Picks and Pans Review: The Blue Ribbon Country Cookbook

By Max Alexander

UPDATED 11/30/1998 at 01:00 AM EST • Originally published 11/30/1998 at 01:00 AM EST

by Diane Roupe

Diane Roupe, a Des Moines homemaker, knows a thing or two about food. This big book presents the annual Iowa State Fair and its cooking contests as the epicurean mecca of the nation's breadbasket, and many-winning recipes—from main dishes to home-canned vegetables—fill its pages. Roupe's own Brandied Pork Stew with Thyme Dumplings (Blue Ribbon, 1992) was judged a winner at our table. (Clarkson Potter, $35)

Bottom Line: Takes the prize