3 comments about 50th Anniversary Maui Cookbook.

1. My husband's family is from Maui so I have had the privilege of enjoying many of these recipes (what a blessing to have a husband who cooks!). At first, when I read through them I thought the combinations of ingredients sounded bizarre (Pacific Rim Cuisine meets Down Home Cooking), but after actually sampling dish after dish, I'm quite impressed. The recipes are all written by different people (a couple are from my husband's relatives) so there's tremendous variety. If you enjoy creative, experimental (i.e. mad scientist) type cooking, you'll have a lot of fun with this book...or if you just have a diversified palate (or want one), I highly recommend this book to satisfy your tastes. If you're curious about the recipes, email me and I'll send you a couple to try out.



2. If you are really serious about the Local cuisine that has developed over the last 100 years in Hawaii by the interaction of japanese, chinese, korean, filipino, portuguese, and puerto rican immigrant laborers living in "the camps" with native Hawaiians and haole managers, this is the book. Or on the other hand, if you had a great "plate lunch" in Hawaii and want to know how to make chicken long rice, spam musubi, or yaki manju - pie crust cookies filled with sweet black beans - this is the book.
   When I was born in 1950, my parents lived in Waikapu camp on Maui, where my father was a County Agricultural Extension Agent (semi-fresh off the Iowa farm by way of war in the South Pacific, with Marine training in Hawaii.) According to my Iowa farm mother, after one month she bought a rice pot and never looked back, except for Sunday dinners. The women and men who worked on the semi-yearly versions, of which this book is a compilation, were the friends and co-workers of my parents, and taught them to cook these recipes. This book contains a whole history of mutual assimilation and appreciation of the working-class "mixed plate" that is Hawaii "ono grinds."



3. Having picked up a few of the Maui Assoc. for Family and Community Education's books now and then over the years, I was elated to see this 50th Anniversary, best-of compilation of Our Favorite Recipes. If you want to cook like island aunties, popos or kamaiianas (old-timers), you must get this book! The recipes and ingredients may at first seem a little strange to mainlanders, but if you understand Hawaii's post WWII history, ethnic makeup, indigenous and definitely non-indigenous foods, the recipes will make perfect sense. Any time I'm looking for a dish from my childhood -- whether it's Spam Musubi, Laulau, Malasadas and much, much more -- I can find it here. Many of the sections are exhaustive. And this is no coffee table (there are no pictures) or humorous (a la "White Trash Cooking") cookbook. Every recipe has been used, tested and generously submitted by regular home cooks, so you can be sure whatever you make will turn out just as it should. Hawaiians enjoy eating and in fact have been food snobs for decades. This comprehensive cookbook reflects that in a loving and authentic manner.

2 comments about Seaweed, Salmon, and Manzanita Cider: A California Indian Feast.

1. California's aborigines, like all Native Americans, took complete advantage of every edible resource Mother Nature could provide them. "Seaweed, Salmon, And Manzanita Cider: A California Indian Feast" is a meticulously researched and impressively presented collection of authentic Californian aboriginal cuisine based on the local foods available to them. Included in this beautifully illustrated cookbook collection are recipes involving fish, shellfish, meats, vegetables, fruits, edible flowers, nuts, seeds, and acorns. The collaborative work of Margaret Dubin and Sara-Larus Tolley, "Seaweed, Salmon, And Manzanita Cider" showcases step-by-step instructions enabling any kitchen cook to produces palate pleasing and appetite satisfying Native American recipes ranging from Barbecued Clams; Rabbit Liver with Watercress; and Roasted Agave Hearts; to Sweet Elder Jelly; Fried Yucca Petals; and Pine Nut Soup. Of special note are the extensively informed and informative commentaries and background information about the tribes, their habitats, histories and cultures. Profusely illustrated throughout, "Seaweed, Salmon, And Manzanita Cider" is a unique addition to any family or community cookbook collections, as is also very highly recommended for academic Native American Studies reference collections and non-specialist general readers with an interest in Native American cultures.



2. As a docent at a rural ranch, we get 3rd graders every tuesday to teach them about the local Indian tribe that lived here. My staion is "Plants for Food and Medicine". This book for me is a huge leap forward in what we are telling the kids.
   Most California Kids know that our Indians processed acorns for their staple diet. But these acorns only last 1/2 a year. This books explains about pinole, or the collection of seeds in the summer to replace the acorns...
   Now I have to find a book that explains that our Indians came to the marsh in the winter and not the summer, to fish and hunt and collect tules to build their homes.

2 comments about Rusty Parrot Cookbook, The: Recipes from Jackson Hole's Acclaimed Lodge.

1. I am a collector of cookbooks. I collect them for their recipes, I collect them for their history, I collect them for their stories, I collect them for their unique point of view, and I collect them for their celebration of good food. The Rusty Parrot Cookbook: Recipes From Jackson Hole's Acclaimed Lodge by Darla Worden and Eliza Cross is a collector's cookbook that meets all my criteria. Featuring enchanting photographs of Jackson Hole, The Rusty Parrot Inn, and nearby Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, the publication is part coffee table stunner, part travelogue, part Wild West chronicle, and part high-end cookbook with enough homey breakfast, soup, and cookie recipes to satisfy even novice home cooks.
   Arranged seasonally and infused with an insider's sensitivity to and appreciation for this remote Wyoming location's intense climate, stark beauty, and eccentric personalities the recipes are chock full of local ingredients inventively combined to create the kind of stylish bistro-type dishes the Rusty Parrot Lodge's Wild Sage restaurant has been dishing up to critical acclaim since 2000.
   Dazzle your next dinner group or progressive dinner with Opal Basil-Stuffed Stalter Chicken Breast with Shitake Mushroom Risotto, Kaffir Lime and Lemongrass Broth, and Cilantro Branch Salad or Anchiote Lamb Loin "Wellington" with Jalapeno Spoon Bread. Or make your kids' day with a couple dozen triple chocolate cookies or a short stack of Johnny cakes. Or do like I plan to: whip up a seasonal soup from a selection of simple offerings including Puree of Spring Asparagus with Thyme Oil and Crispy Speck Ham, Roasted Vine-Ripe Tomato, and Charred Corn and Green Chile Chowder even the calendar-challenged can squeeze into a busy Sunday or weeknight. Then pour yourself a class of wine, put up your feet, and flip through the stories and photographs in this book, indulging yourself in an elegant spin on the adventurous Western tradition that still blazes in our collective American psyche.



2. After you have lingered over the beautiful photographs and soaked in the history of this amazing lodge(no, havent been. yes really want to go!)in Jackson Hole go to right to planning an eye-popping party like I did.
   
   My favorites so far-and I will plan another party-include pge 40, the Puree of Spring Asparagus soup. OMgoodness it is yummy. I also tried the pge 62 the stuffed chicken breast ( I used common mushrooms) and then I had for dessert the cinnamon, beignets from pge101. This is a perfect dessert, amazing flavors to really satisfy chocolate cravings.
   This cookbook took me out of my comfort zone (laziness) and I was proud to have stretched my abilities.
   
   I'm getting my sister one for Christmas and we can compare notes. We help each other with party plans.
   
   I have decided not to keep on the coffee table but right in my kitchen so I remember to try something new again.

2 comments about Everybody's San Francisco Cookbook.

1. This book has really expanded my cooking. I've always been afraid to do any ethnic cooking, in large part because I was afraid of exotic ingredients and never enjoyed dumbed down recipies that leave out those ingredients. This book gives useful background info on the cooking of many regions (Japan, China, Middle East, South America), then gives great descriptions of the ingredients that it calls for. I live in San Francisco, and it's been great fun using the guide to ethnic food stores and tracking down things like galangal and lemongrass.

   Ingredients aside, most of the recipies are straightforward, and I've had great success with them. The ingredient lists on many recipies are intimidating, but usually preparation is quick (measuring them into a food processor, etc.).

   It's been very satisfying to cook many of my favorite restaurant foods. Hot and sour soup one night. Chicken curry another. I also learned about great dishes I never heard of before. My favorite section is Southeast Asia. The peanut sauces are killer.

   The menu suggestions have been very useful, as well, because I really don't know what dishes to combine for a dinner party.

   I use the book whenever I'm in a cooking rut and want to try something new.




2. I lucked into this little gem at a used bookstore in San Francisco and have since rebought and recommended it several times to family and friends. I'ts a must if you live in the Bay Area, but even if you don't, it is totally worth it. There is a great glossary of terms and ingredients as well as mail order options. The recipies are authentic and I've never made a bad meal. The ingredients list can be a little daunting, but if you are in an adventurous mood and feel like playing in the kitchen you will not be disappointed. Also, every chapter has a recipie from a different S.F. resturaunt. We do know food in S.F.

5 comments about The Fog City Diner Cookbook.

1. That's about it. Lots of recipes the average person just would not use.



2. for many years i was wondering what that german deli down the block from me, was putting in its' tuna salad that gave it a unique wonderful taste. i could never figure it out and was addicted to the tuna salad so was spending a good chunk of my food allowance on it.
   tuna is a food that if you can get it to taste great you have a very cheap meal that is good value. tuna as a whole i don't care for except for this german deli tuna.
   well i relate this story because the secret ingrediant that i could never figure out is in this book.
   for this alone the book was worth the money spent on it.



3. I like to browse different types of cookbooks, and to find recipes that I may not find anywhere else. This cookbook did not disappoint. Even though I have not visited the Fog City Diner, I have been to many diners in my day. I was surprised at the large variety of recipes available, and the eclectic ingredients included in the book.
   
   Some of my favorite recipes include: Split Pea and Apple-Smoked Bacon Soup, Mushroom Toast, Cheesesteak Sandwich, Cobb Sandwich, Chicken Curry Pot Pie, Apple Dumplings, Vanilla Caramel Custard, Hot Toddy, and Seasoned Nuts.
   
   Enjoy!



4. I have been lucky enough to visit the Fog City Diner many times over the last 15 years or so. I think Cindy is gone on to other things but I was there when she inspired the place. My first exposure was on that credit card commercial that featured the FCD and showed the Red Curry Mussle Stew because the dish was soooo good. I was going mad trying to figure out how to cook this at home. Then came the cookbook. Problem solved.
   
   The book is overall very enjoyable and it has some great little stories. The dishes are unusual and easy to make.
   
   Recommended!



5. This book would get the full five stars from me based on its inclusion of one of the single most fabulous recipes I've ever made - the Grilled Eggplant Sandwich with Fontina and Watercress. My, oh my, I salivate at the mere thought of it. It's a fantastic thing to eat, even if you decide to forgo making the buns from scratch! Just don't skip making the Tomato Chutney which is sheer magic combined with the smokiness of the eggplant, the creamy, tang of the Fontina and the clean whiff of the watercress.
   
   Cindy Pawlcyn is a most remarkable chef. I know people (yes, plural) who literally swoon at the mention of the Pork Chop served at Mustards, her wonderful restaurant in Napa Valley. (That Pork Chop must certainly be one of the most legendary foods on the West Coast.) In any case, she is a master of combining and juxtaposing sometimes surprising ingredients to coax the most intense and exciting flavors out of food.
   
   With this book, Pawlcyn elevates diner food to a gourmet art form and then some. I've not been disappointed with any of the recipes from this book. They are just plain fun. Although I don't usually like cookbooks that include skipping all over the pages to find the recipes within recipes, I have to make an exception with this book. The sub-recipes have been well-worth the trouble.
   
   Needless to say, I also recommend the Mustards Cookbook - almost as highly as I recommend dining at the restaurant.

4 comments about The Great Minnesota Hot Dish.

1. This book has some of the most excellant hot dish recipes. I have really enjoyed experimenting with them. The deserts are screeming! Great recipes to take to pot lucks. Check it out!



2. This cook book has recipes that are easy to follow, with ingredients that are readily available. I like the chicken section very much.



3. Chicken, beef, pork, seafood, eggs and desserts, this book is full of wonderful recipes. Easy to follow, with ingredients that are found in most cupboards. I found the chicken recipes I wanted, and was so easy to fix.



4. Being a lifelong Minnesotan I was a little disappointed that there were only a couple of hot dishes in the book that I am familiar with. I know of alot more that would have been better suited for the book. There were too many "side dishes".

5 comments about Prairie Home Breads: 150 Splendid Recipes from America's Breadbasket.

1. This book was recommended to me by a friend. I am ever grateful to him for finding it. It takes me to this imaginary place of great grandmothers, grandmothers, farms, and recipes over a century old. Even before I tried my first recipe from this book, it brought about certain nostalgic emotions inside of me. With the descriptions that accompany each recipe, I see a little piece of history that could have been my own German grandmothers had she shared it with me. Unfortunately, while she did teach me a lot about cooking, baking and handing down recipes wasn't something she did a whole lot of. My mother was the baker and she was more of a "new world" baker than someone who used recipes given to her by her mother or grandmother. This book makes up for part of that in its own special way.

   I received the book two days ago, thumbed through it once, then twice, and tonight I made my first two recipes. In fact, one just came out of the oven..."fly off the plate" rolls. One word: Heavenly. Among the best dinner rolls I've had or made. Slightly sweet, buttery, rich, yet light and full of flavor. Definitely something to accompany a dinner of flavorful comfort foods like pot roast or roast turkey and stuffing...even something like chicken stew.

   For those of you lacking the comfort that comes from having time-tested old-world recipes handed down to you, this book is for you...and even for those of you who aren't lacking it, this book will prove to be one of your favorites.




2. and smell the perfume of fresh baked bread through this pages.

   The variety of recipes here is truly amazing. You'll find recipes coming from all over the US, with a distinctive italian, dutch, north and east european flavour. Accompanied with a short story about the origin of the bread, the recipes are well explained and good result is garanteed, even if you haven't got much experience because the instructions are very clear.

   Chapter 1: yeast breads (swedish rye, cheddar chive bread, amish pinwheel bread, pizza)
   Chapter 2: Naturally leavened and slow-rising breads (prairie pioneer two day bread, sourdough graham bread, sour rye bread)
   Chapter 3: whole grain breads (northern prairie barley sunflower bread, wisconsin onion dill bread)
   Chapter 4: Rolls and buns (farmhouse rolls, Iowa corn clovers, heart of the prairie parmesan rolls, german soft pretzels)
   Chapter 5: quick breads, muffins and popovers (gingerbread muffins, blueberry cornmeal muffins)
   Chapter 6: Scones, biscuits, crackers and soda breads (irish buttermilk soda bread, thyme biscuits)
   Chapter 7: Coffee caks and pastries (cardamon and cinnamon scented swedish tea ring, summery lemon coffee cake with fresh berries)

   Besides all this bread recipes, there are some that uses stalled bread to cook delicious salads and desserts Heirloom Apple Charlotte.

   I totally recomend this book
   Note: If for you is important, be aware that this book has no pictures, but if you ask me, you won't need them!




3. I purchased this book because of the reviews. While I consider it an adequate book, most recipies are pretty basic. Thus, seasoned bread bakers may be disappointed. The directions are layed out in a double column format and are not logically ordered. For instance, if the oven needs preheated or pans need preparation, I prefer this information to be set out at the beginning of the recipe. This book puts steps such as those at the end of the recipe. Of course, anyone will read through the recipe before starting work, but I still like things to be set out sequentially. Novices may be somewhat confused by the formatting and may miss some steps, particularly if they are not well organized themselves. The whole grained bread recipes show a nice variety, although I haven't tested them, yet. If you are someone who likes multiple cookbooks on the same topic, this may be a decent addition for your collection. If you are looking for only one book, I'd pass on this one and purchase something else. "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" and "Bernard Clayton's Book of Breads" are two volumes that come to mind.



4. My daughters and brother (He's an excellent cook and baker.) examined the table of contents with me and we were all thrilled by the possibilities. There's a lot of variety in the selection of recipes, but one has to be careful. Fortunately, I have one sibling who burns off whatever he eats, so he has sampled Decadent Chocolate Cherry Bread (Is this bread? Or is is a melted chocolate chip?), Prairie Painter Oatmeal Bread (He bet me that it would fall apart...) and Amish Pinwheel Bread (He wants more breads to be like this one!). Yet to be savored is the Volga German Peppernut Bread that just came out of the oven - both loaves of it, although the recipe heading says that it makes one large loaf. The author really did not totally test each and every recipe in this book, as I realized when the Peppernut recipe kept calling for more and more flour. It would seem that with six cups of flour the true amount of yeast should be more like 2 packages. Well, we shall see as soon as it's cool enough to cut. The chocolate cherry bread has so many chocolate chips in it that chocolate was running all over the counter after tipping the bread out of the pan. Reducing the amount to one-half of the amount the author recommends would seem appropriate. The Prairie Potato Starter seems to be working exactly as advertised and I suspect that it will work - I own Buckeye Cookery and read the information on bread. Baring an accident with temperature or contamination, there will be an antique loaf of bread produced in my kitchen, but not until next week sometime. Readers be advised to use caution when selecting what to make and test it ahead of time...



5. This bread book is worth every penny. I bought this book for my Boyfriend who has a new love for baking breads. This book is all that and then some !!Great recipes easily understood and plenty of yummy goodness went into this book ~~~
   
   
   Id buy it agian !
   
   Maybe for my SIL

2 comments about Best of the Best from Colorado: Selected Recipes from Colorado's Favorite Cookbooks.

1. I have most of the Cookbooks from here in Colorado & I have never been disapointed yet from one of them. I will have to say this one will be just as good as the rest.



2. I've been using this cookbook for years and love it! It has the best Posole recipe I've ever come across.
   Lots of winners in it. I am ordering another copy, the dog just chewed up the one I had. It would make a great gift
   for anyone wanting to experience Colorado cuisine or who just missed the tastes of home!

No comments about California Heritage.

4 comments about Noteworthy: A Collection of Recipes from the Ravinia Festival.

1. I've been cooking from this book for almost 20 years! The recipes are simple, yet sofisticated, and wonderfully tasty. The recipes are well-written and methods are well explained, so that even the novice cook can enjoy this book. I've given this book as a gift to many people and they too, now find it a favorite.



2. I grew up on recipes from this book and never knew how spoiled I was until I went to college and tried cafeteria food, with my back up being ramen noodles. It's awesome that they finally put it back in print, and I am thoroughly surprised that there are any left in stores. It is tastefully done with great pictures and plenty of culture and historical tidbits to go along with the recipes. Not to mention the actual recipes are fantastic.



3. At first thumb through this looks like a great cookbook. Upon closer review, however, it is about average. Nothing wonderful, nothing horrible. Good cooks probably already have much of what is included in this book.



4. My Mother gave me Noteworthy when it was first published (20 years ago?). She and my Dad always went to Ravinia and picnicked on the lawn. From the minute I opened the first page of Noteworthy,I knew it would become one of my all time favorites! The recipe's are accurate, easy, fun and absolutely crowd pleasers. I also purchased their 2nd published cook book, but the original Noteworthy is still the only one which I use and give as a gift for family and friends. You will never go wrong using Noteworthy!