Jan Karon's Mitford Cookbook & Kitchen Reader

Millions of Mitford fans around the world will agree—it’s easy to put on a pound or two reading a Mitford novel. Scene after scene of the bestselling series’ colorful characters enjoying tantalizing dishes can immediately start a craving. Then, before you know it, you’ve read several pages by the glow of the refrigerator lightbulb. Packed with more than 150 recipes from the Mitford novels and from the author’s own recipe box, Jan Karon’s Mitford Cookbook & Kitchen Reader is loaded with tips, hints, jokes, culinary quotes, and delightful side-dish sidebars guaranteed to start a stomach rumbling. From Miss Sadie’s Apple Pie to Puny’s Cornbread, from Emma’s Pork Roast to Marge’s Sweet Tea with Peppermint, beloved characters come alive through their own favorite recipes. Here, too, are Karon’s reminiscences of her own family’s food traditions and—as dessert—four stories never before published in her books.

Jan Karon’s Mitford Cookbook & Kitchen Reader is a charming companion to the Mitford series that will have readers clamoring to bring into their own kitchens the aromas and flavors that swirl within the little town with the big heart.

Jan Karon, born Janice Meredith Wilson in the foothills of North Carolina, was named after the title of a popular novel, Janice Meredith.

Jan wrote her first novel at the age of ten. "The manuscript was written on Blue Horse notebook paper, and was, for good reason, kept hidden from my sister. When she found it, she discovered the one curse word I had, with pounding heart, included in someone's speech. For Pete's sake, hadn't Rhett Butler used that very same word and gotten away with it? After my grandmother's exceedingly focused reproof, I've written books without cussin' ever since."

Several years ago, Karon left a successful career in advertising to move to the mountain village of Blowing Rock, North Carolina, and write books. "I stepped out on faith to follow my lifelong dream of being an author," she says. "I made real sacrifices and took big risks. But living, it seems to me, is largely about risk."

Enthusiastic booksellers across the country have introduced readers of all ages to Karon's heartwarming books. At Home in Mitford, Karon's first book in the Mitford series, was nominated for an ABBY by the American Booksellers Association in 1996 and again in 1997. Bookstore owner, Shirley Sprinkle, says, "The Mitford Books have been our all-time fiction bestsellers since we went in business twenty-five years ago. We've sold 10,000 of Jan's books and don't see any end to the Mitford phenomenon."