COOKING WITH COUNTRY

Another installment of How the Famous Live. In this case, it's what 30+ country-and-western stars like to eat, besides humble pie. As expected, there's a strong preference for traditional Southern fare--black-eyed peas, grits, corn bread. Also, one notably self-serving entry (Jimmy Dean's Sausage Hors d'Oeuvres call for Jimmy Dean Sausage) and a large number of the kinds of ingredients which nutritionists keep rejecting: chicken coated with crushed potato chips, packaged gravy, instant rice, canned soups, saltines, and sweetenings (Merle Haggard's catfish is fried with honey and corn syrup to disguise the fishy taste). The biographies which accompany each recipe contain vital statistics, incidentals (the Statler Brothers are neither Starlets nor brothers), and yearbook pleasantries: ""Donna's talents are bound to sustain her for a long time to come."" Which is more than we can say for this.