Taste of Country Cooking or Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook

Taste of Country Cooking

Author: Edna Lewis

In recipes and reminiscences equally delicious, Edna Lewis celebrates the uniquely American country cooking she grew up with some fifty years ago in a small Virginia Piedmont farming community that had been settled by freed slaves. With menus for the four seasons, she shares the ways her family prepared and enjoyed food, savoring the delights of each special time of year:

• The fresh taste of spring—the first shad, wild mushrooms, garden strawberries, field greens and salads . . . honey from woodland bees . . . a ring mold of chicken with wild mushroom sauce . . . the treat of braised mutton after sheepshearing.

• The feasts of summer—garden-ripe vegetables and fruits relished at the peak of flavor . . . pan-fried chicken, sage-flavored pork tenderloin, spicy baked tomatoes, corn pudding, fresh blackberry cobbler, and more, for hungry neighbors on Wheat-Threshing Day . . . Sunday Revival, the event of the year, when Edna’s mother would pack up as many as fifteen dishes (what with her pickles and breads and pies) to be spread out on linen-covered picnic tables under the church’s shady oaks . . . hot afternoons cooled with a bowl of crushed peaches or hand-cranked custard ice cream.

• The harvest of fall—a fine dinner of baked country ham, roasted newly dug sweet potatoes, and warm apple pie after a day of corn-shucking . . . the hunting season, with the deliciously “different” taste of game fattened on hickory nuts and persimmons . . . hog-butchering time and the making of sausages and liver pudding . . . and Emancipation Day with its rich and generous thanksgiving dinner.

• The heartyfare of winter—holiday time, the sideboard laden with all the special foods of Christmas for company dropping by . . . the cold months warmed by stews, soups, and baked beans cooked in a hearth oven to be eaten with hot crusty bread before the fire.

The scores of recipes for these marvelous dishes are set down in loving detail. We come to understand the values that formed the remarkable woman—her love of nature, the pleasure of living with the seasons, the sense of community, the satisfactory feeling that hard work was always rewarded by her mother’s good food. Having made us yearn for all the good meals she describes in her memories of a lost time in America, Edna Lewis shows us precisely how to recover, in our own country or city or suburban kitchens, the taste of the fresh, good, natural country cooking that was so happy a part of her girlhood in Freetown, Virginia.

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Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook

Author: Ruth Berolzheimer

It's all here: from the basic to the gourmet, from preparation to serving, all presented in a clear, concise, simple manner. Recipes for every level of expertise are included, from basic broccoli to Artichoke Souffle, along with all-American classics such as Chicken a la King and Peach Meringue Pie. In addition, the cookbook offers a cornucopia of food suggestions for any situation and any pocketbook: complete menus and table settings for each month of the year and holidays, storage tips, food-buying guides, calorie counters, and much more. The widespread attention to regional American cooking and the proliferation of home-style cafes across the country all point to a new pride and interest in American cooking. The Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook, with its 10,000 recipes and countless food facts and ideas, is a cornerstone cookbook for every kitchen.

Table of Contents:

	Your 2.000 Facts About Food	5
	Your Menus	51
	Your Soups and Chowders	97
	Your Breads, Biscuits and Rolls	131
	Your Sandwiches	177
	Your Snacks and Appetizers	211
	Your Leftovers	237
	Your Egg Dishes	279
	Your Fish and Sea Food	309
	Your Meats	345
	Your Poultry	407
	Your Fresh Vegetables and Potatoes	449
	Your Salads	521
	Your Pies and Pastries	563
	Your Desserts	605
	Your Refrigerator Desserts	647
	Your Cakes	683
	Your Cookies	731
	Your Candies	777
	Your Dairy Dishes	797
	Your Canning, Freezing and Preserving	807
	Your Sauces, Gravies and Dressings	849
	Your Dishes for Children	869
	Your Lunch Box	877
	Your Meals for Two	891
	Your Quick Dinners for the Woman in a Hurry	905
	Your Beverages	913
	Your Cheese Dishes	921
	Your Fine Art of Carving	931
	Your Table Setting and Entertaining	939
	Your Pressure Cookery	961
	Your Index	I