Dolly Parton and her sister Rachel just released their new cookbook, Good Lookin' Cookin.' It's partly a culinary treat featuring more than 80 recipes. It's also a reminiscence of growing up in a big family in Tennessee with three pivotal values that guided their lives - God, food, and music.
Want more from us?
Get handpicked stories in your inbox. Join free.
Videos by Wide Open Country
While the recipes in the book are pretty traditional, Dolly, says now that there are a few things she ate as a kid that are a little eyebrow-raising today. Like groundhogs, for example!
Dolly's early life shaped the person she is now. Let's take a closer look at this remarkable woman's formative years with her folks and 11 siblings.
Want more from us?
Get handpicked stories in your inbox. Join free.
The Partons' Dinner Table Was Their Family's Hub
It Was Their Treasured Gathering Place
These days, with kids' and parents' hectic schedules, families don't always get a chance to dine together. Dolly Parton, 78, recalls that years ago, their family's dinner table time was always special. As she wrote in the book via classiccountrymusic.com, "When we were growing up, it was a must that we all kind of be around the table after Daddy got home from work. It was just a thing that we had in our house to sit around the table and talk and eat with a mouthful."
Dolly Learned How To Cook Out Of Necessity
If Their Mom Was Busy Or Unwell, The Older Parton Girls Helped In The Kitchen
Dolly learned culinary skills as a girl helping in the kitchen peeling vegetables and doing whatever was needed to prepare a big batch of food for so many people in the family. She probably never imagined that she would be a superstar someday, putting beloved family recipes in a book with her sister!
Dolly Parton And Her Family Ate Groundhogs
There was one dish that they ate that's rather unique - groundhogs, also called "whistle pigs." Dolly reportedly told People that "Mama used to make groundhog. That was Daddy's favorite thing. A groundhog is just like a big fat hog that runs around in the woods. But mama used to call them whistle pigs because they were that much like a pig. It tastes very much like a pig, but I wouldn't want to eat one now."
