Average customer rating:
- FRIENDLY WARNING!!!!
- This is a nice cookbook with beautiful photographs
- Calling All Dessert Cookbook Collectors
- The Pastry Queen
- "a mighty fine book, lil' lady!!"
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The Pastry Queen: Royally Good Recipes from the Texas Hill Country's Rather Sweet Bakery & Cafe
Rebecca Rather , and
Alison Oresman
Manufacturer: Ten Speed Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| Baking
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
Pastry
| Baking
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
Southwest
| U.S. Regional
| Regional & International
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
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ASIN: 1580085628 |
Book Description
Texas accent and all-American flavor, even pitching in to help her put a fresh coat of paint on the porch of her Main Street shop. Rather takes the best of the Lone Star State—pecans, peaches, pralines, chiles, dulce de leche, German sausage—and turns out treats that taste like home, only better than anything homemade ever tasted before. There are the Bacon-Cheddar Scones, the Texas High Hairs Tarts (the only big hair Rather has ever had!), Fourth-of-July's Fried Pies, Turbo-Charged Brownies with Praline Topping, pillowy Kolaches (yeasted buns with savory fillings), dulce de leche, German sausage—and turns out treats that taste like home, only better than anything homemade ever tasted before. Self-taught, Rather's 150 utterly original recipes reflect her made-with-love-from-scratch philosophy and are guaranteed to get everyone fixin' to bake.
Customer Reviews:
FRIENDLY WARNING!!!!.......2007-09-01
Please don't mistake this book for another one of those cute, novelty regional cookbooks and miss out on a true gem to add to your collection. The recipes are simply AWESOME and it's not the same ol' stuff you find in every other baking cookbook. This one strikes a perfect balance...ALL of the recipes are unique enough to peak your interest yet familiar enough to try. You will reach for this book time and time again. A cookbook well done! I love it!!!
This is a nice cookbook with beautiful photographs.......2007-08-29
I just received this book last weekend. I have paged through it several times to decide which recipe to try first. Some of the recipes are unique, some are pure Texas homecooking, but they all sound delicious. The photographs are beautiful. The book contains mostly dessert recipes, but also entrees, drinks, etc. I recommend it to anyone who wants to try a new dessert or add a new book to their collection.
Calling All Dessert Cookbook Collectors.......2007-08-23
I read about Rebecca's bakery and cookbook in a magazine article. I looked it up the cookbook on Amazon so I could read the reviews and decided to order it. I'm so glad I did because I LOVE this cookbook. I've only made the Tropical Carrot Cake so far and it was delicious. Everyone that tasted it at my church raved about it. I look forward to trying the other recipes too. Besides desserts, there a section on lunches and light dinners too. Most of the recipes sound simple, but are very unique. You won't find these recipes in other cookbooks (i.e. Creme Brulee French Toast, Dulce de Leche Macaroons, Peanut Buttercups with Peanut-Penuche Icing, Almond Bliss German Chocolate Cake). Also, another good thing, a lot of these recipes have been tried and proven great with her bakery/cafe customers. The book itself is a beautiful book. The pages are glossy and the color pictures are beautiful. I love looking through the book even if I'm not planning on cooking.
The Pastry Queen.......2007-06-27
The Pastry Queen cookbook has delicious desserts. The Tuxedo cake is our favorite. The recipes are easy to follow, and have great ingredients. I have recommended this book to all my friends. I hope the author will put out another book soon.
"a mighty fine book, lil' lady!!".......2007-06-23
Yahoo!! A Texas-size book with Texas-size desserts, all on account of one powerhouse lady. Reading her story in the Introduction of the book was as sweet as the recipes that she shares with you. A surprise and humble beginning in the baking world turned into a top rate career for Ms. Rather, and you feel the joy along with her, as you delve further into the sweet-laden pages.
You begin to think that you could just pick up and move on over to Fredericks, Texas and feel like you've been there all along. The casual and comfortable style of writing of both Rebecca Rather, and writer, Alison Oresman, as well as the incredibly delicious recipes, make you want to get started on any page in this heavy, welcoming, and beautifully photographed cookbook. At the same time, Ms. Rather encourages you to play with and modify anything that would suit your tastebuds. There is nothing pretentious or difficult to accomplish in her directions; she pretty much makes you feel at ease, and more importantly, that she is next to you, sharing her knowledge.
There are 8 sections in this tome of Southern baking and each chapter introduction has a little insight as to how everything was chosen for the section:
BREAKFAST EATS, MUFFINS, and SCONES:
Jailhouse Potato-Cinnamon Rolls (great little story to these)
Fresh Ginger-Pear Quick Bread
Eddie's Autumn Pumpkin Bread w/ Pecan Streusel Topping
Jonnie's Breakfast Granola
Kolaches
Mother's Day Pancakes (and her mom seemed to be a great lady too)
Individual Baked Omelets
Creme Brulee French Toast
Banana Bran Muffins
Peach Jam Scones
Chocolate Chip Scones
Apple-Smoked Bacon and Cheddar Scones
Essence of Orange Muffins
Whole Lemon Muffins
PIES and TARTS:
Texas Big Hairs Lemon-Lime Meringue Tarts (the name and recipe is great!)
Texas Big Hairs Chocolate-Hazelnut Meringue Tarts
Bourbon Pumpkin Tart with Struesel Topping
Fredericksburg Peach Cream Cheese tart
Frangelico-Hazelnut Fruit Tart
Black and White Cranberry Tarts
Buttermilk Pecan Pie
Fourth of July Fried Pies
Aunt Mollie's Coconut Cream Pie
Chef M:ark's Southern Comfort Apple Pie
Silken Chocolate-Walnut Tart
Grasshopper Pie
EVERYDAY DESSERTS and CANDIES:
Emergency Fruit Crostatas
Petite Pavlovas with Lemon Cream and Fresh Fruit
Hill Country Peach Cobbler
Individual Pear-Maple Cobblers
Mexican Chocolate Fudge-Pecan Cake
Mahogony Cake
Orange-Date Bundt Cake
Totally Rummy Pound Cake
Glazed Lemon-Cranberry Leaf Cake
Oatmeal Crisps
Cappuccino Cheesecakes
Mrs. Chisholm's Divinity
Coconut Cream Flan
Texas Pralines
DESSERTS for SPECIAL OCCASIONS and HOLIDAYS:
American Beauty Cake
Tuxedo Cake
Larger-Than-Life Praline Cheesecake
Bananas Foster Shortcakes
Strawberry Ricotta Cake
Peach Queen Cake with Dulce de Leche Buttercream Frosting
Cream-Filled Pumpkin Roll
Mini Apple-Cinnamon Loaves with Calvados Glaze
Espresso Creme Burlee
Toffee Bar Brownie Torte
Tiramisu with Homemade Ladyfingers
Dulce de Leche-Arborio Rice Pudding
Muchas Leches Cake with Sugared Almonds
Almond Bliss German Chocolate Cake
7th Heaven Chocolate Truffle Cake
White Chocolate-Snickers Mousse
White on White Buttermilk Cake w/ Jack Daniel's Buttercream
Tropical Carrot Cake with Coconut-Cream Cheese Frosting
COOKIES, BROWNIES, and BARS
My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies
Triple Threat Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sugar Saucers
Chock Full of Nuts Cookies
Cafe Chocoalte Cherry Bites
Caramel Filled Brownies
Turbo Charged Brownies with Praline Topping
Double Ginger Chews
Ruby Flecked Florentines
Dulce de Leche Macaroons
Snow Tipped Sand Tarts
Texas Pecan Pie Bars
Blackberry Pie Bars
Lemon Champagne Bars with Strawberry Brulee Topping
Bunches of Biscotti
LUNCHES and LIGHT DINNERS:
Beer Bread
Rocket Rolls
Nuevo Texas Waldorf Salad
Rather Rich Corn Muffins
Apple Almond Chicken Salad with Homemade Mayonnaise
Field Greens w/ Spiced Beans, Goat Cheese, and Balsamic Vinaigrette
Chicken Satay with Yogurt Cucumber Dipping Sauce
Caesar Salad Pizzas
Wild Rice and Chickpea Salad
Wild Mushroom Soup
Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Texas Tortilla Soup
Gulf Coast Shrimp Quesadillas
Brie and Brisket Quesadillas
Rather Sweet Bread and Cheese Board
Green Chile Crab Caes with Tomatillo Slasa
All Sold Out Chicken Pot Pie
Prosciutto Tostadas with Shrimp and parsley
King Ranch Casserole
Ground Beef Gorditas
Savory Crab and Shrimp Cheesecake
TREATS KIDS LOVE:
Sticky Fingers Bars
Ginger People
Franny's Fave Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie with Hot Fudge Sauce
Peanut Buttercups with Peanut Penuche Icing
PB&J Cookies with Honey Roasted Peanuts
Mars Pies
Pretty in Pin Shortbread Pigs
Maple Glazed Oatmeal Cookies
Jubilation Granola Chews
Pumpkin Yumkins
DRINKS:
Watermelon Lemonade
Frothy Vanilla Milk
Tommye Wood's Milk "Sure Packs a Punch" Punch
Rather Sweet Sagria
Hill Country Guanabana argarita's
No Bull Bloody Marys
INDEX
My only criticism would be in the Introduction portion, where she talks about some of the recipes. It seems that the pages she gives, in which the recipes are supposedly located, are wrong. But since those errors are only in the intro, yet correctly paged in the index, I don't know how much that might matter.
The Pastry Queen Cookbook is one of those volumes of baking and cooking that celebrates the charm and warmth of the South. They are, respectfully speaking, very simple for anyone to make, yet fancy enough to serve at even the most "proper" events. Thanks Rebecca!! Much obliged.
Book Description
"What William Cecil has accomplished at Biltmore Estate is one of the great preservation success stories of all time. He has set a high standard for what all historic house museums strive for: magnificently preserved buildings and grounds, engaging interpretation, and—perhaps most challenging of all—economic self-sufficiency. It is no surprise that Biltmore Estate is widely recognized as one of America's finest places to visit."
—Richard Moe, President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
"Biltmore is a glorious national historic landmark that, through creative vision and entrepreneurial management, preserves and provides insight into a way of life in the early 1900s. Bill is the imaginative and multifaceted leader who has built this great monument to enrich his community. George and I admire his dedication and success."
—George and Abby Rockefeller O'Neill
"Bill Cecil and his team at Biltmore Estate have sure proved that they know how to build a successful business. They did it the old-fashioned way: embrace a bold idea that others said could not be done and—through commitment, determination, and hard work—bring it to life. Their achievement against the odds is inspiring, and their vision and perseverance are valuable lessons to us all."
—Don Logan, Chairman, Media & Communications Group, Time Warner
"If George Vanderbilt did nothing more than engage the two most prominent and storied designers of their time, architect Richard Morris Hunt and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, to carry out his vision of a European estate in the southern Appalachians, he would have created an American icon. The beauty of the method by which the estate was executed and, even today, the meticulous attention to detail, in the presentation and care of the estate by William Cecil, have brought history to life."
—Gary J. Walters, Chief Usher, The White House
Customer Reviews:
Lady on the Hill.......2007-07-12
I've read and studied regarding the lives of the Vanderbilt families and the Biltmore inparticular. This is truly one of the BEST books I've read. We've all learned about the house and George Vanderbilt's ideas and thinking on building Biltmore. This book describes the life of his wife Edith and their daughter Cornelia after his death and what they had to go through to keep Biltmore after his death. The research is absolutely amazing. For anyone who is interested or obsessed with The Biltmore, this is a MUST read.
Like Going To Biltmore School.......2007-06-27
Half way through the book it just becomes tedious. There is a fair amount of repetition. I had to purchase another book because this one lacks enough photos. We are planning a trip there in the coming weeks
and now I think I know more than I need to know.
Biltmore Since George Died.......2007-03-09
This book is intriguing for those who enjoy nonfiction. It describes how Biltmore formed a business to keep from being sold and subdivided, what happened to the family members since George's death, and the relationship between Biltmore and the city of Asheville, among other things. It is extremely interesting if you would like to know more about the history of the estate and its families.
If you are interested in the Vanderbilts or the Biltmore Estate ... read it!.......2006-11-26
There is not a whole lot of literature around when it comes to the Vanderbilts and the Biltmore. SO this book is a refreshing and very easy to read story about the Vanderbilts and their successes leading up to the building of Biltmore taking 6 years.
Everyone that can find the time and is planning to visit the Biltmore should read this before going. The Biltmore is so large and there are so many things to see that a visit requires some advanced planning to get the whole picture about this family and this American marvel. After our first visit to the Biltmore during this year's Christmas lights, we bought an annual access pass (upgrade while your day pass is still valid and you save a bundle), this and a picture history book. Now we are planning to go back and be prepared to really udnerstand this marvellous site.
BILTMORE.......2006-10-09
Very interesting read on how Vanderbilt heir's found a way to afford to maintain this behemouth in the foothills of the Appalations. Biltmore is without peer as far as American's great houses go, it looks like the kind of place Frances I and Catherine de Medici would have felt right at home in, it's quite simply a breathtaking tour de force, but as such a true money pit and the proverbial white elephant. You have to give Vanderbilt heir, Mr. Cecil, credit for finding people to tell him how to do what his grandfather could not, and that is to make this place, if not make money, at least break even; indeed, not an easy task. As someone who has toured Richard Morris Hunt's anachronistic Biltmore, I for one applaud his efforts; the mansion looks great and the tour is very well persented, although, very expensive, but I suppose one has to look at it as a donation of sorts, to help to assure the vital survival of this singular American mansion, and the fact it helps enrich, the already rich Vanderbilt's, I suppose it an unfortunate biproduct I can live with, frankly the Vanderbilt's, thanks to the slash and burn ruthlessness of the Commador, will probably always have wealth, well at least they gave us Anderson Cooper. Good read, highly recommended.
Product Description
"Houses of the Berkshires" surveys 35 of the most renowned resort estates of Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts, designed by nationally-known firms, including McKim, Mead & White, Carrere and Hastings, and Frederick Law Olmsted. The client list included lawyer and Ambassador Joseph Choate, inventor George Westinghouse, and novelist-social observer Edith Wharton. Illustrated with over 300 archival photographs and floor plans, the book uniquely chronicles a distinctive social and literary colony and now vanished way of life.
Customer Reviews:
Beautiful book.......2007-07-24
A beautiful book, beautifully written, about a memorable part of American history, architectural and otherwise.
BERKSHIRES.......2006-05-06
Acanthus is the gold standard publisher of books of this kind and their latest book does not disappoint. Mr. White does a supurb job of selecting wonderful images of these amazing estates and his research is scholarly and highly informative. If you appreciate beautifully crafted books on Gilded Age residential architecture, then I can't imagine you not loving this book. I have never had the pleasure of visiting the Bershires, so I guess this will have to be the next best thing to experiencing in person.
Rebuttal to Mr. Millen.......2006-04-20
Mr. Millen brings up some criticisms that are valid but are misplaced. This is not an ENTIRELY fresh view of the Berkshires but local authors Gilder and Jackson bring to light much fresh architectural and social history. Also, they have found a number of previously unpublished photographs that delight, such as the early view of Naumkeag that appears inside and on the back cover. Ms. Owen's work was groundbreaking, but this work supercedes it, particularly in the great production values for which this publisher is famous.
Most curious about Mr. Millen's criticism is his desire to see the houses in mid-century ruin. There is romance in ruin, but this exquisite book's goal was to show these great estates in their glory days. Perhaps he should approach the publisher to produce his very own "Berkshires in Ruins" volume. That might indeed be a charming tome and one I would consider buying.
I highly recommend this book as an intelligent and distinctive coverage of the great houses of Lenox and Stockbridge and environs.
Well done but not an entirely fresh view of the Berkshires.......2006-04-20
I found this to be a well researched and mostly through book covering a wide selection of architectural examples from the Berkshires. It has a good mix of numerous previously published historical photos (the Lenox Library put out a photography book of note, too) but also many photos I have not seen before. While many of the properties are still standing today few of the photographs used are current, which is a shame, and fewer still are from the middle of the last century.
The title is more sterile in comparison to the almost Bible-like reference on the Berkshire estates, Carole Owens' "Berkshires Cottages: A Vanishing Era" from 1984. The Owens title came out when architecturally the "Inland Newport" was just starting to awaken from years of abuse and neglect of many of these delightful white elephants of the Gilded Age. Now this title, "Houses of the Berkshires", is being released when the area couldn't be any more desirable and vibrant with almost none of the remaining and covered Berkshires `cottages' in any state of disrepair. A large exception is the in-restoration Rotch & Tilden designed Ventfort Hall. It would be nice, as a means to better appreciate these homes, to also share in such a book as this the state to which many of these homes sank before they rebounded to the condition they are in today.
The book is more brief then I'd prefer on some homes, but often those noted residences have been far better covered in books devoted to the architect or the family. Case in point, Elm Court was best detailed in the 1991 book "The Vanderbilts and the Gilded Age: Architectural Aspirations, 1879-1901" and High Lawn in the 2003 title, "The Architecture of Delano & Aldrich". Although the latter seems to be a place forever cloaked in mystery matching its beautiful fa?ade and vast feudal landholdings.
Published by Acanthus Press who republished the brilliant architect Harrie Thomas Lindeberg's 1940 original "Domestic Architecture" as well as an assortment of reflective regional focused titles with areas of wealth and architectural significance. Among those titles is the delightful "The Main Line: Country Houses of Philadelphia's Storied Suburb, 1870-1930". This book is recommendable for those who enjoy grand domestic architecture mated with true landscaping skill which should be preserved and harkens back to a time when having money did result in good taste - at least for the Berkshires.
Book Description
When Laura Hoge Woods died in 1966, at the age of ninety-six, she left her granddaughter a cardboard box labeled "For my Janice when I'm gone." In the box were her thin gold wedding ring, her old blue Olivetti portable typewriter, and all of her fading notes for the Hill Country manuscript.
Using her grandmother's exquisite notes, Windle creates a remarkable portrait of 100 years of life in Central Texas, home of the Texas bluebonnet, swamp rabbits, Yellow Dog Democrats, and terrifying renegade Apaches and Comanches. At the heart of Hill Country are two courageous, impassioned, and ambitious women: Laura and her close friend, Rebekah Baines Johnson, mother of President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Capturing the passions of a woman's heart and the universal struggle of women seeking to make a difference in a man's world, Windle transforms historical fact-including little known stories about the Johnson family -- into page-turning fiction.
Customer Reviews:
Incredible story.......2002-05-13
I was so sad when this book was over...I couldn't put it down!! I highly recommend this for any woman to read. A wonderful story, made all the more exciting because it's set in a region of My great state that is dear to my heart!
Two Books.......2001-06-08
Ms Windle has given us two books in one. A thoroughly delightful sequel to "True Women" in Laura Woods and a thoroughly boring (even to a Texan who lived through it) story of Lyndon Johnson.
Too bad they were not bound seperately so I could have only read the one about Laura Woods.
ALL THE MORE REMARKABLE BECAUSE IT'S TRUE!.......2001-01-27
Janice Woods Windle proves that lightning can strike twice.. Following her highly successful debut novel, True Women, which was made into a 1997 television mini series, the Texas author has penned Hill Country, a sweeping historical drama fraught with danger, excitement, and love - all the more fascinating because it's true.
Drawing from an unfinished autobiography plus a trove of letters and notes, the author has revitalized the indefatigable spirit of her pioneering grandmother, Laura Hoge Woods, an amazing woman who fought marauders, scratched a living from unfriendly soil, raised seven children, counted presidents as friends, and flew with Charles Lindbergh.
Much of Laura's grit came from her mother, "Little Mattie," who once pulled down Old Boomer, an "ancient, ten-gauge, double-barreled, shotgun" to protect 7-year-old Laura and her two brothers from hostile Indians. Herman Lehmann, who had been kidnaped by Apaches as a child, was among the intruders. To Laura, he was beautiful, "His hair was golden and long....his body seemed carved from ivory."
As a teenager Laura met Herman again, at Eager Mule Creek, her wilderness hide-away. They fell in love, but the gap between Indian life and the white world proved too wide for him to bridge. Wealthy Peter Woods, owner of a large horse ranch and chairman of the Blanco County Democratic Party, became Laura's husband. Through him, she hoped to satisfy her political aspirations - if she couldn't run for office because she was a woman, she decided to be a candidate's wife.
When government railroad land was offered for a dollar an acre, Laura and Peter bought. There was one qualifier: a buyer had to build on the land and remain there for six months. Agreeing to live in this new territory while Peter tended their present ranch, she "moved to the last place on Earth....the wild empty lands of Central Texas," where she felt her life was "sliding backwards."
In 1894, a violent storm arose isolating Laura and two young sons at the distant ranch. Days of incessant rain made puddles in the cabin, brought creek water to the horse pens, and serious illness to her youngest boy. Despite the blinding torrent, Laura managed to hitch a buggy, cradle the paroxysm seized baby in one arm, hold the other child on the floorboards between her knees, ford a wild river, and drive ten miles for help.
After the rigors of wilderness life, she was delighted to move to Blanco, into a stone bungalow overlooking the river. This home, known as "Hanging Tree Ranch" because of its proximity to a lynching she witnessed as a girl, was where Laura lived her glory years.
She gave birth to their first daughter, Winifred, and met the young woman who became her lifelong friend, Rebekah Baines Johnson.
It was also at "Hanging Tree Ranch" that Peter and Laura entertained Teddy Roosevelt who bought horses for his Rough Riders. Despite initial misgivings about Roosevelt's Republicanism, Laura was won over.
Later, in 1911, Laura again doubted a political hopeful; she was dissuaded by his scholarly mein. But when Woodrow Wilson came to Texas and advocated women's suffrage, Laura enlisted in his cause.
As the United States teetered on the brink of World War I, some suspected an alliance between Mexico and Germany. Asked to provide horses for an assault on Pancho Villa, Peter mortgaged his land to buy the animals.
An attempt to transport the Spanish cow ponies by train proved disastrous - a derailment injured the horses so severely that Peter was forced to shoot them. Laura wrote, "It was like something in Peter died that night, as well."
Always troubled by Winifred, who seemed uncommonly distant, Laura was pleased when her daughter married. But Winifred's first child was stillborn, a loss that pushed the fragile girl beyond reason, and eventually warranted her institutionalization.
As Peter faded to a shadow of his former self, Laura realized that she would have to support them. The family moved to San Marcos where she opened a rooming house. Of this journey she wrote: "The road from Blanco to San Marcos, Texas, is only 45 miles as the snake slithers.....Every mile of that road is littered with little pieces of my soul, with discarded notions of right and wrong, love and duty, and all the dreams and easy pleasures youth sheds on its way toward the setting sun."
In 1924, a young Charles Lindbergh barnstormed through Texas selling plane rides. Laura flew with him twice, finding "It was like riding on a beam of sunlight and being in absolute control." That evening she pretended not to hear when Peter asked her where she had been.
Outliving her husband and her close friend, Laura saw Rebekah's son elected to the presidency. She waltzed with Lyndon Johnson at his Inaugural Ball.
At over 90 years of age, plagued by failing eyesight and osteoporosis, Laura became the unwilling resident of a nursing home where she was repeatedly told to lay "back and rest." Valiant in her obstinacy, she would have none of it. After escaping her confines, Laura thought, "Maybe if I was old like these others I'd lie back and rest. But I've got things to do." One can scarcely imagine what it was that this remarkable woman had not already done.
Impossible to put down...........2000-11-04
Having grown up in the Hill Country, I was immediately drawn to this book. Woods' protrayal of her grandmother's life brought out the history of this area and her descriptions created vivid mental pictures. You'll find yourself not wanting to put the book down as you travel through time with this story of Laura Woods.
What a wonderful wild ride was this book!.......2000-05-18
Even if you have never been to the beautiful Texas Hill Country you will find this book a facinating journey through a very significant portion of central Texas history that had an impact on the entire world. Janice Woods Windle's descriptions of places and people are so vibrant they really pop. Wonderful read.
Product Description
Lavishly ilustrated, The Somerset Hills provides a rare glimpse into some of New Jersey's finest country houses and estates, and the fascinating people who designed and built them. Volume 2 of this stunning series is also now available.
Customer Reviews:
Jan Wrede speaks to me.......2007-02-15
When I am out on the range in the Hill Country of Texas trying to identify a plant, Jan Wrede tells me what I need to know.
An excellent guide in understanding Texas hill country.......2007-01-16
The pictures and descriptions have been invaluable in my interpretive walks and hikes. This is a must have for hikers and hill property owners. I bought two! One for me and one for a friend.
Amazon.com
You can hold this book the way you hold a child's hand. And you can let this book show you a whole new world, the way a child will reveal the secrets of a secret world if you take the time to stop and watch and listen. God bless Mildred Council and the time she took to get it all down in Mama Dip's Kitchen. And it's not just the recipes that come out of a life of good cooking--there's a great deal of Mildred Council in these pages, and we are better off for the reading, the cooking, and the sharing.
In her acknowledgments, Mildred Council thanks a woman who helped with the book. Then she thanks the woman's children, "Shawn and Chelsea, for playing so nicely while we flipped so many pages." She ends her cookbook with a recipe for a child's birthday party. Her enthusiasm for life growing through all its stages can be found on every page. "I realized my name was my earthly soul," she writes, "which needed to be tended like the pumpkin seed--tended, tilled, fed, and harvested, to have a good life. And that's what I tried to do ever since for my family and myself."
Part of that tending has been owning and operating Dip's, a popular Chapel Hill, North Carolina restaurant where she serves the kind of country food she grew up cooking. Mildred Council calls her style of cooking "dump cooking" because she scoops up ingredients without measuring and "dumps" them in the bowl or pan. It took her a good deal of time to measure out what she was doing so instinctively to be able to share her work as written recipes. But she encourages every cook to use her recipes like a sewing pattern, to experiment, to stretch here and cut there to make the food you like.
Mama Dip's Kitchen is a compendium of straightforward, simple, southern American foods in chapters devoted to "Breads and Breakfast Dishes," "Poultry, Fish, and Seafood Dishes," "Beef, Pork and Lamb Dishes," "Vegetables and Salad," and "Desserts, Beverages, and Party Dishes." In simple foods as in a simple life, the complexities run deep. --Schuyler Ingle
Book Description
For nearly twenty-five years, Mildred Council—better known by her nickname, Mama Dip—has nourished thousands of hungry folks in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Her restaurant, Mama Dip's Kitchen, is a much-loved community institution that has gained loyal fans and customers from all walks of life, from New York Times food writer Craig Claiborne to former Tar Heel basketball player Michael Jordan.
Mama Dip's Kitchen showcases the same down-home, wholesome, everyday Southern cooking for which its namesake restaurant is celebrated. The book features more than 250 recipes for such favorites as old-fashioned chicken pie, country-style pork chops, sweet potatoes, fresh corn casserole, poundcake, and banana pudding. Chapters cover breads and breakfast dishes; poultry, fish, and seafood; beef, pork, and lamb; vegetables and salads; and desserts, beverages, and party dishes.
The book opens with a charming introductory essay, a savory reflection on a life in cooking that also reveals the story behind Council's nickname. It is both a graceful reminiscence of a country childhood and the inspiring story of a woman determined to make her own way in the larger world.
Customer Reviews:
Great down home southern cookin.......2007-02-18
If you like down home southern cookin this is the book for you!! I bought this and her other cookbook. Love Them!
absolutely devine.......2007-01-09
I would recommend this cookbook to anyone searching for some real down home soul food. The recipes are simple and easy. The food is beyond delicious. This is my firt mama dip's cookbook but it won't be my last. I look forward to ordering her other cookbooks soon. The other night I cooked the creole shrimp with rice, and my husband and I loved it. He is a LOUISIANNA native so it was home for him. There are so many great things that I can say about mama dip's cook book, but what i want to say to people who are skeptical and not sure if they want to purchase her book, GET IT, you will not be dissappointed at all.
Home cooking at it's best.......2006-04-28
I have the luxury of living fairly close to Mama Dips restaurant and it's always a real treat to go for lunch or dinner. It's the kind of cooking we grew up with in NC. I was so excited when she published her cookbook. I bought it and have read it cover to cover. I not only love the recipes but the story itself is inspirational. If you ever go to her restaurant - don't skip the banana pudding. Like the recipe in the book, it's served warm and it's TO DIE FOR!!
Cookbook Review.......2006-03-18
I have thoroughly enjoyed the cook book and have used it many times and share recipes with several friends. The recipes are quick, easy and delicious... My family has loved everything that I have fixed from the book.
Mama Dip's Kitchen Cookbook.......2006-02-26
Excellent book. Recipes are not difficult to prepare. Reading this book is an enjoyable as making the delicious recipes presented in it. This book enables us to make food like mom or grandma used to make!!
Average customer rating:
- Hampton's a Winner
- Richie's Picks: KNIGHTS OF THE HILL COUNTRY
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Knights of the Hill Country
Tim Tharp
Manufacturer: Knopf Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0375836535
Release Date: 2006-08-22 |
Book Description
In a small Oklahoma town, one star linebacker must decide what kind of man he wants to be--both on and off the field.
Welcome to Kennisaw--where Friday night high school football ranks right up there with God and country, and sometimes even comes in first. This year, the Kennisaw Knights are going for their fifth straight undefeated season, and if they succeed, they'll be more than the best high school team in the eastern Oklahoma hill country--they'll be legends.
But the Knights' legacy is a heavy weight to carry for Hampton, linebacker and star of the team. On the field, he's so in control you'd think he was able to stop time. But his life off the field is a different story. His father walked out on him and his mom years ago, and now his mom has a new boyfriend every week. He's drawn to a smart, quirky girl at school--the type a star athlete just isn't supposed to associate with. And meanwhile, his best friend and teammate Blaine--the true friend who first introduced Hampton to football back when he had nothing else--is becoming uncomfortably competitive, and he's demanding Hampton's loyalty even as Hampton thinks he's going too far.
This unforgettable novel is the story of a boy whose choices will decide the kind of man he becomes, and raises powerful questions about sportsmanship, loyalty, and the deceptiveness of legends.
Customer Reviews:
Hampton's a Winner.......2007-08-19
My friends might be surprised that I read a book that wasn't a fantasy, let alone a sports book, but good writing transcends genre and subject matter, and Knights of the Hill Country is very good writing. The best thing about this book is narrator Hampton Green's voice, which gives a whole new meaning to that overused expression, "pitch-perfect." I was just wondering this morning if I was a little too harsh in a couple of recent reviews, and then I read this book and felt justified by the difference in quality! Talk about a dimensional character--teenage football player Hampton is SUCH a real and unique person, his voice colored by a regional tone which simply adds to the story telling.
Hampton plays football on a virtually unbeatable high school team because his best friend Blaine and Blaine's father have taught him to play hard and well. Over the years, Hampton has relied heavily on those relationships, with his own father gone and his mother largely unavailable. But during Hampton's senior year, he finds himself becoming aware of a disconnect between his vision of the world and Blaine's outlook on life. Hampton thinks of himself as slow, but he's starting to realize that it's not because he's stupid; instead, he mulls things over. Unlike Blaine, Hampton has trouble expressing his thoughts on the spot.
Hampton gradually becomes disillusioned with being a follower, particularly Blaine's follower. The fact that Hampton has turned out to be a very good football player, while Blaine is held back by an untreated knee injury, is one reason for the conflict--a frustrated and envious Blaine puts a strain on Hampton's straightforward loyalty with his increasingly irrational demands. Among other things, Blaine tries to put a stop to Hampton's interest in a girl Blaine feels isn't sufficiently popular and good-looking. But Hampton's relationship with Sara helps him to think in new ways and break Blaine's hold over him. Hampton wisely realizes that he can love football and play to win without neglecting other possibilities and joys in life.
All of this growth is shown in the context of Hampton and Blaine's activities at school, on dates, and especially during football games. The sports scenes are particularly well written, given greater meaning by Hampton's take on the game. (I like how Hampton ruefully contrasts his ability to make exactly the right moves in football with his inability to say the right things in social settings.)
The book's pivotal moment shows that Hampton's deep loyalty to Blaine can move him to do something which, while it infuriates Blaine, saves Blaine from himself. In a very satisfying evolution, seemingly passive Hampton becomes the action-taker--and we realize that his integrity has given his "still waters" choices increasing power, in contrast to Blaine's frenetically petty mistakes. I highly recommend Knights of the Hill Country. When I updated my program's library, I didn't find very many excellent sports-centered YA novels, but this one definitely earns a place on that shelf.
Richie's Picks: KNIGHTS OF THE HILL COUNTRY.......2006-10-20
What is this world coming to? Two football stories worth my talking about in the same year? What is next -- me out there barbecuing tofu at a tailgate party?
Back when Hampton Green was nine years old, his father abandoned the family. Hampton and his mom had moved downstate to a modest rental in Kennisaw, Oklahoma. Mom landed a job in a store and, in the ensuing years, has gone through a series of boyfriends. During those years she has never been there emotionally for Hampton.
Hampton's salvation since moving to Kennisaw had been his long friendship with Blaine Keller. A generation ago Blaine's dad had been part of the Kennisaw Knights high school football team that went undefeated for five straight years. Blaine and his dad taught Hampton the game of football and now the two friends are seniors and stars on this generation's miracle Knights team, aiming at completing their own fifth undefeated season to match that legendary streak of the past.
But Blaine has been trying to hide from the adults how badly his knee was injured in a game at the end of the previous season. It becomes painfully clear to us that the increasingly bitter Blaine Keller -- with his unforgiving father on his back -- is not going to achieve the greatness beyond high school that he's got all his chips riding on. Meanwhile, the big, redheaded, six foot-four Hampton is only getting better as he continues to develop his unmatched intuitive sense of the game.
Unfortunately, Hampton doesn't have the same intuitive sense when it comes to school assignments or to talking with girls. But on the plus side, despite being in the position to ride Blaine's coattails and consort with the most popular girls at school, Hampton has developed a quiet admiration for a shy yet articulate girl with baggy clothes named Sara Reynolds whom, thanks to her wild hair, the popular kids scathingly refer to as Bush Girl.
It is Sara who has some important things to teach Hampton.
"Darnell didn't see how nobody with an ounce of brains could fight for the Confederates and Lana said she had ancestors that was on the South's side and they was fighting for a way of life and old-fashion family values.
"Darnell turned over to me. 'Can you believe this girl, Hamp? You explain it to her. I'm wore out.'
" 'I don't know that much about it,' I said. looking down. Last thing I wanted to do was get balled up in a controversy. As good of a fighter as I was on the football field, I hated a argument in civilian life. Darnell was my best friend after Blaine and he was black, so I wasn't about to take the South's side, but I didn't want to hurt Lana's feelings neither. Besides, I didn't know but what Sara might have some relatives from the South somewheres along the line too.
"Darnell threw up his hands. 'How about you Sara? You're smart. Let me ask you. Was slavery wrong?'
" 'Of course,' she said.
" 'Well, then, let me ask you another thing. What reason could anyone have for fighting on a side that wants to own slaves?'
"Sara was quiet for a moment, her long lashes shading down over her eyes. 'Well,' she said finally, 'I guess a lot of folks want to be part of a side so much they just go along with what their side says is right.'
" 'Even when it's really wrong,' Darnell threw in.
" 'That's just it,' Sara said. 'Some people don't know who they really are themselves, so how are they going to know what they think is right or wrong?'"
One of the seminal themes in young adult literature involves adolescent characters learning to speak, and to speak up, as they create their own voices and identities. Hampton's innocence and blind loyalty to Blaine have totally impeded his ability to develop that individual identity and voice, but with the end of high school in sight we are rooting loudly for this big, goodhearted Oklahoma kid with his "durns," "done alreadys," and folksy metaphors, to heed Sara's lessons and become his own person.
Book Description
Smitten by a love of hot peppers, journalist Richard Schweid traveled to the capital of the U.S. hot sauce industry, New Iberia, Louisiana. This is Cajun country, and capsicum (as hot peppers are known botanically) thrive in the region's salty, oil-rich soil like nowhere else. At once an entertaining exploration of the history and folklore that surround hot peppers and a fascinating look at the industry built around the fiery crop, Schweid's book also offers a sympathetic portrait of a culture and a people in the midst of economic and social change.
This edition of Hot Peppers has been thoroughly updated and includes some twenty-five recipes for such deliciously spicy dishes as crawfish ŽtouffŽe, jambalaya, and okra shrimp gumbo.
Book Description
Wineries, fine restaurants, unique shops, and recommended lodgings--this guide has it all for discerning food and wine lovers visiting the Sonoma Valley. Also featured are recipes from the region's best chefs, lists of area festivals, and step-by-step tours of the area.
Customer Reviews:
Where is Healdsburg?.......2006-11-03
Overall this is a fine book with one big caveat: it does not cover Healdsburg, which is where my friends and I spend a lot of time. If you have traveled to the area and spent time in the tasting rooms or restaurants in this town, then you'll underrstand my frustration. If you haven't travelled to the area and are looking for something comprehensive, I don't this this book is it.
An outstanding California wine country guide........2000-08-03
Now in an thoroughly updated third edition, Hill Guide Sonoma Valley : The Secret Wine Country provides an outstanding food and wine guide to California's wine country, pairing walking tours with features of restaurants and wines and even including recipes from featured chefs. The inclusion of rates and prices makes it easy to choose lodging and attractions.
A terrific guidebook.......1999-09-25
My wife and I and two other couples will travel to Sonoma Valley soon, and I've been designated trip planner. I got out this book, a copy of which I had purchased on a previous trip, and found using it a great pleasure. It's extraordinarily thorough, very nicely organized, and well-written. It is, in fact, the best guidebook I've read.
"Sonoma Valley..." an essential read for the Sonoma bound........1999-03-21
Written by two longtime residents of the area, "Sonoma Valley the Secret Wine Country," is not only an indispensable guide for those planning a trip to the Sonoma Valley, it is also a great read for the "armchair adventurer" simply wishing to learn more about Sonoma's unique history and culture. This is a travel guide that one wants to continue reading long after the trip is over. The book is organized in a somewhat non-traditional format, a format that I found far superior to the familiar one. Instead of there being "restaurants" and "lodgings" sections, the book is organized by area, so that if you find yourself in say, Glen Ellen,(the tiny hamlet of Jack London and the Valley's only winery "tram" tour) you can simply open up the book and find out what attractions, be they eateries, wineries or antique stores, are in the immediate vicinity. This format, along with the detailed "insider's" information the authors have compiled, allows you to get to know the places you are visiting in a much more intimate and realistic way than a traditinal travel guide. You will never have that dreaded feeling of seeing youself as a tourist with this book. After reading about the Sonoma Valley's freindly, but sometimes strained relations with it's more famous rival, the Napa Valley, you'll know not to say something like "oh, that Cabernet is excellent-almost as good as the one I tasted in Napa last weekend!" There is also a number of little extras in each section, such as recipies from the locals, ratings for the level of rommance in each place, and brief histories on each of the places you are visiting. Again, I found this to be a really great book, not only for travelling, but simply as an entertaining read about a very interesting place. Indeed, the book prompted me to remove myself from my laurels and write my first online review. This guide definitely earns five stars, the online reviewer's highest praise.
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