Earlier this week I
was asked to come view the cookbook collection of a dear friend who had passed
away, unexpectedly, this past summer. I was quite overcome when I made my
selection, choosing her two self-created three-ring binders of handwritten and
cut-and-pasted recipes, as well as various community and Junior League
cookbooks. I love cookbooks that are created by groups of women to benefit a
common cause. Reading them is like paying a visit to a bunch of eager cooks all
willing to share their favorite recipes. I get that same feeling when reading cookbooks by Phyllis Good.
I was
first introduced to her (and consequently introduced her to you) when I
reviewed her Fix-It
and Forget-It® Slow
Cooker Magic, and shared the recipes for Refried
Beans and Crockpot
Butter Chicken. I got the same feeling when I read her latest, Lancaster Central
Market Cookbook, featuring more wonderful cooks, more great recipes, and
evoking that cozy community feeling for which her books are known.
For the uninitiated,
Central Market, the oldest continually operating farmers market in the U.S., is
just off the main square in the city of Lancaster, PA. The stand-holders are a
mix of local organic farmers, truck-patch gardeners, bakers, butchers,
cheese-makers, and cooks from local kitchens who bring their fully prepared
foods to sell.
This book features
recipes from those stand-holders, 350-plus recipes, ranging from Pumpkin Cream
Soup to Susquehanna Riverman’s Pot Pie, from Lamb Balls with Sour Cream and
Capers, to Scallops and Pasta Romano, Espresso Mousse to Strawberry
Snowbank Pie. Is your mouth watering yet?
In this book, like
her previous, every recipe I have tried has been a winner. Good,
solid, tasty, home cooking that cannot help to satisfy even the pickiest of
eaters. Each recipe is easy to read, with concise instructions, and ingredients
that won't send you to the next town (or state, or online) to locate. This is a
must have for your cookbook library.
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