Dolly Partons favorite comfort foods reflected Southern traditions she cherished all her life

As the world mourns country music icon Dolly Parton following her death at age 80, her favorite Southern dishes offer a taste of the traditions she cherished throughout her life.“We were born cooking, as they say,” Parton told Food Network of growing up as one of 12 children in Tennessee.“All of my life, I remember being in the kitchen with somebody because life just centered around the kitchen.”Parton said she learned to cook from “all those wonderful relatives” she watched in the kitchen.“If I were giving you tips, I’d probably get a notice from the health department because I like to use a lot of butter,” she told Food Network.

“You’ve got to use a little bit of the things that really make things taste good if you’re going after that soul food, so to speak.You’ve gotta use some grease — bacon grease, mainly.”The signature dishes Parton said she often prepared and liked to eat showcased her Southern roots. She published two cookbooks: “Dolly’s Dixie Fixin’s” in 2006 and, with her sister Rachel Parton George, “Good Lookin’ Cookin'” in 2024.Parton also endorsed several food and cooking products, including cake mixes and frozen meals, throughout her career.“I’m a really, really good cook,” Parton told Wired in 2020.

“I’m not a gourmet cook.My food is not pretty, but it’s good.”Below are some of the Queen of Country Music’s favorite foods.A recipe for the Southern classic appeared in “Dollywood Presents: Tennessee Mountain Home Cooking,” published in 1989.

Decades later, Parton said in an interview with Country Living, “When I think about my mama, I think about some chicken and dumplings.”“I like a good meatloaf.It’s easy to make,” she told the publication.

“But I also love to make chicken and dumplings.I get a couple of chickens, and I get enough for everyone because everyone loves my chicken and dumplings!”The 1989 recipe associated with Parton begins by simmering a whole chi...