Before Cortney LaCorte became known as “the Cheese Gal” on the internet—before she mastered the art of building a cheese board at the age of fifteen—the Nashville content creator was filming her own cooking shows on the family camcorder and taking mental notes at her mother’s dinner parties. Now, LaCorte has turned her love of entertaining into a new cookbook, Oversharing, a collection of more than one hundred recipes made for feeding a house full of friends and family or just solo movie nights on the couch.
LaCorte chatted with G&G about what she hopes readers take from the book: “I hope they feel empowered in the kitchen and that they made something delicious and fabulous and realize it didn’t have to be fussy or difficult. I hope their faces hurt from laughing, everyone stays way too late, and the next morning there’s a counter full of dirty glasses that tells the story of a really great night. To me—that’s the good stuff.” Read the Q&A below, and get two recipes from the book, pimento cheese jalapeño poppers and a bourbon cider-tini.
Why did you name the book Oversharing?
Oversharing really sums up my philosophy around food and entertaining and, honestly, my personality too. I’ve always been a “more is more” person: more food on the table, more stories, more laughs, more time lingering after dinner. The book shares my recipes but also the people, places, and memories behind them. I wanted it to feel like you’re in my kitchen with me, likely with a dirty martini in hand, and I’m telling you way more than you asked to know.
It’s clear that bringing people together is just as important to you as the food itself.
I grew up watching my mom throw the most epic dinner parties, and more than what she served, I remember how they felt—how happy and full of joy everyone was. As I got older, I realized so many of my favorite memories happened around a table. The food brings everyone there, but it’s everything that happens around it that I love most.
In the book, you talk about the first dinner party you ever hosted. What did that teach you?
I was twenty-two, living in my little “single girl” apartment, and didn’t even have a dining room table. I watched several episodes of Barefoot Contessa to mentally prepare, went to Whole Foods, bought bright orange tulips, made flatbread pizzas on French loaves, cheese boards, popped Prosecco—I mean I went all in. Then my dog ate the flatbreads, LOL. I ordered pizza, rolled with it, and to this day it’s one of the most fun nights I can remember. I think that night really shaped me into the very imperfect, chill host I am today. Things will go wrong, something might burn (or get eaten by your dog), and no one cares. The best nights are usually the ones where you loosen your grip on the plan and just enjoy the people around you.
How did you decide which recipes deserved a place in Oversharing?
I’m proudly a home cook, not a trained chef, and I really wanted the recipes to reflect that. Every recipe had to check a few boxes: unfussy, super delicious, worth the effort, and something you’ll actually want to make again. Some have been part of my life forever, others were inspired by family, a trip, or even a restaurant. And the ones that didn’t make the cut were, quite frankly, the ones that felt too involved without enough payoff. I want this to be a book people actually cook from, get dirty, dog-ear the pages, and come back to again and again.
What’s one piece of hosting advice you would give?
Remember that people are coming over to spend time with you, not to grade you. I think we’ve made hosting feel like it requires this perfectly set table, a spotless house (please don’t dust your baseboards), and an impressive menu, when really, some of the best nights are pizza on the counter with good wine. So consider this your permission to not stress out: Make something you feel confident making, outsource whatever you don’t, and please sit down and enjoy your own party. Nobody remembers whether your napkins matched! They remember if they had fun.
What’s the most memorable meal you’ve ever shared with friends?
My husband and I went to the Twenty-Two Club in Paris, this magical supper club in a seventeenth-century apartment overlooking the Palais Royal. There was one communal table for twenty-two people, and we walked in knowing absolutely no one. A few hours and several glasses of wine later, we were all laughing, sharing stories, and carrying on like old friends. To this day, it’s one of the best dinners of our lives. There was something so beautifully human about a table full of complete strangers connecting over a meal, and it really sums up everything I love about food in the first place.
Which recipe in the book best tells your story?
Honestly, I’d probably cheat and say the entire Bougie Couch Snacks chapter. It’s very much my philosophy in food form—making an ordinary weeknight on the couch feel a little elevated just because you can. It’s not about waiting for a big occasion to use the good china or make something special. Life is short. Light the candle, make the bougie snack, pour the good wine. Tuesday is reason enough.
What’s one entertaining rule you think is meant to be broken?
That everything has to be homemade. Absolutely not. I am a huge believer in the high-low mix. Make the thing you love making, buy the rest, put it on something pretty, and move on with your life. Great bread, good butter, beautiful cheese, Marcona almonds—those things require zero culinary talent and people are still thrilled to see them. Hosting should be about generosity, not proving how hard you worked.
What makes your pimento cheese jalapeño poppers a crowd favorite?
They take two things people already love—pimento cheese and jalapeño poppers—and basically let them have a very delicious Southern baby. They’re creamy, cheesy, salty, a little spicy, and exactly the kind of thing people hover around at a party. They also feel nostalgic and familiar, but just different enough to be fun.
What inspired your bourbon cider-tini?
I’m someone who pretty much only drinks bourbon in the fall, and I especially love a sour of any kind. Several years ago I was craving both, and the bourbon cider-tini was born. It’s become one of those drinks I love making for people because you can literally see their face light up after the first sip. Even people who swear they don’t like bourbon end up loving it. It has all those cozy fall flavors, but it’s bright and balanced and not overly sweet—the perfect fall party cocktail. It’s the kind of cocktail that feels equally right for a casual night around the fire or Thanksgiving dinner.
Rapid fire!
The recipe that raised you: Okay, this is a tie between my Aunt Mary’s lasagna and my mom’s lemon cake.
Favorite cheese: You do realize this is like asking me if I have a favorite child?
Kitchen tool you couldn’t live without: A really good, sharp chef’s knife.
Brunch or dinner party: Dinner party. Always.
Favorite weird food combo: Cottage cheese with peanut butter and jelly. I know, sounds disgusting, but it slaps.
Anna Williams, a 2026 intern at Garden & Gun, grew up in Pittsville, Maryland, and graduated from the University of Georgia, where she studied journalism and sports media.
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