Peggy Wolff has written on food and food culture for publications including the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, and Orlando Sentinel. She is the food editor for REALIZE Magazine.

• ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroductionMidwestern Staples[1] In the Midwest, It’s MeatloafElizabeth Berg[2] Field TripsStuart Dybek[3] Easter Island AlmondineThom Jones[4] The Sandwich That Is ChicagoMichael Stern[5] Cincinnati Five-Way Chili: Still LegalRobert Olmstead[6] Corn in HeavenJacquelyn Mitchard[7] Let Them Eat PÂtÉPeter Sagal[8] High on the HogJon Yates[9] The Chef and the FarmerGale GandRecipe: Goat Cheese Panna Cotta with Caramelized FigsDistant Cultures[10] Art’s LunchHarry Mark Petrakis[11] A Tale of Two TamalesCarol Mighton HaddixRecipe: Beef Brisket, Savory Cherry Compote, and JalapeÑo Cheese Tamale[12] Le Dog, Ann Arbor, MichiganJules Van Dyck-Dobos[13] The Night of the Rhubarb KuchenAnne DimockRecipes: Rhubarb Kram ; Rhubarb Kuchen with Almond Meringue[14] The Black MigrationDonna Pierce[15] Eat NowPhyllis Florin[16] The Door County Fish BoilPeggy WolffRecipes: White Gull Inn Door County Cherry Pie ; White Gull Inn Fish Boil Recipe for Home CooksHolidays, Fairs, and Events[17] Thrill FoodJohn Markus[18] Under the Checkered FlagMelanie Benjamin[19] Bicentennial PieTimothy Bascom[20] So You’ll Diet TomorrowLorna Landvik[21] Thanksgiving DinnerMary Kay ShanleyRecipe: Thanksgiving Stuffing with Cast-Iron Skillet Corn BreadA Full Belly[22] The Tam-O-Shanter, Lincoln, NebraskaSherrie Flick[23] What Was ServedDouglas Bauer[24] TomorrowlandPeter Meehan[25] I’ll Eat ColumbusMolly O’Neill[26] On Cider, Cornmeal, and ComfortRobin MatherRecipe: Buttermilk Doughnuts with Cider GlazeThe Midwestern Sweet Tooth[27] The Great American Pie ExpeditionSue Hubbell[28] The Old SweetnessBonnie Jo CampbellRecipe: Fudge[29] The Little Cake Pan That CouldBonny WolfRecipes: Chocolate Pistachio Cake ; Ella Helfrich’s Tunnel of Fudge Cake[30] When a Pie Is More Than a PieJeremy JacksonRecipe: Mildred Jackson’s Lemon-y Cream PieSource Acknowledgments

"A brilliant collection of Heartland food stories."—Publishers Weekly "This anthology of essays on the Midwest's best and most unpretentious foods should go a long way toward regaining the respect the heartland's cuisine ought to enjoy."—Mark Knoblauch, Booklist "A delectable read, sprinkled with recipes and generous helpings of fun and plenty of food for thought."-Graciela Monday, Library Journal "Thoughtful, addicting."—Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune "Heartland natives will embrace the recipes, if not the remembrances of State Fair corn dogs and Lake Michigan fish boils, German kuchen and tamales eaten on Chicago’s Maxwell Street, a.k.a. "the Ellis Island of the Midwest.""-Jenny Rosenstrach, New York Times "Fried Walleye and Cherry Pie reads like a feast and roundtrip combined taking in Iowa . . . and skirting the "tan landscape" of the "Corn Belt". The books ends in a selection of desserts, allowing Peggy Woolf to reminisce about pie, stuffed with fruits of Wisconsin . . . plucked from the tops of sunbathed trees."-Times Literary Supplement