Backchannelmedia

Advocate; Baton Rouge, La.

By CHERAMIE SONNIER

In their search for America's favorite family recipes, Baton Rouge native Gwen McKee and her co-editor, Barbara Moseley, have taken to the back roads.

"Interstates don't get you anywhere," McKee said from Westchester, Pa., where she was promoting the latest cookbook from her Brandon, Miss.-based Quail Ridge Press on QVC, a shopping channel.

For more than two decades, McKee and Moseley have traveled the country, "discovering, testing, tasting and selecting the best recipes we could find" for the "Best of the Best State Cookbooks." Their mission: "Preserving America's Food Heritage" by publishing a collection of recipes from the best cookbooks of each state.

By 2004, they'd gotten to all 50 states - Nevada was the last - and have started the process of revising all the books in the series.

Today, the two golfing buddies do a lot of their research on the Internet, McKee said, but they still hit the road to get an on-the- scene taste of America's treasured recipes.

When they began their recipe hunting in 1978, the women were in their 40s and had families at home. They crisscrossed the country in a Chevrolet van, stopping in small communities.

"Sometimes the biggest store was a drugstore," McKee said. "We'd ask about cookbooks. People love to talk about food. We would find one little cookbook and it was their (that community's) recipes, recipes taken to the church picnic each year."

They planned their routes by looking at maps and telephone directories. "A kitchen shop was a big find back then," she recalled. "Sometimes we'd have to go to a local library, the local restaurants, local bed-and-breakfasts, the chamber of commerce. We met so many wonderful people. That is the joy of our job and travels."

They test all recipes that they consider for the "Best of the Best" series and recruit Quail Ridge Press employees to taste-test. Recipes are scored based on taste and simplicity and not all recipes make the cut.

Other recipes might not appeal to their taste buds, but still are included because they are indicative of a state's culinary traditions.

During the interview, McKee said she was at the QVC shopping center in Pennsylvania to promote the "QVC Family Cookbook," published by Quail Ridge Press in conjunction with the home shopper television channel. "

All the recipes were submitted by QVC viewers. It was a contest. We got 1,700 recipes and tried about half of them. There were some good, good recipes and 406 ended up in the book. ... We sold 94,000 copies, all that we have and we are reprinting."

The 65-year-old McKee said she "learned all my cooking in Baton Rouge, and my first cookbook was 'River Road Recipes,' the granddaddy cookbook. I still love my Cajun roots. I have never, ever served gumbo to anyone who didn't love it."

She graduated from Baton Rouge High School in 1958 and then graduated from LSU in business education with a minor in journalism. "I was a secretary at LSU in the comptroller's office. I made $225 a month before taxes right before my husband, Barney McKee, and I were married."

A 1955 graduate of Istrouma High School, Barney McKee was production manager of the LSU Press for eight or nine years. He and Gwen started Quail Ridge Press in 1978 when he, then the director of the University Press of Mississippi in Jackson, came home with a cookbook manuscript that the University Press could not publish.

"Quail Ridge Press was started literally on our dining room in our house on Quail Ridge Drive in Brandon, the Port Allen of Jackson," Gwen McKee said.

They sold out of 4,000 copies of their first book, "The Twelve Days of Christmas Cookbook," in three weeks.

"Our family was selling them in car washes and in schools. It was a $3.75 book," she said. "It was so successful we went on to do 'The Seven Chocolate Sins' and then 'A Salad a Day.' Those two books have since gone out of print, but the first book is still in print."

Another of their little cookbooks, "Quickies for Singles," which features recipes for one or two, was written in Baton Rouge and contains numerous Baton Rouge recipes, she said.

"Barbara came along about three years later. We were golf partners. I needed someone to travel with me to sell my little books," Gwen McKee continued.

Quail Ridge Press now has its own building and 12 employees. "We are strictly publishers. We bid all our printing out," she said.

When Moseley, 68, went into the business in 1981 or 1982, the two women started "The Best of the Best" series.

"We did one state at a time. We started with Mississippi and then Louisiana. Louisiana's book was in conjunction with the World's Fair in New Orleans in 1984.

It was so successful it is still our best-selling 'Best of the Best.' Now we have 'The Best of the Best from Louisiana Cookbook II.' Both cookbooks are outstanding."

She added that they are considering doing a third Louisiana cookbook for the series. Texas is the only other state with two books in print. "We are in our fourth van," Gwen McKee said of her and Moseley's travels.

"We drive as much as we can and as far as Pennsylvania and Virginia. For some states, we have had to fly. We usually make two trips per state. Texas took four.

"The recipes are not ours, as you know. We cook what America tells us they like to cook," McKee said. "We invite people to submit about 12 of their favorite recipes and then we choose down."

The hardest part of their business was getting permission to use recipes from local cookbooks. "It was really an arduous task," she added.

Because they started the series with the Southern states, those books are the oldest in the series. They are in the process of replacing those cookbooks with new editions. They've completed second cookbooks for Mississippi, Tennessee, Florida and Kentucky and are in the process of doing Alabama and Georgia, plus researching recipes for new North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia cookbooks.

"We still have some copies of the original editions, but they will go out of print," McKee said. "We want only one cookbook per state, but Louisiana and Texas just required two - Louisiana because of its cooking and Texas because of its size.

"There are so many local cookbooks in Louisiana, especially south Louisiana, and all are so good. I admit, I'm prejudiced. They know how to cook down there."

McKee and Moseley also are planning an index of all of the "Best of the Best" cookbooks, and "as long as it's enjoyable," they intend to continue driving across the country looking for more local favorite recipes.

"People have come to trust us," McKee said. "Barbara's and my forte is editing. We pride ourselves on making it as readable as possible."

Quail Ridge Press mostly publishes regional books. but also has published children's books, including state "Alphabet" books and "Anna's Choice," which is about overweight children who want to address their problem. Ultimately, what gets published is determined by what appeals to her and her husband, she said.

The McKees have three children and eight grandchildren. Older son, Shawn, who was about 14 when his parents started Quail Ridge Press, "convinced us we had to get into computers. He has always done our computing for us," his mother said. Today, he has his own computer business.

Their other son, Brian, writes and lives in Portland, Ore., while daughter, Heather Creel, lives in Franklin, Tenn.

"Heather and Barbara's daughter, Meg Maulding, help us test recipes," Gwen McKee said. "Both of our daughters are just wonderful. They test recipes and give their opinions. That's what makes our recipes so popular. They are not 'chefy' at all, just what people want to make every day."

For information about Quail Ridge Press, check its Web site at www.quailridge.com or call (800) 343-1583.

Here are some of McKee and Moseley's favorite recipes from their cookbooks:

Sock-It-To-Me Cake Recipe is from "The Best of Down-Home Cooking (Nevada)" as published in "Best of the Best from Nevada Cookbook."

Streusel Filling: 2 tbls. dry cake mix 2 tbls. brown sugar 2 tbls. cinnamon 1 cup finely chopped pecans

Combine dry cake mix, brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Stir in pecans; set aside.

Batter: 1 pkg. Duncan Hines Butter Recipe Cake Mix (less 2 tbls.) 4 eggs 1 cup dairy sour cream 1/3 cup oil 1/4 cup water 1/4 cup granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine remaining cake mix, eggs, sour cream, oil, water and granulated sugar in large bowl. Beat at medium speed with electric mixer for 2 minutes.

2. Pour 2/3 of batter into oiled and floured 10-inch tube pan. Sprinkle with Streusel Filling. Spoon remaining batter evenly over filling and bake 45-55 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

3. Cool in pan 25 minutes. Invert onto serving plate. Cool completely.

Glaze: 1 cup confectioners' sugar 1 to 2 tsps. milk Combine confectioners' sugar and milk in small bowl. Stir until smooth. Drizzle over cake.

Macadamia Cheese Ball Recipe is from "Hilo Woman's Club Cookbook" as published in "Best of the Best from Hawaii Cookbook."

1 lb. Cheddar cheese, grated 1 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened 1/3 cup chopped sweet pickles 1 tbl. Dijon mustard 2 tbls. mayonnaise 2 tbls. dry sherry Dash of cayenne pepper 1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts

1. Mix Cheddar cheese with softened cream cheese.

2. Add pickles, mustard, mayonnaise and sherry. Form into ball, sprinkle with cayenne pepper and refrigerate.

3. Roll in macadamia nuts before serving. Serve with crackers.

Tiki Punch Recipe is from "Hawaii's Best Tropical Food & Drinks" as published in "Best of the Best from Hawaii Cookbook."

1 oz. vodka 1/2 oz. Galliano liqueur 5 ozs. orange juice 5 ozs. pineapple juice 1 pineapple per guest or couple Champagne

1. Combine vodka, Galliano and juices in a pitcher. Pour into pineapple, approximately 2/3 from the top.

2. Fill with champagne and add garnishes.

Butternut Squash Souffle Recipe is from "Louisiana Entertains" and included in "Best of the Best from Louisiana Cookbook."

2 cups cooked, mashed butternut squash 3 eggs, beaten 1/3 cup melted butter 1/2 cup milk 3/4 to 1 cup sugar 1/2 tsp. ground ginger 1/2 tsp. coconut extract

1. Mix all ingredients together.

2. Pour into lightly greased 1 1/2-quart casserole and bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Millionaire Pie Recipe is from "Fiftieth Anniversary Cookbook" and is included in "Best of the Best from Louisiana Cookbook II."

1 cup chopped pecans 1 can sweetened condensed milk 1/2 cup lemon juice 1 cup coconut 1 small can crushed pineapple, drained 1 (8-oz.) container Cool Whip 1 graham cracker pie shell

Mix all ingredients together and pour into pie shell. Chill and serve.

Pecan Praline Salad Recipe is from "Kids in the Kitchen" and is included in "Best of the Best from Arizona Cookbook."

Good served with baked or barbecued chicken.

1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup pecan pieces 2 cups fresh spinach leaves 2 cups torn leaf lettuce 1 cup sliced mushrooms 1 green onion, thinly sliced 1 tsp. dried tarragon leaves 3 tbls. olive or salad oil 1 tbl. white or red wine vinegar 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. salt Freshly ground black pepper 1 (11-oz.) can mandarin oranges, drained

1. Put sugar into heavy skillet. Place on high heat. Stir until sugar melts and caramelizes.

2. Add pecans; toss until nuts are coated. Turn onto buttered pieces of foil, separate nuts and let them cool.

3. Wash spinach and lettuce to remove all sand. Dry thoroughly. Place into salad bowl and top with mushrooms and onion. Sprinkle with tarragon leaves.

4. Just before serving, drizzle oil evenly over leaves. Sprinkle with vinegar, salt and pepper. Toss, add mandarin oranges and top with caramelized pecans. Recipe may be halved or doubled.