'Blue Ribbon Kitchen': Recipes for one Appalachian grandmother's award-winning dishes (2024)

Hear this interview on our podcast, Here & Now Anytime.

Who is Linda Skeens? That became last year's question of the summer as word spread that someone at the Virginia-Kentucky District Fair had won 25 blue ribbons: Best Cake, Best Pie, Best Brownies, Best Jelly, Best Jam, Best Applesauce, Best Apple Butter, Best Pumpkin Butter, Best Sauerkraut, Best Spaghetti Sauce.

Her strawberry fudge won Best Overall Baked Good. And even more unbelievable? Her entries won first, second, and third in the cookies, cakes and brownies categories. She went viral on the internet, though she didn't know because she had no social media.

A local reporter finally tracked her down and found a warm, down-to-earth, 74-year-old Appalachian grandmother. The daughter and wife of coal miners was tickled to get so much attention. Now, Skeens has released her "Blue Ribbon Kitchen" cookbook, filled with recipes, tips and descriptions of her life in Appalachia.

Before flying to New York and California for interviews, Skeens had never been on a plane before. Recognition like Taste of the South magazine featuring her recipes means a lot to her as someone who didn’t always know how to cook, she says.

“I got married when I was 16, and my mom was a great cook and my mother-in-law, too. I just never was interested in it,” she says. “But I was determined I was going to be a good cook someday.”

Skeens’ father, brothers and husband all worked in coal mines for mere dollars a day. Her brother Andrew was killed in the mines at age 21, a hard loss for the family.

Skeens’ son Frank Jr. was killed in a work accident driving a tanker truck.

“I miss him terrible every day. He would be real proud of me right now because he was the one got me started entering the fair and he loved my cooking,” she says. “If he was here, he would be proud of me.”

Skeens knows the importance of comfort food in hard times.

“I put love in it,” she says. “I really do. I love doing it.”

By Linda Skeens

FOR MOST OF THE INTERNET, my story begins on June 13, 2022, when the Virginia-Kentucky District Fair posted the winners for their Home Economic Exhibits. I won dozens of ribbons, including seven Best Overall for my baked goods, canning, and crafts. I’m not on social media, so I didn’t see that post. I found out when I went to collect my goods at the end of the fair. I hoped to pick up a few ribbons, but I walked away with a lot more. I learned I had gone “viral.”

Soon, my name was everywhere I turned. They were talkingabout me on the news, and my kids and grandkids kept sharingposts and videos of people talking about me. Still, I didn’t reachout to anyone. I thought it would blow over. After all, this is whatI do every year. I enter the fairs. I win a few ribbons, and thenI go home to start prepping for next year’s fairs.Except, that didn’t go exactly as I imagined. The news stations struggled to find me,but one radio DJ in Dallas, Texas, did. MasonMoussette (Mason on the Mic) called me oneafternoon on my home phone, and I did my firstinterview that day.

I thought that would be the endof it, but people became even more interested afterthat call. I visited tv shows and did radio interviews,even one based out of Europe!I thought flying on my first airplane and goingon theToday Show would be the biggest highlightfrom last year; then one afternoon in August, I gota call from Hoffman Media in Birmingham, Alabama.Not only did they want to put me in a magazine(Taste of the South), but also, they wanted to publish my cookbook.I spent some time talking on the phone with Anna in their bookdivision, 83 Press, and I knew I wanted them to help me tell mystory and share my recipes. I invited her to come visit, and the nextweek, Anna was knocking on my door with two executives from thecompany, Brian and Greg. As I sat around my table, laughing withthe team from 83 Press, I signed my first cookbook contract. In a fewshort months, I went from my regular, annual county fair entry to acookbook author. Some days, I still can’t believe the gift this journeyhas been.

I have been incredibly blessed with a good life. I was born inDante, a coal mining town in Virginia. At its peak in the 1930s, it wasa bustling town of over 4,000 people. When I was growing up, themines were the central focus of our town. Everyone had family whoworked in or for the mines. It was just part of how life was back then.My daddy was a coal miner, and my mommy took care of us kids.I still remember how we didn’t always have running water in thehouse back then, so Mommy would have to get pots of it to warmup on the stove for everyone to wash with. Even though we didn’thave a lot, she always made sure we were cared for.

Mommy was a good cook. People would pay her to makefudge every year, but I was not a natural like her. When Frankand I got married, I was terrible at cooking, but I learnedalong the way. Mommy and Celia, Frank’s mom, taught me alot, and I got better.I stayed home and raised our three children, Frank Jr.,Cathy, and Elizabeth. They were my joy. Eventually, theygrew up, and I needed something to fillmy time. With my love of cooking, it wasonly natural I got a job up the road atthe school cooking for the kids there.I loved working with those ladies andcooking for those kids.

Now, I’m retired, and it’s just Frankand me at home, but I can’t seemto stop cooking. I love making foodfor church or for family gatherings,but I really love entering fairs. It’sbeen forty years since I entered myfirst fair. I got a blue ribbon for mypillowcases back in 1983, andI was hooked. I’ve entered every year since. Now, I enter dozens ofcategories and spend the whole year prepping for the next year.Entering fairs is one of my favorite things, and I hope to keep doingit for many more years.Fairs have been a lifeline through a few hard years. We lost ourson, Frank Jr., nine years ago, which devastated our family. Justas we began to heal, COVID-19 hit and my daughter Cathy lost herhusband, and we lost my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew. Being creative and cookinghas allowed me an outlet during our grieving. Crafts and cooking helped me to bring joyto those I love, which has been a huge blessing.When I was diagnosed with Leukemia in 2021,I turned to my crafts and cooking yet again. It’s beena hard journey, but the doctors say I’m doing great.There’s no cure, but they’ve said with treatment,I could live another 10 to 20 years. I’m 74 now, andI’ve had a good, long life. Over the last few years,I have learned to take every day as a gift that wasn’tpromised, and I try to celebrate every happinessthat has been sent my way.

To my new friends and supporters: Thank you forgiving me even more moments to celebrate this year.It feels real good knowing people appreciate something you love doing. This book isfilled with recipes I’ve gathered over my lifetime that have brought me joy (and someblue ribbons). Some are family staples, and others have been passed down from friendsand loved ones over the years. Cooking has always been a way for me to show love tomy family and community. My food isn’t fancy, but it fed my children and helped themgrow into loving adults. I hope you enjoy these recipes and use them to continue feedingyour families for years to come. Maybe you’ll even be inspired to enter a few fairs alongthe way—I hope to see you there.

Makes 1 (9-inch) loaf

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Instructions

I have been making these ever since I got married at age 16. I wasn’t a very good cook at first, but as they say, practice makes perfect. I used to fry tenderloin or sausage to put on a biscuit for Frank to take to lunch when he worked in the coal mines. Makes about 14.

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Instructions

This cake is good enough on its own — no icing needed. It was my son-in-law’s favorite. We miss him a lot and wish he was still here with us. Makes 1 (13x9-inch) cake.

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*I use Betty Crocker Super Moist Butter Yellow Cake Mix.

Instructions

Recipe reprinted with permission from "Blue Ribbon Kitchen" By Linda Skeens (‎83 Press, 2023). Photography credit 83 Press.

This segment aired on May 31, 2023.