COUNTRY HITS like "She's in Love With the Boy" and "Georgia Rain" have made Trisha Yearwood famous. But the songbird likes working in the kitchen almost as much as working it onstage. Her book "Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen" ($20, Clarkson Potter) reveals family recipes and tidbits about ranch life with hubby Garth Brooks.

» EXPRESS: How is the cuisine different in Oklahoma, where you live, and Georgia, where you grew up?
» YEARWOOD: There are things that are very, very Southern, very Georgian, that you don't see out here. Like, nobody really eats grits out here. Nobody really eats boiled peanuts, which are in the cookbook. In the South, people either love them or hate them.

» EXPRESS: What about the barbecue there?
» YEARWOOD: In Georgia, where I'm from — or at least the way I was raised — there was a lot more pork barbecue. Out here, I see a lot more beef barbecue.

» EXPRESS: What is Garth's favorite recipe?
» YEARWOOD: German Chocolate Cake. I mean, he's got other favorites. He likes the good basic stuff — meatloaf, mashed potatoes. But I make the cake every year for his birthday.

» EXPRESS: What are your parties like?
» YEARWOOD: Very casual. I've never had a dinner party — ever. It's always been friends and family. Everybody brings something. Even if they say "What can I bring?" and you say "Nothing," you know they're going to bring something. That's the way I grew up. We never had parties. We just had "Hey, we're going to cook a bunch of steaks tonight — want to come over?"

» EXPRESS: What would you bring to a potluck?
» YEARWOOD: I always figure somebody else is probably gonna do the baked beans, somebody's gonna do coleslaw, so I'd probably bring deviled eggs.

» EXPRESS: Do you play your own music at your parties?
» YEARWOOD: Um, no. That would be a little embarrassing.

» EXPRESS: What do you like to eat when you're on tour?
» YEARWOOD: Well, I love food, so I have to be really careful. I try really hard to ask the band, "Go ahead and have your potato chips before I get on the bus," because they're a weakness of mine.

» EXPRESS: You built a home in Oklahoma. What's the decor like?
» YEARWOOD: Mediterranean is the best way to describe it. I'm not one of those people that picks a style and everything has to be that style. I have eclectic taste. I don't think everything has to match.

» EXPRESS: Do you have a garden at the ranch?
» YEARWOOD: Touring makes it impossible to tend a garden, but I would like to. We have so many deer and rabbits and squirrels, it would probably have to be a greenhouse or something completely enclosed. There's no way we could have one out here without sharing it with all the animals.

» EXPRESS: How do you dress when you aren't onstage?
» YEARWOOD: It's fun to dress up for events where you get hair, makeup and some beautiful dress. But my favorite part is when I get to put sweats on when it's all over.

Written by Express contributor Julia Beizer
Photo by Getty Images

Posted by Express at 12:11 AM on May 2, 2008
Tagged in Lifestyles , People , Top Stories