Long story short, this is great book, Dolly fan or not. If you love delicious food and sharing it with loved ones, this book will inspire you to invite them over.It's full of southern cooking. That means butter, bacon, sugar and a cast iron skillet. The recipes read like your aunt let you in on the family secret recipe. The recipes do not reinvent the wheel. They are straight forward, easy to follow and you can tell by the ingredient list, delicious.If you are a home cook with an affinity for butter and shortening you probably already have your own version of many of the recipes. These include busicits, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, meat loaf, black eyed peas, banana pudding and coleslaw.Where this book shines is in the way it highlights that the occasion isn't special so much as the people you share it with make it so. The food brings the people together. The book gives you the menu for the event from start to finish all preplanned for you.The ingredients primarily are items you already have and kitchen staples. Some recipes have special cuts of meat but none of the ingredients are things you've never heard of. Many of the ingredients are repeated through the recipes so you'll never end up with some weird random ingredient you'll only use once.You'll probably want a cast iron skillet but for the most part the rest of the specialty items are optional or can be substituted for things you already have. You don't need an electric/stand mixer but it sure does make it easier. Same with a food processor. You probably already a 9×13 baking dish, a 9×9 baking dish, a Roasting pan, a bundt pan, and a Dutch oven.This book utilizes other equipment like a deep fryer, grill, electric skillet, Mellon baller, jello mold of a brain, muffin pan, spring mold pan, kitchen twine and mentions the use of a slow cooker.I think most items have more than once use in the book so if you were to pick up say a bundt pan you'd have more than one recipe that uses it.This book was very thoughtfully put together and makes me want to make my own to share with my own family. Some recipes have fully made from scratch recipes and some have a few store bought short cuts, just like we all do in our regular cooking.This really is a book for people who love food and love cooking. I really like it. Read it from cover to cover. The simple ingredients and instructions let me know exactly what they will taste like and the pictures don't show anything that wasn't mentioned in the recipes. Very much what you see it what you get.The book is organized by month and in the back it is broken down by category. It can easily be reference through the index.This may not be for you if already make southern basics and have for years like Dolly and her sister. You probably won't find anything new or innovative. It's real food for real people and if you already make that, this may seem like a waste.So far I've made a salad and an appetizer with things I already had in my house. Both were very good.Edit: I have sense made, busicits, chicken and dumplings, and the strawberry short cake. All big hits with my family and friends. The real stand out has been the "Sloppy Dogs." Dolly and Rachel certainly are not the first people to put sloppy joe meat on hot dogs but it never crossed my mind. I have made it 3 times since getting the book and I suspect I will be making it many more times.I also made the pumpkin pie last night and despite my best efforts pie is not something I have ever made well. This is my first successful pie. I used the pie crust recipe in the book as well and it is honestly really, really good. I suspect in the course of a year or so I will have made the majority of the recipes or variations my family will enjoy.