Sunday, December 21, 2008

Civil War Recipes or Ice Creams and Sorbets

Civil War Recipes: Receipts from the Pages of Godey's Lady's Book

Author: Lily May Spaulding

Godey's Lady's Book, perhaps the most popular magazine for women in nineteenth-century America, had a national circulation of 150,000 during the 1860s. The recipes (receipts) it published were often submitted by women from both the North and the South, and they reveal the wide variety of regional cooking that characterized American culture. There is a remarkable diversity in the recipes, thanks to the largely rural readership of Godey's Lady's Book and to the immigrant influence on the country in the 1860s. Fish and game were readily available in rural America, and the number of seafood recipes testifies to the abundance of the coastal waters and rivers. The country cook was a frugal cook, particularly during wartime, so there are a great many recipes for leftovers and seasonal produce. In addition to a wide sampling of recipes that can be used today, Civil War Recipes includes information on Union and Confederate army rations, cooking on both homefronts, and substitutions used during the war by southern cooks.

School Library Journal

YA-Motivated by their interests in cooking and history and the search for a plum-pudding recipe like Grandma's, this mother-son team has compiled a cookbook that is rich in Civil War information. Drawn from a 19th-century women's magazine, the recipes were usually submitted by middle-class readers from the rural North and South, and were intended for "common dishes of every day" rather than grand occasions. The authors have added facts about Confederate and Union army rations, customary cooking utensils, and food substitutions frequently used by Southern cooks. Recommended menus, or "bills of fare," for each month, and dates of each recipe's appearance in Godey's are also included. A glossary clarifies terminology rarely used by today's cooks. YAs will be intrigued by this exposure to everyday life during the Civil War. Quaint language ("Thicken some scalding hot milk with a sufficiency of potato flour") enhances the enjoyment of the book, and most recipes can be successfully prepared by modern chefs.-Pamela Cooper-Smuzynski, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.



Book review: Understanding Patient Financial Services or The New Global Economy and Developing Countries Thw

Ice Creams and Sorbets: Cool Recipes

Author: Lou Seibert Pappas

Nothing beats homemade ice cream, and making it from scratch is a charming summertime tradition whose time has come again. Ice Creams & Sorbets offers nearly 50 recipes for simple and sophisticated frozen desserts: old-fashioned classics such as vanilla bean, strawberry, and bittersweet chocolate; contemporary delights such as Lavender-Honey Ice Cream and Lemongrass-Wine Ice; and sinfully exquisite treats like White Chocolate-Framboise Truffle Gelato. With handy ingredient guides, serving tips, and the rundown on how to select and use ice cream makers, this fabulous book is a recipe for delicious new-fashioned fun.



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