Seasoned in Appalachia: Delicious Recipes from the Mountains and Hollers

by Jimmy Proffitt

Journey to the heart of Appalachia through soul-satisfying recipes, charming personal stories, and stunning images of its natural beauty.

Inspired by home-cooked family meals, Seasoned in Appalachia delivers authentic, flavorful dishes paired with charming anecdotes about family traditions and the magic of the Appalachian region. Author and IACP member Jimmy Proffitt, who grew up and learned to cook at an early age in the Shenandoah Valley, presents an authoritative collection of Appalachian cooking featuring heartwarming recipes for 75 delicious dishes,

Apple Cinnamon BiscuitsGreen Tomato PieCountry HamSloppy JoesBrown Butter CornbreadCranberry Orange Pound CakeBelsnickel CookiesSnow Creamand more!
Featuring beautiful photographs of the recipes and mountain scenes, this easy-to-use cookbook is your guide to the distinctive cuisine of the Appalachian region.

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction

339 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 28, 2025

Reviews

[Richard Derus]

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: Journey to the heart of Appalachia through soul-satisfying recipes, charming personal stories, and stunning images of its natural beauty.

Inspired by home-cooked family meals, Seasoned in Appalachia delivers authentic, flavorful dishes paired with charming anecdotes about family traditions and the magic of the Appalachian region. Author and IACP member Jimmy Proffitt, who grew up and learned to cook at an early age in the Shenandoah Valley, presents an authoritative collection of Appalachian cooking featuring heartwarming recipes for 75 delicious dishes, including:

Apple Cinnamon Biscuits
Green Tomato Pie
Country Ham
Sloppy Joes
Brown Butter Cornbread
Cranberry Orange Pound Cake
Belsnickel Cookies
Snow Cream
and more!

Featuring beautiful photographs of the recipes and mountain scenes, this easy-to-use cookbook is your guide to the distinctive cuisine of the Appalachian region.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: I'm a fan of home cooking and baking books that're for HOME COOKS, not aspiring pâtissières just as much as I am of the lah-dee-dah piss-elegant ones. Like pretty boys who're great in the sack, the elegant ones start lookin' messy, trashed up, wrinkled, old if they're good enough to use, and if they're not they're not interesting after a month at most.

Solid, useful, nice-lookin', these're the qualities that wear well.

In food as well, as we're all old enough to know. The recipes on these pages are very direct, you'll have 90% of the ingredients on the counter or in the front of the pantry already, and if you need something to make a recipe, Walmart will have it.

the most reassuringly familiar lineup of yumminess on this Contents page

We start out with an Introduction followed by a kind of statement of purpose, a why-we're-here essay:

It's another warm, personal touch like many to come. Finding out the why of the book really does explain why-bother.

From here, there are some special sections:

canning and preserving...very lightly touched on

...before we're into the main subjects and recipes:



comfort foods; biscuits; fancy apple ones the English call "scones"

Your need for some Southern hygge now satisfied, here comes the meat:




meat chapter open; country ham; fancy chicken wings with cilantro; fish and hushpuppies

And then it's time for dessert!

if you don't like carrot cake, why are you even taking up space and using oxygen?

I've had a version of every one of these dishes. I think you most likely have to, even if you're not from the US. What I hope is you'll remember a good version, a good time, a good day that ended well with this kind of food...and join me on the memory train to the stove to do it again using Proffitt's pretty book.

[Jessica]

To a non-Southerner it might not be obvious, but there is a difference between Southern food and Appalachian food. There is definitely an overlap, but there are some very distinct Appalachian foods. Jimmy Proffitt does a great job of highlighting those in this cookbook. There is also a section at the beginning about seasonal eating and preserving seasonal foods. There were several recipes I'd like to try as well. Overall, a solid cookbook and worth checking out.

[Robert Lewis]

I’m not from Appalachia and I know only a little bit of their cuisine, but I like what I’ve seen so I was pretty excited to dive in and see what this book had to offer. First of all, I have to say it’s beautifully presented with an embossed cloth hardcover and full-color photographs of most (but not quite all) of the dishes. This is a book you’ll be proud to feature on your cookbook shelf.

But what about the contents? It starts off with some personal reflections and a tour of the Appalachian kitchen, then gets right into the recipes, and I have to say I’m pretty impressed. Don’t look for gourmet dishes with exotic ingredients here. This is a book primarily of comfort food, and I can honestly say almost every one of these dishes looks like something I would love.

Dieters of the world, beware: this book is pretty carb-heavy in its recipes. Personally I love that, though. Biscuits and gravy are a wonderful thing and this book doesn’t just include one but rather SEVERAL variations on that theme, along with such classics as meat loaf, pies, sloppy joes, deviled eggs, and more. This is the book you’ll turn to when you want something that tastes of home to heal your soul. And on that topic, the recipes also come with stories so you feel like you get to know the people you’re learning from, just a little bit.

Beginning cooks shouldn’t fear. All of these recipes are well-explained and the vast majority are easy enough to follow.

I wasn’t expecting great things when this book showed up, but I’m most pleasantly surprised. I think I’ll be returning to these recipes regularly.

[Chris]

It is everything I like in a cookbook, interesting recipes and a story behind the book and the recipes. This is a cookbook to be read as it is full of information, advice, practical tips, and stories as well as cooked from. Each recipe has a photograph and an introduction description with personal details about the recipe. The recipes are detailed and easy to follow. One of my favorite parts is the “I Reckon You Could” notes with tips and suggestions on adapting the recipes.

First recipe I tried was Three-Way Shortbread and it is a keeper. The shortbread was DELICIOUS, the recipe easy to follow, and the ingredients are ones I always have on hand. Not only is it a keeper, it is going to become a go-to recipe for when I am craving a cookie. I can’t wait to try more recipes!

If you enjoy cookbooks with traditional regional recipes and stories I recommend adding this cookbook to your collection.

Thanks to the author and publisher for the gifted copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Christy]

"Seasoned in Appalachia" is a lovely traditional cookbook that pays homage to the beauty of all four seasons in the form of Appalachian comfort foods, meats and mains, salads and sides, party foods & beverages, and finally [and my favorite!] desserts & sweets. This labor of love cookbook is full of great recipes, and I especially love the little tidbits of helpful information boxes lovingly called "I reckon you could" - where the author gives recipe tips, insight, or just for fun information.

[Mini]

Great recipes intermingled with family stories and history! Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for the digital review copy, it made me very hungry and now you owe me some apple pie.

[Christina Sahovey]

Really fun stories along with some recipes I can’t wait to try!

[Melissa]

What a great book. The recipes are very easy to follow and turn out wonderful. The author includes history and family stories with the recipes which add to the joy of using this book.