Courses & Dishes

From “Welcome to My Prairie Table!”
The recipes you will find in this book are what we eat as a family, what we feed our guests at our home, and what we take to gatherings. Whether a salad or vegetable dish, home-baked bun or easy main meal, every recipe in this book is easily cut in half for a smaller family meal or doubled for a large event—even the cocktails (though why you’d want to cut cocktails in half escapes me). I also wanted every recipe in this book to be useful week in and week out, to make your life easier.

You can make a full batch of a crowd-pleasing recipe to take to a soiree or to feed your own guests, whether a side dish or a main course. There are kid-friendly recipes for dinners that will also be perfect for potlucks. There are easy dinner recipes such as Slow- Cooker Beef Dips on page 154 that also make perfect leftovers that the entire family can eat for lunch the next day, or freeze them for a later date. My Calico Beans on page 156 might be a go-to potluck dish, but my family eats it twice a month and the kids take it in thermoses for lunches. The salads and vegetable dishes are all sides that you can make any day of the week. The dainties section is perfect for filling up your freezer, to pull out for surprise visitors (so that you have something to serve with coffee!) or the holiday season. There’s nothing like a tray of dainties to get Prairie folks at a party excited!

You’re going to see classics (such as Marion’s perogies (see page 19), which I make in triple batches so I only have to make them once every couple of months) and some fresh new favorites (like the Garlic and Brown Sugar Bacon Pineapple Bites on page 103 that will make you want to throw a tiki-themed party just so that you can serve them).

I’m also bringing my husband, Mike, a.k.a. Mr. Kitchen Magpie, into the cookbook fray. He’s in charge of cocktails in our house and, due to popular demand, he now even has his own section on the Kitchen Magpie website, where he creates cocktails for everyone to enjoy. I heard from a lot (and I mean a LOT!) of you after my first book that I needed to do more cocktails, so there’s an entire chapter of Mike’s cocktails and mocktails at the end of this book just for you.

This is us. This how we eat, this is how I cook for those I love, and, if you will indulge me, this is an entire cookbook’s worth of recipes from my table to yours. I’m so very happy to share these recipes with you.

Love,
Karlynn

From the Introduction
I’m sure that, for some of you who have gotten to know me through my previous books, it might be hard to imagine me outside of the bakery. Even those who know me personally are probably quicker to associate me with cake and pie than meatloaf and soup. I am, after all, the “Butter Lady.” But bakers, like all humans, can’t live on sweets alone. And my passion for baking really stems from my passion for all food, and for using food as a way to connect with others. I find that offering someone a meal, a snack, or simply a cookie is like starting an edible conversation when the chaos of everyday life prevents me from finding the words. Popcorn and grilled cheese sandwiches were a way for me to make small talk with the older boys when I was young, just as a big piece of lasagna and a glass of wine ask Paul to tell me about his difficult day now. Remembering to prepare India’s favorite dinner every year for her birthday is just one of the million ways I tell her I love her, and so much tastier than words alone. Cooking for others has always been my way of communicating and demonstrating how I feel, and in a world chock-full of different skill sets, it’s quite literally what I can bring to the table.

My hope is that you’ll find the recipes in this book as delicious and satisfying as they are straightforward and achievable. I truly believe that even the most novice cook can find success with my recipes—for if cooking is a language, I try to avoid the big words. Given how busy everyday life can be, I don’t believe that a comforting home-cooked meal should complicate it further. So I’ve got my fingers crossed that somewhere on these pages, you’ll discover a favorite new dish (or two, or three . . . ), and that you will be inspired to set the table, call for those you love to join you, and start a conversation of your own.