1 comments about Wisconsin's Hometown Flavors: A Cook's Tour of Butcher Shops, Bakeries, Cheese Factories & Other Specialty Markets (Trails Books Guide).

1. Wisconsin cuisine reflects rich and diverse ethnic heritages and traditions. In Wisconsin's Hometown Flavors: A Cook's Tour Of Butcher Shops, Bakeries, Cheese Factories & Other Specialty Markets, Wisconsin-based cookbook writer and food expert Terese Allen takes the reader on a descriptive survey of more than 130 shops (arranged geographically); showcases more than 125 recipes; and provides "user friendly" maps to the best of Wisconsin's bakeries, cheese factories, butcher shops, and specialty markets. From Cheddar Cheese Coins; Greek-Style Omelette with Fresh Spinach, Black Olives & Feta Cheese; Lamb, Potato & Asparagus Stew; and Pear Frangipane Tart; to Mixed Greens with Grilled Pork Tenderloin & Blueberries; Swedish Limpa Bread; Dried Cherry Waldorf Salad; and Chocolate Cherry Bundt Cake, Wisconsin's Hometown Flavors is as much fun to simply browse through as it is "kitchen cook friendly" to plan a meal from!

1 comments about Food and Culture: A Nutrition Handbook.

1. This volume is readable, engaging and expertly researched. Yes $52 is a bit painful - but it truly is a unique piece.

   Do you want to know the current diet of a third generation Italian American? The nutritional problems specific to recent immigrants from Samoa? What genetic predispositions for riboflavin deficiencies exist among indigenous north american poulations? It's all here.

   The authors' use of bold headings, photos and catchy sidebars all contribute to an excellent primer on the cultural influences on nutrition in present-day US.

4 comments about The Food Lover's Guide to Seattle (Food Lovers' Guide to Seattle).

1. Wow!!! a complete review like the big cities. Very comprehensive by a first rate writer. I had the pleasure to meet Katy at a party ne week and is she knowledgeable. about Seatle. You would think she had lived here all her life.

   A food lover's bible!!




2. The book is delightful to read. I am not from the Seattle but it makes me want to visit, just to hang out in places like James Cook Ltd for cheese or Gelatiamo for ice cream or Il Fornaio for bread. It provides great inside information on the `in' places to go to. Miss Calcott is a food connoisseur. I can relate when she says she dreams about food. My imagination often takes me to enchanting places like Florence and Paris and thoughts of fabulous food are never far behind. The anecdotes that precede each section are interesting. Well done!



3. Yes, I know of no other book guide to Seattle's ethnic food culture. Considering how important a food town this is, it's really a shame this book wasn't written sooner. But, it's here & it's very good. I agree w. almost all of Ms. Calcott's food recommendations.

   My quarrels are w. what is left out. What happened to ethnic restaurants?? I know there are many of them & it would've added to the size of the book & the time it took to research it. But a food guide that leaves out restaurants has left out something very important.

   Richard




4. I am a dislocated Appalachian that took the food bull of Seattle by the horns, but that was before this book. Now I am sure I will be THE Seattle epicure-genius among my circle with this book tucked into my collection. I am amazed by the variety of food resources, from chocolatiers to ethnic markets, where to get the greatest baguettes. I also love the anecdotal sections on the pioneers/owners of some of these purveyors. Oh, and recipes! There is humor, knowledge, pleasure, and respect written here, and a love for Seattle and the food treasures it offers. Buy it.

5 comments about Heartland: The Best of the Old and the New from Midwest Kitchens.

1. Are we on a wait too? for how many Months???



2. Marcia Adams Heartland is a beautfully done cookbook.Ihave all her books and watch her tv shows.Irecommend it to any one who is a fan or just likes to eat good food.I am waiting for any new ones to come out.



3. I was very disappointed in this book. The recipes and crafts didn't seem nearly as well perfected as in the authors other books. For example, applesauce cinnamon ornaments did not include glue (which makes them much sturdier, smoother, less breakable, and resistant to bugs). Had the author done any checking whatsoever, she would have learned this -- but seemed more eager in rushing to press than in perfecting the recipes/projects. I was very disappointed.



4. This 258 page book is generous with color photographs of food, local people and regional scenes. There are ample recipes and plenty of information about many of the recipes, and all sorts of background material that gives one a richer "taste" of the bounty of the eight Midwestern states covered in this book. I am from the East coast, and much of this is new to me...so I'd happily rely on a true Midwesterner to really rate the recipes.
   
   I'm picky about giving 5 star ratings, and this is over a 4 rating for most people, as some of the true 5 star books can be breathtakingly beautiful and/or informative.
   
   From gamebird pie to snickerdoodles, Amish friendship bread to blackberry jam cake with sherry sauce, and "newcomers" such as Asian-American slaw with peanuts and jalapenos, this instructs about comforting foods, and leaves you more knowledgeable about delicious food that doesn't rely on "stacking", "foams", mismatched cuisines and spices (stretching the intent of "fusion") or other trendy artifice to satisfy your palate.
   
   Learn about the Spoon River Anthology, Sinclair Lewis, Polish Pierogis, Poticia and antique apples...learn the best times to plant root vegetables, corn or apples while flipping the pages...this is a book to be savored, whether next to a wood burning stove or from a 24th story balcony overlooking a sunset...



5. This book is a companion to the PBS holiday TV special "Christmas in the Heartland" with Marcia Adams (I think it aired back in 1992.) Four different families are visited each sharing authentic holiday celebrations from 4 different time periods. A pre-civil war farm house, a Moravian holiday, a Victorian Christmas, and a contemporary holiday party are highlighted. Each family shares their authentic recipes, decorations, and traditions. This book is lovely with full color glossy pictures throughout. I especially enjoyed the Moravian traditions because I live near Bethlehem and have always loved the Moravian recipes and decorations during Christmas. I have only made one recipe/craft to date but I love to page through this book while listening to Christmas music to put me in the holiday spirit.

2 comments about Food from the Heartland: The Cooking of America's Midwest.

1. You know how you remember the food of your childhood and think, it couldn't possibly taste that good today? This book is proof that it can. I have to admit, after 20 years on the East Coast, I'd forgotten there even was such a thing as Midwestern cuisine. Then I started flipped the pages, and was hit with a wave of nostaglia. I got images of pancake suppers at the Kiwanas, picking wild grapes for jam, real coffee cakes with brown sugar bubbling hot from the oven, mac and cheese recipes that unabashedly call for one pound of cheese for every pound of noodles.

   Midwestern cooking isn't boring, I realized, but simple. Most recipes have only five or six ingredients -- it's the skill of the cooking and the freshness of the ingredients that counts.

   If you get the book, try the recipe for Dutch letters from Yaarsma's Bakery in Pella Iowa. I thought I just remembered it as good because of happy childhood memories of walking with my cousins through that leafy, lovely old town, our shorts pockets full of change to spend at the two rival bakeries. But no, it really is that good. Nothing I had in in the Netherlands recently (and I sampled religiously) even comes close.




2. Once again, Publisher's Weekly is off the mark with their nitpicky and rather negative review of this book. Who cares if the author calls it "vanilla" in one recipe and "pure vanilla" in the other, most of us are smart enough to figure out it's the same thing, particularly since she tells you to "always use pure vanilla extract" in the text. As a lifelong midwesterner who has also travelled extensively, and owns over 100 cookbooks, I believe this (along with Marcia Adams' Cooking from Quilt Country) is the best traditional midwestern cookbook available. The author wisely avoids including recipes for the characterless, gloppy casseroles made with canned cream of mushroom soup, jello, and other "convenience foods" which originated in the 1950's and are so prevalent in the Midwest today. Instead, she concentrates on the traditional "made from scratch" recipes which have been enjoyed on farms and in small towns throughout the Midwest for many generations. Midwestern cooking had its origins in the food traditions of the German, Dutch, Belgian, and Scandinavian immigrants who moved to the region, primarily to establish farms, during the 19th century. The recipes in this book are not difficult or fancy, but they are delicious. Favorites include the homemade chicken pot pie, crispy roast pork, German potato pancakes, Maytag blue cheese soup, and the absolutely delicious Cincinnati Chili. If you are interested in eating traditional midwestern food the way it should taste, buy this book.

2 comments about Indiana Cooks!: Great Restaurant Recipes For The Home Kitchen (Quarry Books).

1. I've noticed that there seem to be 2 kinds of cookbooks; those that sit on the shelf for many years in largely the same condition in which they were acquired, and those that are dog-eared and have certain food-stained pages with the corners turned down.
   
   The same goes for narrative books intended to be read for the content of their story (whereas cookbooks should usually be more properly thought of as manuals). Again, two types - they either get read once and forgotten or read and then passed around or lent, often never to be seen again (in my experience).
   
   Here's a cookbook that will receive the latter treatment on both counts. I owned this book for no more than a single day when a fellow cook absconded with it. Luckily, I've recovered the book. However, I've noticed that people pick it up for a cursory glance and then, distracted, sit down and begin pouring through it. In order to retain this book so that it can achieve dog-eared food-stained status at my own hand, I'll be giving copies of it away as gifts (as opposed to replacing my own copies as they vanish).
   
   Whether you're new to Slow Food or not, you'll find the creativity evident in these dishes inspiring. If you already participate in any sort of Slow Food gathering, this book will be de rigueur.
   
   While I'm partial to desserts (I must, must round up some Shagbark Hickory Syrup, p.34), the layout of the recipes restaurant by restaurant and chef by chef, a full course from each, does a superior job of emphasizing the regional elements of the foods. This is a terrific book, and the LaSalle Grill's Apple Fritters with Caramel Sauce are underway in our kitchen this very evening. That page (p.53) already has a post-it stuck to it, doubtless a presage to dog-earedness.



2. I was given this book as a gift and at first I let it sit on my shelf and look pretty. But recently I began to make some of the recipes for friends and each one of them got rave reviews. The pictures are beautiful; the writing is superb and now I find that the recipes are outstanding. I am ordering a bunch to give as gifts for birthdays and when I am invited to someone's home. Buy it and ENJOY!
   Ronnie Weston
   Palm Harbor, Florida

3 comments about A Midwest Gardener's Cookbook.

1. This is possibly one of the best kept secrets on cooking out of your garden. The recipes are delicious and most of the ingredients are already in your kitchen. The seasonal format simplfies finding a recipe (and there is an alphabetical listing included also). The author has included throughout the book priceless pieces of history and wonderful bits of humor. "Mrs. Maendl's Dill Pickles" is a recipe that is "as much fun to read" as the pickles "good to eat"! When people ask me about them, I HAVE to tell them I made them exactly as the recipe states. Read it and you'll understand! Marian Towne has come up with the perfect solutions for all those fresh fruits and veggies we painstakingly grow. I even managed to use up a considerable amount of zucchini without my children noticing! Even if you are not a gardener, you'll want to run to the next Farmer's Market after seeing this book.



2. My aunt gave me this as a present. I have loved every recipe made from this book. Last night I made the Savory Sweet Potato Puff (as I am trying to cut down our sugar, I didn't want the traditional brown sugar/marshmallow sweet yams). It was delicious! I wanted to just put the whole casserole on my plate and eat only that! Last week we made Herbed Spinach Rice Bake and both my 2 year old and 5 year old ate it all up and didn't complain about leftovers the next day. Wonderful book. If you live (or have your heart) in the midwest and want some diffent yet not high brown complicated dishes, this is the book for you.



3. This afternoon I checked A Midwest Gardener's Cookbook by Marian K. Towne out from the local library. I will most definetly be adding it to my personal library. In the interest of full disclosure I should say that I have not yet used any of the recipes but I am completely charmed by the book after spending a over 90 minutes exploring the book.
   
   The 294 page book is divided into four sections with one for each season. Each section focuses on commonly grown as well as less common and wild ingredients which reach their peak during that specific season. The inclusion of the less common and wild foods is one of the many ways that the book appeals to me.
   
   Spring focuses on asparagus, chard, chives, dandelions, lettuce, mint, mulberries, parsley, peapods, peas, radishes, rhubarb, spinach, strawberries and violets.
   
   Summer focuses on basil, beans, beet greens, blackberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, cherries, chokecherries, collards, corn, cucumbers, currants, daikon radish, daylilies, dill, eggplant, elderberries, gooseberries, grape leaves, ground cherries, kohlrabi, mesclun, mustard greens, nasturtiums, okra, peaches, raspberries, summer savory, summer squash, tomatoes, watermelon, zucchini
   
   Autumn focuses on apples, beets, broccoflower, broccoli, broccoli rabe, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, garlic, grapes, horseradish, kiwi fruit, lima beans, onions, pawpaws, pears, peppers, persimmons, plums, popcorn, potatoes, pumpkins, tomatoes (green), turnips, winter squash, yams (sweet potatoes).
   
   Winter focuses on herbs that can be grown in pots (marjoram, oregano, rose geranium, rosemary, sage, tarragon, thyme), kale, leeks, maple syrup, parsnips, rutabagas, soybeans, sprouts, and watercress.
   
   The entry for individual items generally begins with a few paragraphs of general information (e.g., nutritional value, uses, and preparation) and some also include personal anecdotes and memories related to the item. The recipes include both the basics (e.g., steaming asparagus in the microwave) to the innovative (e.g., asparagus shortcake). The entries for a given item often wrap up with a list of additional ideas for use. Some items such as parsley offer suggestions for preserving a surplus. The book's charm is further spiced by the illustrations provided by Ellen Walsh. As a final selling point, the book includes an exhaustive index and a modest list of resources ranging from books to seeds to kitchen equipment.

No comments about Food on the Frontier: Minnesota Cooking from 1850 to 1900 with Selected Recipes (Publications of the Minnesota Historical Society).

2 comments about Cafe Wisconsin Cookbook.

1. The cooperative work of Midwest folklorist Joanne Raetz Stuttgen and food columnist and cookbook author Terese Allen, "Cafe Wisconsin Cookbook" is a compilation of the history, anecdotes and recipes associated with some of Wisconsin's very best small town cafes ranging from Boscobel to Glennwood City, and from Stoughton to Sturgeon Bay. The recipes are organized around the categories of Breakfast, Baked Goods, Soups, Salads, Daily Specials, Sandwiches and Burgers, Sid Dishes and Extras, Pies and Other Desserts. Now any family cook can duplicate Wisconsin's Main Street eateries with respect to menu items ranging from pies, meatloaf and fish fries, to casseroles, burgers, and blue plate specials. "Cafe Wisconsin Cookbook" is an enthusiastically recommended addition to personal, professional, and community library regional cookbook collections!



2. Many good recipes, now we know the secrets of the cafes. Sadly, some are no longer in business but fortunately live on in the book. The Snicker salad recipe is worth the price of the book.

2 comments about Minnesota Eats Out: An Illustrated History.

1. Fellow Minnesota oldsters and yuppies alike will have a ball browsing through this lovely coffee table book of the historic eateries in our home state. I was delighted to find a photo of the menu for my Dad's Minneapolis restaurant, the 620 Club, which he owned and operated with partners Max & Henry Winter from 1935 to 1965. (Max and Dad had been among the partners in the Minneapolis Lakers basketball team, and Max went on to found the Minnesota Vikings.) And then there was Charlie's Cafe Exceptionale. Ohhhh, how I miss Charlie's! Chuck Saunders' chef, Russian emigre Harry Walkowitz, also headed up the 620's kitchen for a number of years both before and after his stint at Charlie's. No wonder the food was so good at both places. Harry's secret: "I use lots of booouuter."



2. I'm not old enough to recognize all of the places featured here, but it is interesting to see all of the restaurants. Here you'll find everything from haute cuisine to roadside diners. A wonderful collection of memories that captures the spirit of eras gone by.