1. Cherries Jubilee and Other Dangerous Dishes 1
2. Ezra Pound Cake 21
3. The Grapefruit Diet for Non-dieters 33
4. Finding the Comfort in Comfort Food 47
5. The Peanut, Pickle, Country Ham Cure 61
6. Great-grandmother's Mean Lemon Cake 87
7. The Idea of a Family 117
8. Belly of the Beast 134
9. Deliverance 145
10. Ringing Belles 162
11. Wyler 185
12. Dot 197
13. The Stuffed Pantry 210
14. If Once You Have Slept on an Island 217
15. Brine Out Your Dead 229
16. City of Mixed Emotions 247
17. Hot Wheels and Pinto Beans 254
18. In Search of New Recipes 282
Acknowledgments 307
Recipes 309