This isn't exactly trailer-park cooking (not that there's anything necessarily wrong with that), but it's closer than you're going to come with books like the Chez Panisse Café or The Pleasures of Slow Food. White Trash Gatherings: From-scratch Cooking for Down-home Entertaining is about cooking with family and putting family first, although the book will help you put some good eats on the table while you're doing that. It is the very definition of unfussy, although it does include some craft-y ideas for napkin rings, tablesettings and such, like "Obscenely Large Fake Ice Cream Centerpieces". The recipes are homey and perfect for "potlucking" or just having fun, regardless of the fact that they are unlikely to show up on the menu at a four-star restaurant. Be sure to try Maw Maw's West Virginia Funeral Cake, Tater Tot Casserole and Porcupine Balls. There are full-color photos to liven up the book, as well.
Even if you don't end up cooking anything from White Trash Gatherings, it would make a funny gift for a gourmet friend that is hard to buy for because they already have all the "high class" cookbooks they could want.












