Reader’s Digest Taste of Home: Best Loved Recipes

Are you ever surprised at the opportunities that pop up in your life? Let me tell you, BlogHer presented me with some of the most amazing chances to meet people I would’ve never met in day to day life.

Reader’s Digest offered me the privilege of interviewing the Food Editor from Taste of Home, Karen Berner. For me, this was an opportunity not to be missed! Unfortunately, the day of my interview, I left my messenger bag in our car. I had none of my notes or my business cards…nada. Not a very positive way to start my interview.

This was my first opportunity to see the Taste of Home Best Loved Recipes Cookbook and it was massive! I couldn’t believe how many recipes and photos must’ve been chosen to make the book so large!

When I entered the suite, they had cupcakes that were made from the cookbook for everyone to sample. How can you pass these gorgeous treats up? I certainly didn’t.

So, I sat down with Karen and began talking about the soon to release (Sept 13, 2012) Taste of Home Best Loved Recipes.

This new cookbook features 20 years worth of recipes and personal stories. As you look through the cookbook you’ll see what year the recipe is from and a quote. You’ll also find quotes in the side bars from those who have tried the recipe!

When asked what her favorite recipe in this 928 page tome was, Karen replied with, "The Cream Orange Coconut Cake.” That had me eyeing the cookbook! lol I know that a food editor can’t actually have one favorite, but that one stuck out to her.

I wasn’t sure how long the process was for choosing the recipes and creating such a comprehensive cookbook Karen said they started about a year ago. The process includes creating each meal and taking photos of it. The pictures will have you salivating!

If you’re interested in submitting a recipe, they’re always taking them. Can you imagine what it’s like to work in their kitchens, trying all the recipes that they choose? I would have to utilize The Digest Diet in conjunction with my job if I worked there!

As I perused the cookbook, I was overwhelmed with all the recipes I wanted to try. Narrowing down the first one was NOT an easy task! I’ll get to that in a bit!

I like that there are nice tips throughout the book. Not sure when to flip a pancake? There’s one appropriately placed with one of the breakfast pancake recipes! I also found the breakdown of categories interesting as well. So many “chapters” I thought were perfect for a cookbook: Celebrations & Holidays, Grand Prize Winners, and Mom Made It Best, as some examples. And under each of those headers are even more specific categories!! Under the Moms Made It Best you can find categories for recipes from Armenia, India and Germany!! I know, you love it, right?

So, I thought it would be apropos for me to try one of the recipes in the book. I can honestly tell you it took me THREE days to finally narrow it down. It wasn’t an easy choice with all the options. I mean, there are 1,485 recipes to choose from!

I went with the Bacon-Cheese Topped Chicken. The only thing I can say about this recipe, is that it’s the most tasty chicken I have ever made in my life. It was also juicy unlike the dry chicken we have been used to. I wasn’t actually sure I was going to like the taste because it calls for Dijon mustard and I’m NOT a fan of mustard. Surprisingly, it didn’t taste like mustard at all. It became tangy. And to top it all off, my picky eater, Doodle, at his and said he’d eat it again!

Not only has he enjoyed a meal from this cookbook, he’s spent a LOT of time pouring over the recipes! He has made a list of recipes he wants me to make. In fact, he has asked me on a daily basis since last week if I would make Cherry Cheese Blintzes. I haven’t had the ingredients, but I’m going to pick up what I need tomorrow and surprise him by having him help me make them this weekend!

One of the purposes of the Taste of Home Best Loved Recipes is to instill traditions with families and to create new ones. Do you have any recipes that have been handed down through the generations? Are you trying to create new ones with your family?

If you’d like to purchase the Taste of Home Best Loved Recipes online, you can visit TasteofHome.com/blr and follow Taste of Home on Facebook and Twitter.

Karen Berner (@FoodEditor) is the Food Editor at Taste of Home.  Karen has an extensive background in food and wine publishing for both print and digital media, but she actually got her start in the food world first as a Private Chef and then as a Sous Chef for a fine dining restaurant in New England.  Karen holds a degree from The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. Karen was the Executive Editor for Art Culinaire Magazine and Senior Online Food Editor at Hearst Corporation’s Delish.com and TheDailyGreen.com.   Before joining Taste of Home as Food Editor, Karen was the Food Editor for America’s Test Kitchen’s Cook’s Country magazine. Her great mix of food, editorial and digital experience lends itself well to working with the engaged readers of Taste of Home.

*I have not received any compensation for this post. I received a cookbook at BlogHer for visiting the suite. All opinions expressed are mine and never influenced by the company.