/or holiday.
EK: Anthony and I looked in October, and the chapter is full of Halloween-themed recipes. Our favorite is their “kids version of Chex Mix” with the cute name Puppy Trix and Treats. It is just the kind of sweet mix that kids of all ages will be nibbling on with mini Oreos, M&Ms, pretzels, butterscotch chips, and a whole bunch of Peanut Butter-Chocolate Muddy Buddies. The next time, I need a quick snack mix, I am going to make it!
AU: I love a muddy buddy! And I love Dolly Parton! I did name my “first born” Jolene, after all. Speaking of Jolene… have you seen Dolly’s Cast Iron Skillet line with Lodge?? There’s an 8” Jolene Skillet with my name on it!
EK: I didn’t know about them until you told me, and I love both the Jolene Skillet and the 9-to-5 Skillet Clock. But who can even think about those cute skillets when there is an even cuter Jolene in our presence?! That photo of her shows all her star power!! I love how she is posing for the camera!
EK: The real heart of the book is the sisters’ Southern fare and nothing says Parton more than a great deviled egg recipe which Dolly and Rachel call, “Dressed Eggs.” The recipe for these eggs is very simple because that is how Dolly’s husband, Carl, likes them, but the girls urge you to dress them up with sweet pickles or dress them down with salty minced olives, or a bit of crumbled bacon.
EK: The recipe uses mayo and Dijon mustard, a little salt and Tabasco and they aren’’t too dissimilar to mine. I call mine Deviled Eggs and dress them up with add a bit of butter for a creamy texture, lemon zest and lemon juice for tang, garlic powder for savoriness and like Dolly, use either chives or paprika to garnish but I am partial to chives and she uses both!
AU: I love me some Dolly Parton, but I’m still not a deviled egg fan.
EK: Well, I know it’s bad if even Dolly can’t change your mind :)
DOLLY’S DRESSED EGGS
prep time: 25 minutes • cook time: 15 minutes
makes 24 halves
You can “dress” your dressed eggs pretty much any way you like. If you like things a little sweet, finely mince a tablespoon of sweet pickles and add them to the yolk mixture. If you like things savory, add a tablespoon of minced olives to the mixture. Carl (Dolly’s husband) likes them simple, so that’s how we make them for him, but some of our family members even like chopped bacon on top as a garnish—it’s delicious, too. Since it’s Easter, wear your best dress and decide how “dressy” you want your eggs to be!
12 eggs
⅓ cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 drops Tabasco sauce
¼ teaspoon salt
Fresh chives, for garnish
Paprika, for garnish
Place the eggs in a large saucepan and add just enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Put the lid on the saucepan, reduce the temperature to low, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and move eggs to a colander in the sink. Run cold water over the eggs until they’re cool enough to handle. Crack the shells by tapping the eggs together gently, then peel and discard the shells.
Cut each egg in half lengthwise. Carefully remove the yolks and place them in a small bowl. Using a fork, mash the yolks. Add the mayonnaise, mustard, Tabasco, and salt and blend with the fork until smooth. Place the egg whites on a platter or an egg plate and use two small spoons (one to scoop and one to fill) to fill each egg white half with the yolk mixture.
Using small kitchen scissors, cut the chives into small pieces to garnish. Sprinkle with paprika before serving.
AU: Quick—Dolly lightning round! What’s your favorite Dolly Song?
EK: Jolene!! (is there any other answer?!)
AU: Mine’s Here You Come Again. What’s your favorite Dolly movie??
EK: I loved Dolly in Steel Magnolias but I have to say Nine to Five. The combo of Dolly, Jane and Lily is perfection!
AU: AGREE, but hard to choose between Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk! What’s your faorite Dollyism?
EK: I love so many but my favorite is, “I’m not offended by dumb blond jokes, because I know I’m not dumb… and I also know I am not blond!” I also really appreciate the sentiment of the quote that is repeated a lot by inspirational speakers, “if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”
AU: Mine’s “Honey, get down off the cross, somebody needs the wood!”
If you’d like a copy of Good Lookin’ Cookin’: A Year of Meals, you can purchase it here for the Dolly fan in your life…
DOLLY’S GOOD LOOKIN’ COOKIN’ GIVEAWAY!
If you’d like to win a copy of Dolly’s latest cookbook, become a paid subscriber by Tuesday November 5, 2024 at 11:59p PST. All paid subscribers are automatically entered for giveaways.
“Good Lookin’ Cookin’” Copyright © 2024 Dolly Parton and Rachel Parton George. Photographs copyright © 2024 by Aubrie Pick. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.”