Every recipe has a story and every story has a secret. For folks in Tatatonka, Iowa, the best recipes in town, and therefore the best secrets, have long been kept in the coveted recipe book of local cooking legend Trudie Melody. When Trudie becomes ill, her granddaughter, successful (at least by Tatatonka standards) garden gnome maker Margot, decides it's no time to be timid and boldly asks for the recipe book. Thinking she's secured the book for herself, Margot's life goes into a tailspin when, after her grandma's death, a crooked probate lawyer determines the book will go to Sheryl, Margot's shrewd first cousin, who needs the book to bail out her flailing career. Margot's only recourse is to sue Sheryl before she can take possession of the treasured book. The courtroom takes on a voyeuristic and carnival-like atmosphere when the Judge rules to have the recipe book read aloud in order to determine the rightful owner

Each cookbook in Quail Ridge Press' acclaimed "Best of the Best State Cookbook Series" contains favorite recipes submitted from the most popular cookbooks published in the state. The cookbooks are contributed by junior leagues, community organizations, popular restaurants, noted chefs, and just plain good cooks. From best-selling favorites to small community treasures, each contributing cookbook is featured in a catalog section that provides a description and ordering information -- a bonanza for anyone who collects cookbooks. Beautiful photographs, interesting facts, original illustrations and delicious recipes capture the special flavor of each state.

I tell of a time, a place, and a way of life long gone. For many years I have had the urge to describe that treasure trove, lest it vanish forever. So, partly in response to the basic human instinct to share feelings and experiences, and partly for the sheer joy and excitement of it all, I report on my early life. It was quite a romp. So begins Mildred Kalish’s story of growing up on her grandparents’ Iowa farm during the depths of the Great Depression. With her father banished from the household for mysterious transgressions, five-year-old Mildred and her family could easily have been overwhelmed by the challenge of simply trying to survive. This, however, is not a tale of suffering. Kalish counts herself among the lucky of that era. She had caring grandparents who possessed—and valiantly tried to impose—all the pioneer virtues of their forebears, teachers who inspired and befriended her, and a barnyard full of animals ready to be tamed and loved. She and her siblings and their cousins from the farm across the way played as hard as they worked, running barefoot through the fields, as free and wild as they dared. Filled with recipes and how-tos for everything from catching and skinning a rabbit to preparing homemade skin and hair beautifiers, apple cream pie, and the world’s best head cheese (start by scrubbing the head of the pig until it is pink and clean), Little Heathens portrays a world of hardship and hard work tempered by simple rewards. There was the unsurpassed flavor of tender new dandelion greens harvested as soon as the snow melted; the taste of crystal clear marble-sized balls of honey robbed from a bumblebee nest; the sweet smell from the body of a lamb sleeping on sun-warmed grass; and the magical quality of oat shocking under the light of a full harvest moon. Little Heathens offers a loving but realistic portrait of a “hearty-handshake Methodist” family that gave its members a remarkable legacy of kinship, kindness, and remembered pleasures. Recounted in a luminous narrative filled with tenderness and humor, Kalish’s memoir of her childhood shows how the right stuff can make even the bleakest of times seem like “quite a romp.”

This “grandmother of all Mennonite cookbooks” brings a touch of Mennonite culture and hospitality to any home that relishes great cooking. Mary Emma Showalter compiled favorite recipes from hundreds of Mennonite women across the United States and Canada noted for their excellent cooking into this book of more than 1,100 recipes. These tantalizing dishes came to this country directly from Dutch, German, Swiss, and Russian kitchens. Old-fashioned cooking and traditional Mennonite values are woven throughout. Original directions like “a dab of cinnamon” or “ten blubs of molasses” have been standardized to help you get the same wonderful individuality and flavor. Showalter introduces each chapter with her own nostalgic recollection of cookery in grandma’s day—the pie shelf in the springhouse, outdoor bake ovens, the summer kitchen. First published in 1950, Mennonite Community Cookbook has become a treasured part of many family kitchens. Parents who received the cookbook when they were first married make sure to purchase it for their own sons and daughters when they wed. This 65th anniversary edition adds all new color photography and a brief history while retaining all of the original recipes and traditional Fraktur drawings. Check out the cookbook blog at mennonitecommunitycookbook.com

Recipes of My 15 Grandmothers is a collection of recipes and stories from the times of the Crypto-Jews - who were hiding and pretending to be Catholic during the Spanish Inquisition while practicing their Judaism underground - through the present. The grandmothers of the family devised clever ways to disguise the fact that they were still keeping kosher while appearing to be eating pork. Until modern times, the family pretended to be devout Catholics, yet passed many of the Jewish customs on, sometimes in the form of these recipes, their true legacy. For several hundred years they hid their fasts and celebration of Jewish holidays, revealing them only via their recipes and some kosher kitchen customs. This collection was found recently, hidden away at Genie Milgrom's mother's house.

Here is the complete cooky book-more than 450 recipes, dozens of appetizing full-color photographs, and many how-to-do-it sketches. This treasury of cooky baking embraces all tastes-from the old-fashioned and traditional to the new and sophisticated. Plus a large section devoted entirely to holiday cookies. Fun to use. . .perfect to give. Here's the classic treasury of cookie baking that so many people grew up with: the beloved 1963 edition of Betty Crocker's Cooky Book, now in a brand-new, authentic facsimile of the original book. Remember baking cookies with Mom or Grandma when you were a kid? The wonderful smell, the spatulas to lick and, best of all, delicious cookies you'd helped to make yourself? If you grew up baking with Betty Crocker, then you probably had this book, filled with all your favorites-from Chewy Molasses Cookies to Chocolate Crinkles to Toffee Squares and many more! Now, with this authentic reproduction of the original 1963 edition, you can relive those moments, taste the cookies you grew up with and share them with your loved ones. All the charm of the original and all the great recipes are here. Turn to Betty Crocker's Cooky Book to find: * An authentic facsimile of the classic 1963 edition packed with all your favorite cookie recipes * Over 450 recipes, dozens of nostalgic color photographs and charming how-to sketches * Scrumptious recipes for Holiday Cookies (dozens of Christmas specialties), Family Favorites (for lunchtime, snacktime, anytime), Company Best Cookies (fancy enough for company) and much more This book is a great gift for new and experienced bakers alike. Only one family copy of this favorite cookbook? Now everyone can have a copy of this classic book!