In a culinary age when terms such as fried or stuffed can be considered taboo, Trisha Yearwood is giving Americans a throwback to good old-fashioned Southern cooking.

And she’s doing so without apologies.

The Grammy-winner knows she could have adapted her book, “Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen,” to make the dishes lighter – but then it wouldn’t be the kind of food she remembers from her childhood in Monticello, Ga.

“We made a conscious decision when we decided to do this book that this cookbook was about the things that we grew up on,” she says. “This is a Southern cookbook and the things that we grew up on and our family traditions.”

Which is why Yearwood offers recipes for fried chicken (soaked in saltwater overnight for added flavor), stuffed pork chops, mashed potatoes and a devilish chocolate cake.

Here are some of her recipes:

Chicken Salad with Fruit

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 teaspoon salt

5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cooled

3 cups cooked rice, cooled

1 1/2 cups green grapes, halved

13-ounce can pineapple bits in juice, drained

15-ounce can mandarin orange sections, drained

1 cup slivered almonds

Ground black pepper

In a large bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, oil, orange juice and salt. Set aside.

Dice the chicken breasts, then add to the mayonnaise mixture. Add the rice, grapes, pineapple, orange sections and almonds. Gently mix until all ingredients are coated with the dressing. Season with pepper. Cover and refrigerate until chilled (overnight is best). Serves 12.

Sausage Hors D’oeuvres

1 pound spicy pork sausage meat

10 ounces cheddar cheese, grated

3 cups baking mix, such as Bisquick

Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sausage, cheese and baking mix. Beat at low speed until blended. Season with salt and pepper.

Shape the mixture into 1-inch balls and arrange them 1 inch apart on a dry baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, or until browned. Drain on paper towels, then serve hot or at room temperature. Makes 50 hors d’oeuvres.

Pineapple Upside-down Cake

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup light brown sugar

9 slices canned pineapple in juice, drained

5 maraschino cherries

1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup vegetable shortening

2/3 cup sugar

1 large egg

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the butter in an 8-by-8-inch pan and place in the oven to melt. When the butter has melted, remove the pan from the oven. Tip the pan to spread the butter evenly over the bottom of the pan.

Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the butter. Arrange the pineapple rings over the butter, making three rows. Cut each cherry in half and place one half at the center of each pineapple ring, cut side up. Set aside.

Over a sheet of parchment paper, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Sift again. Set aside.

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until fully combined. Mix in the vanilla.

Starting and ending with the flour mixture, blend in the dry ingredient and milk, alternating between the two. After each addition, stir only enough to combine.

Carefully pour the batter into the pineapple-lined pan. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted at the center of the cake comes out clean.

Run a knife around the edges of the pan, then place a serving plate upside down on top of the pan. Invert the cake onto the serving plate. Wait several minutes before removing the pan to allow the syrup to soak into the cake. Serves 4.