The title makes you wonder: "America's Best Lost Recipes: 121 Kitchen-Tested Heirloom Recipes Too Good to Forget," from the editors of Cook's Country Magazine (America's Test Kitchen, $29.95 spiral bound). If the recipes are in the book, are they really "lost"?

The magazine received almost 3,000 recipes from readers in its hunt for the best that met a certain criteria: tasty, unusual, and with a history attached. The recipes for the book were tested and retested and, in some cases, updated or "tweaked."

"Just because something is old doesn't mean it's any darn good," says editor Christopher Kimball. "A dish that is a family favorite ... doesn't mean it is worthy of being considered a classic, a recipe that tells the story of a place, a generation, a style of cooking, or even a family."

Some titles may be recognizable to you, such as Celery Seed Dressing, Monkey Bread and Blackberry Cobbler. A Southern cake laced with bourbon certainly has a familiar ring, as do pinwheel cookies. Not so familiar would be the likes of Chocolate Marlow (a frozen chocolate and marshmallow mousse), Fluffies (light, silver-dollar pancakes), Blueberry Boy Bait (a coffee cake) and Naked Ladies With Their Legs Crossed (a spiced cruller), contributed by a woman in Mishawaka, Ind. It won the editors' prize for the most creative title.

For those who long for the good old ways in the kitchen -- pre-processor, microwave, etc. -- "America's Best Lost Recipes" will have considerable appeal, even those recipes that have been updated. The same might not be said by those watching their weight. More than 70 percent of the recipes are in the "sweets" category: buns, sweet rolls, cakes, pies, doughnuts, breads and biscuits. This imbalance, if you will, is rather disconcerting, given the number of family favorites that must be still kicking around. Perhaps the reason is home bakers are more in tune to contests of this ilk.

Speaking of lack of balance, it seems that Eastern European recipes far outweigh any other region. Asian favorites, for instance, appear to be absent entirely. They are truly "lost."

Each one of the recipes is accompanied by notes on what the editors found in testing, and in some cases, step-by-step photographs are included to aid in preparation. The book has pages on which to make notes and a small pocket in the back in which to stuff your own recipes.

If you would like a more extensive compilation of "lost" or forgotten recipes, look for a copy of "The American Century Cookbook" (Clarkson Potter, 1997). Written by Jean Anderson, it is packed with history and more than 500 recipes from the 20th century.

PECAN CRUNCH PIE

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs, 11 to 14 whole graham crackers

1 1/4 cups pecans, toasted and chopped

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch pie plate.

With an electric mixer at high speed, beat the eggs, sugar, baking powder and vanilla until thickened and tripled in volume, about 5 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the graham cracker crumbs and pecans. Spoon the filling into the prepared pie plate and bake until well-browned on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few sticky crumbs attached, about 30 minutes. Transfer the pie to a wire rack and cool completely, about 1 hour. Serve. (The pie can be refrigerated for up to three days. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

GEDEMPTE STUFFED CABBAGE

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, chopped fine

1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 1/2 pounds 85 percent lean ground beef

1/3 cup dried bread crumbs

1/4 cup long-grain rice, boiled until just tender and drained

1 large egg

Salt and pepper

1 (16-ounce) can whole berry cranberry sauce

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1/4 cup golden raisins

Freeze the cabbage until very firm, at least 24 hours or up to 2 days.

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Cook the onion until golden, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce and simmer until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and let cool completely, about 20 minutes. Mix in the beef, bread crumbs, rice, egg, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Place the frozen cabbage under warm running water and gently pull off 12 of the large, outermost leaves. Pull off six more leaves and set aside. Divide the filling evenly among the 12 outer leaves. Roll the leaves around the filling and tuck in the ends to create a neat envelope. Set aside.

Combine the cranberry sauce, remaining tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, raisins and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Reserve 1/2 cup. Pour the remaining sauce on the bottom of a 13-by-9-inch baking pan. Arrange the stuffed cabbage in a single layer on top of the sauce and spoon the reserved sauce over the top. Cover the cabbage rolls with the reserved cabbage leaves and wrap the pan tightly with aluminum foil.

Bake until the cabbage is completely tender and the filling is cooked through, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the sauce reduces slightly, about 15 minutes. Remove and discard the cabbage leaves on top and serve.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

COPYRIGHT 2008 PETER D. FRANKLIN