108 county recipes

Quick cherry turnovers made with crescent roll dough and canned cherry pie filling. Three ingredients plus a simple powdered sugar glaze. Ready in 30 minutes from start to finish.

This is another popular salad from my old country, Ukraine.

Biscotti di Greve: Tuscan twice-baked cookies packed with toasted whole almonds and bright orange zest. Crisp, dippable, and built to keep for weeks. The Italian classic from Chianti country.

Pfeffernuesse German pepper cookies with molasses, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and black pepper, rolled in powdered sugar. Small, spicy, and deeply aromatic holiday cookies from the old country.

Indiana farm sausage is a homemade country breakfast sausage seasoned with sage, marjoram, thyme, and a kick of chili. Shape into logs or marble-sized balls for easy freezing.

Real Irish stew: traditional Irish country stew of mutton, potatoes, carrots, and onions simmered slowly in water until the meat falls apart. Six ingredients, no shortcuts, pure comfort.

Carrot and rhubarb preserve combines pureed sweet carrots with tart sliced rhubarb. A three-ingredient old-country jam with vibrant color and a bright sweet-tart flavor.

Hickory-smoked pork ribs marinated in cider vinegar and garlic salt, grilled over charcoal, then dunked in a warm BBQ-and-steak sauce with molasses. Backyard classic.

Country-style rabbit stew braised in dry sherry, chicken broth, and a strained game marinade with sage and thyme. The way old hunters do it, in a black iron pot.

Homemade elderberry wine fermented with fresh berries, sugar, lemon juice, and yeast. A traditional country winemaking recipe that needs just five ingredients and three months of patience.

Pickled zucchini sticks canned with fresh dill, garlic, celery seed, and onion in a sweet vinegar brine. A crunchy way to preserve summer's zucchini bounty in 4 pint jars.

Fettunta Toscana is Tuscan grilled bread rubbed with raw garlic and topped with fresh tomatoes, basil, and olive oil. The original Italian bruschetta, simple and seasonal.

Old-fashioned rabbit pie with slow-stewed meat topped with buttermilk biscuits and served with homemade gravy. A hearty country supper for a crowd.

Riewe Schales is an Amish turnip and potato casserole with grated root vegetables, yogurt, milk, and onions baked under whole wheat breadcrumbs. A hearty Pennsylvania Dutch side dish from plain country cooking.

Devonshire splits, soft sweet yeast buns from England's West Country, split and filled generously with clotted cream and jam, then dusted with icing sugar. A traditional cream-tea treat.

Cornish hens Provencal style braised with tomatoes, saffron, olives, leeks, white wine, and fresh herbs. A one-skillet French country dinner with golden-skinned game hens in 50 minutes.