4 comments about More Food That Really Schmecks.

1. The recipes in More Food that Really Schmecks are interesting, easy, use ingredients that many of us have on hand and above all, yield food that everyone loves. This is one of my "desert island" cookbooks. Among the 400+ in my collection, this is one of the top five! (Likewise Food that Schmecks, the first in the series.) I also love the little stories about Edna's mother and friends. There is a strong influence from old order Mennonites (similar to the Amish in the US.)



2. It's great to see that this book has been reissued, as the original has been out of print and copies difficult to find. Like Food that Really Schmecks, More Food that Really Schmecks is a great cookbook filled with many Mennonite inspired recipies that Edna Staebler has gathered from her friends and family, and is complimented by numerous anecdotes about the Waterloo region (and more) of which she is a native. I am not a big cook, but I really enjoy this book, and am greatful that Edna Staebler has done so much to preserve some of Canada's German cooking heritage.



3. This was one of my first cookbooks in the 70's. I recently reached for it, and found that it was missing - I was delighted that it was still available after all these years. Although there are no pictures, the recipes are easy, use staple ingredients and are fun to read. Lots of comfort food. I own close to 200 cookbooks, and this is one of my all time favorites.



4. Edna Stabler is one of the best cooks, and writers, I've ever encountered. Her very readable cookbooks are packed with solid information and mouth-watering recipes and I've had rave reviews on everything I've tried. I can't recommend this book highly enough, and if the first column, Food That Really Schmecks, can be bought or bagged or stolen or otherwise annexed into your cookbook collection you'll be ready for anything.

2 comments about MENNO FOODS and FOLKWAYS #2 (Mennonite Foods & Folkways from South Russia).

1. Mennonite isn't just a church denomination, its a culture. I grew up Mennonite Brethren, so I grew up with much of the WONDERFUL food mentioned in this book. If you've never been to an MB potluck, you've never truly eaten. However, the recipes aren't the only things that make this book such an incredible buy. The vignettes about the culture and traditions of the Mennonite faith are a great read. They help explain what makes us so unique. (Even if many of these traditions have faded over time.) Whenever someone asks "what's a Mennonite?", this is the first book I hand them.



2. Appreciate this volume, as well as Vol 1, as this is my history too. The author has done an amazing job.

No comments about Plain Cooking; Low-Cost, Good-Tasting Amish Recipes..

2 comments about Mini Cookbook Collection: BEST OF COOKIES (Miniature Cookbook Collection).

1. I did find some of the recipes were a bit hard, but all in all, I had fun trying to make them all. I am not very good at it, but I have always wanted to learn what my Grandmother could do. I have since become pretty good at canning and jelly making. The recipes are very accurate ingredient wise, but make sure you read the directions before starting. It can get confusing..but if you read it twice it makes sense. I am in Japan right now, so haven't had a chance to try them all as I need some ingredients I can't get here. Buy this book...your family will love you for it, and it saves money! You no longer have to buy jelly for $3 at the grocery store.



2. I did find some of the recipes were a bit hard, but all in all, I had fun trying to make them all. I am not very good at it, but I have always wanted to learn what my Grandmother could do. I have since become pretty good at canning and jelly making. The recipes are very accurate ingredient wise, but make sure you read the directions before starting. It can get confusing..but if you read it twice it makes sense. I am in Japan right now, so haven't had a chance to try them all as I need some ingredients I can't get here. Buy this book...your family will love you for it, and it saves money! You no longer have to buy jelly for $3 at the grocery store.

4 comments about The Best Of Amish Cooking.

1. `The Best of Amish Cooking' by Phyllis Pellman Good is one of the high points of a cottage industry devoted to writing about Pennsylvania Dutch cookery. It is so much of an industry that Good is not only the author of this book, but its publisher as well. And, `Good Books', based in darkest Lancaster County, Pennsylvania publishes several other books on `Pennsylvania Dutch' (Amish and Mennonite) subjects. For the very few of you who may not be familiar with this fact, I quote `Dutch' and the phrase `Pennsylvania Dutch' since the term is actually a corruption of the name for German natives, or `Deutch'. Of course, the `Pennsylvania Dutch' return the favor and label all non-Amish / Mennonites as `English', including French, Poles, Italians, Russians, and Spanish. So there.
   
   As someone who grew up in the bosom of the `Pennsylvania Dutch' cuisine, I have a closer connection to this cooking than to any other. That prejudice aside, I think it is safe to say that the `Pennsylvania Dutch' cuisine is much more coherent, that is, easier to understand from a few paradigms than, for example, Southern cooking, Tex-Mex, or California Cuisine, as the Amish and Mennonite traditions all came from not only from a single European country, but from a single region (North Central Germany). There is a small New World influence in the importance of corn (maize) in `Dutch' cookery. A second condition leading to continuity in this cuisine over time is that roles in the Amish household are clearly defined in that women do virtually all cooking. Men may handle butchering and preserving meats, but women handle everything else connected with food.
   
   The foods for which `American' cuisine owes most to the `Dutch' cuisine would be pretzels, sweet and savory pies (Wayne Harley Brachman calls Lancaster County the American `dessert central' in his excellent book, `American Desserts), sugar cookies, corn relishes, and potato salad. I judge this book's claim to be the `Best', by looking to see if it has recipes for the most common dishes from my past which are associated with the Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine. And, I am not disappointed.
   
   The touchstone dishes are stuffed pig stomach, corn pie, chow chow (corn relish), hot bacon dressing, and apple dumplings. I am happy to report that not only are all these recipes in place in this volume, but that they are as good or better than our `family' recipes. Yet, these are not what you would consider gourmet recipes. The recipe for pork and sauerkraut is an excellent case in point. In classic terms, this is a braise, yet Ms. Good's recipe does not do the classic braise drill of browning the pork and deglazing before simmering the meat with the kraut. Ever since I took over cooking for my household, I follow a much more French influenced recipe than a classic Pennsylvania Dutch procedure, so I add the sear, onions, wine, and Juniper Berries (a James Beard addition to braised cabbage) to my recipe. I also use a professional pastry chef's recipe for piecrusts instead of the author's crust that includes chicken fat and baking powder. Yet another departure is the recipe for chicken potpie. While I make this often, I follow James Beard's more sophisticated recipe which includes directions for creating the chicken broth and more elaborate instructions for creating the thickened sauce.
   
   Thus, like a lot of books on Southern cooking and lots of other books on Pennsylvania Dutch cooking, this volume is more of an historical document for foodies than it is a source of fine cooking. The irony is that for a select few recipes, this book in fact does have the best recipes for distinctively Dutch preparations. In neither `The Joy of Cooking, `James Beard's American Cookery', or my three books on salads is there a decent recipe for the Pennsylvania Dutch hot bacon dressing. This is a staple on the shelves of Pennsylvania supermarkets, costing close to three dollars for enough to serve two to four people. So, there is much to be gained by learning how to make it fresh. It is a bit more difficult than your typical vinaigrette (and a bit harder on the waistline as well), but for a once a month treat, it's something you really should know. And, with cheap bacon ends, you can make it for half the price of `Wos-Wit' bacon dressing that may have been sitting on the shelves for a month.
   
   This book does have a lot of contemporary value as a source of recipes for sour salads. While Italy and Province have their share of these antipasto dishes, the Dutch have their own twist on the technique, which they developed for exactly the same reason as their Latin cousins. It was the method they used to preserve a lot of produce for the winter.
   
   I have seen many Pennsylvania Dutch cookbooks and, for its size and price, this is clearly one of the best.



2. The stories behind the development of these recipes is very interesting. So if you are looking for the stories behind the way the Amish cook, this book is worth the price. However if you intend to actually USE the book to cook then don't waste your money. The recipies set you up for failure from the beginning. The pie crust on page 117 is dry and does not roll out well. The ratio of flour to wet ingredients is wrong. The chicken pie recipe on page 15 is exceptionally bland and the crust is too wet for rolling. The addition of extra flour helps but it's still a hard dough to work with. I would not recommend this book for people who cook unless you are an experienced cook who can recognize and correct what's wrong by sight and feel before you are finished with the recipe.



3. The Best of Amish Cooking is a collection of dishes that go back as far as 80 year-old-members of the Amish church can remember or find in old hand scripted cookbooks belonging to their mothers. Some recipes are prepared in old fashioned method, while others are adapted to modern days and products available from the grocery store. The old handwritten recipes were often only a listing of ingredients with no reference to measurement or procedure. Writer Good offers measurements and procedures for the recipes found in this work. Historical notes and asides are included along with recipes for specific dishes.



4. The recipes in this book are very easy to make and they use ingredients that you would normally have on hand. The meals remind me of the "old fashioned" kind of dinners that grandma would make. Definitely comfort food, nothing fancy or fussy about this book.

No comments about In the Kitchen with Mary and Martha: A Cookbook Featuring Oodles of Inspiration, Recipes and Tips (Cookbook Series).

1 comments about Amish-Country Cookbook, 2nd Edition (Volume 3) (Amish-Country Cookbooks (Evangel Numbered)).

1. This book was a gift given to someone who lost all her cookbooks in a fire. When she received it, my friend immediately delved into it like a long lost friend! It was much appreciated!

1 comments about Lanc. Co. Amish Cookbook.

1. We were talking to the old man about how good homemade noodles are...
   
   DB: There isn't anything better than homemade noodles.
   Mrs: I used to steal them when they were drying.
   KLC: How hard can it be? They're just flour and salt and egg and butter, maybe. Hell, I'll make them.
   Mrs: It's not as easy as it sounds.
   KLC: Nonsense. I'll just get out the Lancaster County Amish Cookbook.
   Mrs: That book is a tourist trash. It's not real.
   KLC: What? I bought it from a real Amish girl, what are you talking about?
   Mrs: The book is terrible.
   KLC: She had the accent and the bonnet. I gotta get you one of those bonnets.
   Mrs: Shut up.
   KLC: Okay, I'll just look up the recipe for making noodles...huh, there's no entry. Okay, here's Turkey Noodle Encore, that will have a noodle recipe.
   Mrs: Right.
   KLC: Here's what it says: Cook noodles as directed on package. WTF?
   Mrs: You never listen to me. That book is a fake they sell to tourists.
   KLC: Well, I still like the bonnet.
   Mrs: Shut up.

No comments about The Best Basic and Easy Recipes of Amish Cooking (Keepsake Cuisine Series).

3 comments about Amish-Country Cookbook Volume 4 (Amish-Country Cookbooks (Evangel Numbered)).

1. This book is great, has many easy recipies with ingredients you have at your home. A+++



2. This is one of the best cookbooks around! The recipes are simple and very delicious. Most of the ingredients are probably already in your cupboard. The best thing about this cookbook is that it has a large variety of recipes to choose from. This book also includes unique, yet profound sayings which are filled with wisdom and laughter. Out of all the cookbooks I own, I love this one the best! It's the one I grab when I don't feel like going grocery shopping for a hundred small items that I will never use again. If you have to choose just one cookbook for your life...choose this one!



3. Many various recipes for those that love the down to earth amish cooking. Not the best I own but I do collect them.