Good lookin' cookin' A year of meals : a lifetime of family, friends, and food

Legendary singer-songwriter Parton (Behind the Seams) teams up with her sister, debut author George, for this cheery guide to entertaining. The sisters provide 12 themed menus, each devoted to one month of the year, with recipes for drinks, appetizers, mains, sides, and desserts. July's menu, inspired by Fourth of July cookouts, starts with sweet tea and hot wing dip with celery sticks, features barbecue spare ribs as the main, includes grilled corn with spicy mayo and layered salad as the sides, and ends with apple pie with crumb topping. Throughout, the authors share endearing anecdotes ("This is one of Dolly's favorite dishes, so I usually make it for her birthday," George writes of the rustic chicken and dumplings) and family recipes, including their mother's banana pudding and their sister Willadeene's witches' brew cider. Instructions are uncomplicated, with prep times and cook times listed to help readers plan ahead and sidebars with handy tips: for the watermelon fruit salad, they suggest adding the dressing (made of citrus, herbs, and champagne) to individual servings instead of the entire bowl to help leftovers last longer. This tasty and heartfelt outing is a gift for Parton's fans. Agent: Jeff Kleinman, Folio Literary. (Sept.)

A Message from Dolly God, family, music, and food are the staples of my life. Food for the heart, food for the mind, food for the soul, and food for the table. Rachel and I come from a long line of great cooks--our mama, our grandmothers, our aunts, cousins, and so on. "Hey, good lookin'--what ya got cookin'?" It's a phrase from the old Hank Williams song we've used forever when we walk into someone's kitchen. Sometimes we say it; sometimes we sing it. It fits here, though, and for several reasons. A lot of my relatives are beautiful women--a lot of those same women are part of that long line of great cooks--so that seemed like a perfect title for our cookbook. And hey--Rachel's one of them. She is beautiful on the inside and out. Rachel is Mama and Daddy's last child, but I've always claimed her as my own. She's a wonderful singer and songwriter, and she spent time out there on the road with me for many years in our traveling family band. She also acted in the TV series 9 to 5. When it ended, though, she said, "Enough of this. I want to stay closer to home, raise a family, and cook," and she did. What people may not know is that Rachel is the executive director of my company and pretty much runs my life. And thank goodness she does! But I think cooking is at the very top of her list of things she does best. I feel like I am kind of riding in on her coattails (or dress tail) on this one, but I am proud that we have something wonderful to do together that will last forever and hopefully bring as much joy and nourishment to others through the years as it has to us. Even though I am a very good cook, my dishes are not always as good lookin' as Rachel's. She has a true knack for making food look and taste beautiful, and that is truly an art. We have had a wonderful time putting this together. And though it's a lot of work to do a project like this, we will always remember the time we spent together, creating this for you. Enjoy! Dolly Excerpted from Good Lookin' Cookin': A Year of Meals - a Lifetime of Family, Friends, and Food [a Cookbook] by Dolly Parton, Rachel Parton George All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.