Food to Die For, Recipes and Stories from America’s Most Legendary Haunted Places, Reviewed

 

Whether you are interested in the paranormal or not, I’ll bet every one of you will admit to loving a good ghost story. I know that I do, and have many fond memories of sitting around a campfire with my fellow Girl Scouts, listening to them. A couple of my own rather strange experiences have pushed me in the direction of believing in the paranormal, if only slightly, versus scoffing at it previously.

 

Those of you interested in the paranormal may be familiar with Ami Bruni, co-star and Executive Producer of the widely successful paranormal series, “Kindred Spirits” wherein she helps frightened people reclaim their homes from the mysteries of the unknown. Bruni, who admits that she grew up in a haunted house, was also one of the stars of the program “Ghost Hunters,” with which everyone is no doubt familiar.

 

Her combined love of vintage regional recipes and the paranormal shine through in this unique and fabulous cookbook, Food to Die For, Recipes and Stories from America’s Most Legendary Haunted Places, a book dedicated to Lizbeth “Lizzie” Borden, “…whose killer meatloaf recipe inspired the idea for this book.” I don’t think I have ever enjoyed reading a cookbook as much as I did this one. It combines haunted sights across the country — mysterious hotels, eerie ghost towns, and possessed pubs (one of which was visited by “Ghosthunters” in my town) — pairing these with recipes reflecting happenings on those sites. Case in point, there is a recipe for Lizzie Borden’s meatloaf. What a perfect dish to serve at a Halloween party, proffering slices on the blade of an axe.

  Bruni is not wrong when she says, “Food can bring the dead back to life.” A rather frightening sentiment, but an accurate one, considering that I can’t make fried chicken without thinking about my grandmother. I could really relate to Bruni when she talked about her late mother, her signature dish being a Caesar salad recipe that the family loved, but for which there was no physical recipe. When her mother passed away, the recipe went with her. This caused her to associate food and recipes with the dead and paranormal experiences. She was delighted when she found a Caesar salad recipe from Sheboygan Asylum, that reminded her so much of her mother’s. I’m just going to leave that there. 

The recipes are largely gleaned from other sources, many of which are now out of print. Imagine serving cinnamon sugar cookies from Alcatraz. What a great way to give your kids a tasty dessert and teach them some history at the same time. Many of these recipes do come from penitentiaries, all of which have a haunted past.

If you are looking for a new way to host a dinner party, you need this book. Nothing, I guarantee, will make you as popular in your neighborhood, at family gatherings, or as a member of your gourmet club, but to follow one of the menus and recipes in this book, pairing them with creepy music and a complementary story.

The book is full of wonderful vintage photographs as well as fabulous full color photos, along with recipes from the corresponding haunted places. I was pleased to see two places from Missouri listed in this book, but at the same time surprised that one of the most haunted places in Missouri, namely the Lemp Mansion in St. Louis was not.

 

 If you enjoy entertaining guests in a unique and memorable way, this is the guidebook on how to do it. The book is divided into the following sections:

Eerie Hotels
Horrifying Homes
Otherworldly Watering Holes
Hair-Raising Historic Landmarks
Hellish Institutions
Ghoulish Ghost Towns

It was so much fun learning the creepy history of so many places, as well as seeing the interiors the way these places looked back in the day, and even, in some cases, seeing a photo of their menu. I have to tell you that this book is the best cookbook that I have read all year. This book will appeal to those who love cookbooks as well as those who love the paranormal. It is a must have for either one of these personal libraries.

 

It is available for pre-order with the publication date of July 30, 2024. You can get your own copy (and you know you want to) by clicking here.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 Disclaimer: I received a complimentary digital copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.