Country music icon, America's sweetheart, owner of our favorite amusement park — and now cookbook author! Dolly Parton has teamed up with her youngest sister Rachel Parton George to release a new family-style cookbook that's packed with favorite recipes of the Parton clan.
Good Lookin' Cookin': A Year of Meals - A Lifetime of Family, Friends, and Food
Growing up in rural East Tennessee, the Parton family didn't have too much, but they did have two things: each other and some darn good cooking thanks to their mama. To pay homage to both, Dolly and Rachel created their new cookbook, Good Lookin' Cookin', aptly named not only for the country song but also because that's what the sisters say to each other as soon as they walk into one another's kitchens.
Admittedly, Rachel is more of the cook of the two, but Dolly had plenty of input when it came to the new book. "We love to cook, and we love to cook together," Rachel told us. "I'm just a cook, and she's the big sister. And sometimes, with big sisters, they have the right to overrule. Even that was fun and funny!"
Laid out in a month-by-month format, the book gives home cooks and fans a look inside what life in the Parton household was like growing up, as well as a glimpse at their family favorites nowadays. Some of the recipes even got a second life after originally being featured in the oldest Parton sister's cookbook, All-Day Singing and Dinner on the Ground. "I love the Rustic Chicken and Dumplings. Like most families, we have many different versions, and this is mine," Rachel said. "Dolly was so kind and we always laugh and giggle because she will not give her chicken and dumplings recipe out and I said, 'Well, we'll use mine then!'" And, to sweeten the deal, that same meal is Dolly's favorite for Rachel to make for her birthday. "It's just one of those familiar dinners, and she loves it, so I always make that for her."
While other recipes found themselves written down for the first time. Like so many Southern families, the Partons would teach by technique when it came to cooking, and recipes were memorized and passed down through generations, with each new cook putting their own spin on a meal. And while that's still how Dolly likes to cook, Rachel likes having a spot to collect her favorites, which led her to the creation of the cookbook. "I like to follow a recipe," Rachel said. "Even though I may have made a recipe a hundred times, I think just having the cookbook and recipe out that someone has given me, that to me is comforting in a way. It's almost like having company in the kitchen." And wouldn't we all want a friend like Dolly keeping us company in the kitchen?
In addition to the cookbook, Dolly and Rachel also partnered up with meal-kit service Home Chef to make weeknight mealtime even easier for families. You can try favorites like home-style fried chicken or meatloaf with the Parton's favorite green beans, all in ready-to-make fashion. "I just think it's so great how they were able to incorporate our food into their meal kit," Rachel said. "I love to see that box coming to the door!"
While I appreciate pre-measured ingredients and easy-to-follow instructions, the best part of the Home Chef meal kit for me was the smaller serving size. Not all of us have 12 mouths to feed like Dolly's mama! I can bring true home-style cooking to my kitchen in just 30 minutes with a single-serving meatloaf that tastes just as good as Dolly's.
Whether you get the cookbook and enjoy a year's worth of Dolly-approved meals or you opt for the meal kit that makes weeknight cooking just a tad cozier this fall, one thing is for sure: you've got great company in the kitchen with the Parton sisters.
