Pillsbury Best of the Bake-Off Casseroles (Pillsbury Cooking)

Pillsbury has been sponsoring their bake off contests for more than fifty years. This neat book captures what modern editors chose as the best of the winning recipes over the decades. While I am sure the editors chose the recipes that would appeal most to modern tastes, you can see how tastes have changed over the years because they include the name of the person who contributed the recipe and the year it won the contest. The first portion of the book offers a few pages on the way the contest has evolved (including the replacement of the fictitious Ann Pillsbury with the Pillsbury Doughboy in the 1970s). Another couple of pages look at the kinds of recipes that were popular in each decade and the most popular of those that are included in the book. These recipes are focused on ease of preparation, taste, and are more about the kind of home cooking that combines store bought components rather than scratch cooking with basic and fresh ingredients. While the earlier recipes do focus on flour, the later recipes use the store bought rolls, crusts, and so forth. You will also notice that the trend over the decades was toward greater diversity in food culture, even if it isn't "authentic" cuisine. The other trend is towards ever easier preparation most of the cook times range from a half hour to an hour and a half with most being around an hour give or take 15 minutes. The more than 100 recipes are clear, simple and easy to follow. Some are accompanied by attractive and appetizing photographs. Nutrition information is included at the bottom or each recipe page. Each recipe also includes a note about whether you need to make adjustments for altitude or not. There are a couple of pages of nutrition information at the back of the book. You can find specific recipes and ingredients by using the index, but you can browse the book by flipping through the five broad groupings of the recipes: 1) hearty beef favorites; 2) savory pork suppers; 3) comforting chicken & turkey; 4) seafood & meatless mainstays; and 5) dinner pies & quiches. The book also includes a metric conversion guide. One interesting feature is the grouping of the winning contributors by state so you can look at the recipes from your home state or whatever region of the country you are curious about. If you are a scratch cook foodie, this book won't be for you. However, if you want to explore American Home Cooking as it is practiced by millions of American families and find some tasty recipes you can create at home after a busy day at work, this is a really helpful resource. Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI