CHAMPAIGN - When the recipes began coming in and Heather Miller had to sit down and those read entries, she soon quit.

"I had to stop reading recipes," said Miller.

"I would just get so hungry."

Miller's dilemma, a good one as it turned out, is now reality. "Picnics, Potlucks and Tailgates" is not only a cookbook but will also be a live television show airing tonight on WILL-TV, the public broadcasting station of the University of Illinois.

Q: Can you give us some hints about the show/book?

Miller said guest cooks with recipes in the book will join David Inge and Doyle Moore at 7 p.m.

Inge, WILL-AM host, and Moore, WILL chef-in-residence, are really good at putting their guests at ease, Miller said. They asked show/book participants to join them in a "dress rehearsal" on Friday night, giving them a chance to know what to bring along for the live show.

And, just an aside, for the show, Moore will prepare meat and egg pie as he and Inge help the demonstrating cooks.

Q: How about some hints to do with the recipes?

One of them, Miller said, is a Swiss steak recipe that has been in a family for four generations. Then there's a pair of chili contest participants who have already gone up against each other in previous contests and are willing to pair off again for the show/book. Another is from seven-year-old Grant Siegmund of St. Joseph.

And since she stopped counting when she got over 100, Miller knows there are more recipes than that included in the publication.

Q: And the idea?

It actually came from a conversation with fan of WILL, new to the Central Illinois area and its penchant for potlucks and picnics and tailgating, said Miller.

"We asked seasoned tailgaters and picnickers to share some of their secrets and recipes, and they didn't disappoint us," Miller said.

While its preparation was a lot of work, it was also accomplished with the help of community volunteers at the station, she added.

amannlein@herald-review.com|421-6976

About the book

WHAT: "Picnics, Potlucks and Tailgates," a live cooking show at 7 p.m. tonight on WILL-TV and a cookbook of the same name. The cooking show will be taped for re-broadcast in December.

HOW TO GET IT: Books will be a pledge gift to viewers who give $60 to the station's pledge drive, which showcases several local productions Monday-Sunday, including the 7 p.m. Tuesday premiere of the WILL-TV documentary about the history of Memorial Stadium, "Memorial Stadium: True Illini Spirit."