The Grammys are music’s big night to shine. But Grammy has been known to dress a little funkier than its uptown cousin, Oscar. Artists often take a few more fashion risks and show a bit more skin — remember Jennifer Lopez’s famous plunging green gown a few years back? But in 2008, the Grammys went grown-up in a big way. The out-there outfits were few, replaced with a red carpet full of full-on glamorous gowns.

Carrie Underwood arrived on the red carpet in a fresh-from-the-runway flowing floral gown by Zuhair Murad, seen just days earlier during Fashion Week in New York. Underwood wore the dress when she picked up a Grammy for Female Country Vocal Performance for “Before He Cheats” during the pre-telecast portion of the awards. Artists don’t typically show up for the pre-telecast, but Underwood told the audience, “You couldn’t keep me from getting this actually myself.”

For her performance, Underwood shed the filmy gown for sexy short shorts and sparkly boots. In fact, sparkly could have been the theme for the evening, with sequins, beads and shiny fabrics as far as the eye could see. Disney Channel superstar Miley Cyrus (aka “Hannah Montana” — or Billy Ray Cyrus’ daughter, for those too old to have a tween in the house) sported a short silver dress by Celine, and Beyonce dazzled in a strapless silver Cinderella gown. Even Brad Paisley’s black western shirt subtly twinkled in the spotlight, and Vince Gill was suited up with shine as he accepted his award for country album.

Both Taylor Swift and Natasha Bedingfield picked purple (and strapless) — Swift in a light shade with beaded accents by Nashville designer Sandy Spika, and Bedingfield in a bold royal belted gown. “Brilliant jewel tones really worked well this year,” notes Libby Callaway, fashion columnist for the Nashville City Paper. “Natasha Bedingfield’s purple gown, though a bit too formal for the event in my opinion, was a really gorgeous color of purple. The looks I liked best were the short, pretty cocktail-style dresses like the electric blue Zac Posen number that Rhianna wore, which had a full skirt and feather underlay.”

Some artists bucked the trend toward bright colors and sparkly fabrics. Faith Hill chose a classic black close-fitting gown with a simple bow on one shoulder, and still managed to stand out from the crowd. Of course, that probably has less to do with the dress than with the fact that she’s Faith Hill.
 

Well-known Nashville restaurant critic and music writer Kay West has been mixing country music and country cooking for years. With her new cookbook, Around the Opry Table: A Feast of Recipes and Stories from the Grand Ole Opry (Center Street, $24.99), she’s combined food, music and Grand Ole Opry history in one package.

Around the Opry Table includes recipes from country superstars and legends, including Martina McBride’s White Chili, Brad Paisley’s Fishin’ Supper, Alan Jackson’s Pimento Cheese Salad and Minnie Pearl’s Chess Pie. But unlike a conventional cookbook, it also includes stories and photos from Opry members, such as how McBride began making her chili for her crew when they grew tired of catering on the road. “There’s not a single picture of food in the book,” says West. “All the photos are of artists, along with vintage photos from the Opry.”

West searched the Opry archives for photos and recipes in an effort to create more than just your average country cookbook. As publicist for George Strait for many years, West says, “I was always getting asked for a recipe from George for various cookbooks, and I’d always give them George’s King Ranch Chicken recipe,” says West. “I’ve seen that recipe everywhere. So when I started this book I wanted to get recipes that hadn’t been used everywhere else.”

Being a thorough researcher, West naturally had to sample the concoctions. “I tried almost all of them,” she says. “You have check them out, especially because on some of the older ones you have to adapt the measurements. For example, Texas Ruby’s recipe called for a box of marshmallows. And a couple just said a can of this or that, and I really needed them to be a little more specific.”

Her favorites? “I think Martina’s chili is really good, and Marty Stuart’s mother’s applesauce cake is really good. And Alison Krauss’ Pretty Good for a Yankee Chicken Pot Pie really is pretty good for a Yankee!”