The B.T.C. Old-Fashioned Grocery Cookbook
596726
The B.T.C. cookbook is not what I thought it would be.  (B.T.C. stands for Be The Change)  I was looking for simple home cooking that my grandma and relatives from the south used to make for us when my sister and I were kids.  These recipes are more like you would find on one of the cooking channels for foodies.

This cookbook was very interesting to read.  It had stories about the grocery store was opened in the small town of Water Valley, Mississippi.  There are back stories about the recipies, the woman that created them and the people who live in Water Valley and come to the shop.

The recipes sound good but are not the type I would try to make myself.  Most of them use a lot of ingredients, many of which are spices and seasonings.  This makes many of them out of my price range for everyday meals.  Others use ingredients I don't use such as lard.  Many call for alcohol.  There are also hard to find ingredients such as hoop cheese and regional items.  I wish there were suggestions for substitutions listed to make things easier.  All in all it was a beautiful book that I enjoyed reading but will probably never cook from.

I received this book for free from the publishers Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.
3899720
I had lost my old Peg Bracken book somewhere along life's way and was happy to revisit these simple, yet tasty recipes again.  I like the spirit of ad hoc adventure in food preparation that she suggests.
2988972
My mother-in-law had this cookbook, and I had copied a few of the recipes many years ago.  Finally got my own!  Too bad this is out-of-print, but the copy I received was in decent condition.  The recipes are short, easy, and delicious -- like the simple cooking from days gone by -- and, the ingredients are readily available -- not exotic.  Thank you, Mr. Food!
4273629
I ordered this book for a relative who was interested in some of the recipes--I have an original copy handed down from my Father.
3445776
Marcia Adams has written some of my favorite cookbooks and this is one of them. I had long wished that I had paid more attention when my Great Grandmother and Grandmother cooked. When they passed away, I thought their wonderful recipes were lost to me for good. I was thrilled when I discovered this cookbook of long forgotten recipes. Everything from salads my Granny made using dandelion greens to potato chip cookies. My copy is well used and pretty dog eared because I refer to it often especially during the holidays. This cookbook will help you pass on old favorite dishes to a new generation.
1069510
The book arrived timely and in very good shape
I bought the book mostly for recipies to compare old.with new. I found the stories interesting also.
668662
I love this cook book! It has my absolute favorite dish, fiesta lime chicken, from applebee's in it! and not to mention the scrumptious cheddar biscuits from red lobster!
4689733
I got my first BC big cookbook almost 50 years ago.  Finally wore it out.  Had to get another one.
3643448
There are some recipies I think I can make from this cookbook.
2102373
Received this book for Christmas 1991.  It's full of good old fashioned recipes for breakfast, barn raisings & everything in between.  These are not fat free or lite recipes, & they do not use humuss. They do teach you how to make egg noodles, baking powder biscuits, old fashioned bbq sandwiches & real lemonade.  I  pulled the book out today to make  their apple cake with caramel sauce.  I like to make several when apples are in season, then freeze the cakes to have for dessert on cold winter evenings in front of a fire.  The chapters are well planned & each recipe includes personal comments from Marcia Adams.  They included a few photos from various Amish or Mennonite events in northern Indiana.  It's good old fashioned cooking at it's best!
4238396
I'm so happy this book has been re-issued! I have my mother's copy of the original 1955 edition and it was her Bible in the Fall when the garden started yielding more produce than we could consume (and there were 10 of us!) What makes this cookbook particularly enjoyable is the variety of strange and fascinating recipes. Some are quick and easy to be made in small batches. A few are labeled "Career Girl" recipes and are made from frozen fruits and vegetables so busy "career girls" (a popular term in the 50s) could hurry home from their "girl Friday" jobs and whip up a batch of salad pickles that tasted like she had slaved in the kitchen for hours.

I love some of the very old-fashioned sounding chapters. Crystallized Fruits & Flowers has detailed instructions for crystallizing everything from strawberries to violets and tons of recipes including Honey & Rose-Petal Preserves and Glacd Wine Figs. There is a chapter on Conserves, which I happen to be partial to, including Rhubarb (Pie Plant) Conserve and Red Beet Conserve. The rather lengthy Meats and Sea Food chapter includes all Venison Mincemeat, Pickled Oysters, instructions for brining, corning, and pickling meat, a variety of meat pastes, sausages and scrapples and "Easy Brined Shrimp".

Marion Brown's section on Preserves is testimony to the fact that early cooks could figure out a way to preserve darn near anything and includes quaint recipes like Sun-Cooked Strawberry Preserves, Pumpkin Chips, and Cantalope Preserves.

Perhaps the most unique recipe in the book is one she copied from a fifteenth century cookbook for "Peris in Syrippe and Wyne", She adds 2 interpretations of that, her own and a variation by a friend which adds orange slices. I love the idea of adding saffron.

I recently published a cookbook of my own (<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Fry-Bacon-Add-Onions-The-Valentine-Family-Friends-Cookbook/dp/0978594045/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Fry Bacon. Add Onions: The Valentine Family & Friends Cookbook</a>&nbsp;nd glancing through the section on Preserves I'm sure many of those recipes evolved from Marion Brown's cookbook. This is a highly readable treasure!
3574814
I really like this cookbook.  It has many recipes that are different or I have not seen before (which is a new thing for me) like:  Rhubarb Sauce, Rabbit Casserole, Maple Butternut Frosting, Honeybee Custard Cake, Crabapple Jelly, Fresh Cooked Fiddleheads, and Honey Mashed Rutabaga.  A few of my favorite recipes from the book are:  Maple Cookies, Homemade Waffles, Swedish Meatballs, Cured Italian Sausage Stick and Sweet Mustard.  The recipes are divided by seasons and months which is helpful to use all fresh and in season ingredients.  According to the author, many of the recipes come from growing up in rural New England in the 1950's and 60's, but there are also a few recipes with an international flare.
3925986
By The American Girls Collection (Pleasant Company Publications, Inc., 1994)

This cookbook contains step-by-step directions to recipes that people made in the 1800's, cooking tips, information about how people lived in that timeframe, photographs, and illustrations. This cookbook is sectioned into eight main parts: Cooking on the Frontier, Pioneer Kitchens, Setting Kirsten's Table, Tips for Today's Cooks, Breakfast, Dinner, Favorite Foods, and Plan a Pioneer Party. Some of the recipes comprised in this cookbook include Fresh Applesauce, Homemade Butter, Swedish Pancakes, Ginger Cookies, St. Lucia Buns, and Swedish Almond Rusks. Encompassing a great deal of 1800's cooking and living habits, nice illustrations, and photographs, this cookbook will leave readers with something to savor.
4969382
This is a great little cookbook full of traditional type foods. You won't have to search high and low to find the ingredients to make these recipes. It's worth the price to have a collection of really usable choices all in one place.
4450122
I was visiting with a friend and browsed through her copy of this "long ago" cookbook.  When I returned home I ordered it right away.
4609395
Ths book was ecxactley as advertized very  good condition for its age  We will enjoy these old fashioned recipes  thank-you
3635190
You've been told that when you travel, you should eat like a local. But if you don't get the chance to travel, then you don't get to eat like a local. So Canadian food bloggers and cookbook authors Randy and Darcy Shore did it for us, and they brought back recipes from diners, bistros, and cafes from around the world and made them workable in the home kitchen.

Home and Away is filled with over 100 recipes for comfort food from all corners of the world. With the recipes are tons of helpful tips and tricks, from where to find some of the more obscure ingredients to possible substitutions or ideas on what to freeze or change up in the recipe. There are also several moments with well-known chefs, where food personalities such as Anito Lo, Edward Lee, and Brad Miller talk about their inspirations [Note: most of these chefs are from Canada, as are the Shores, and they also have a blurb from Mario Batali, who has fallen out of favor lately. I thought I'd mention in case that matters to anyone].

Home and Away starts with East Asia and Australia. Recipes include Easy Asian Spring Rolls, White Miso Ramen, Lemongrass Chicken Curry, Pad Thai with Prawns, Soy and Honey Braised Chicken, and Beef Chow Fun. From there, it's off to Africa, India, and West Asia. These recipes encourage you to make classics such as Lahmacun, Haloumi Salad, Red Pepper Chicken Wings, Turkish White Beans, Moroccan Lamb Breast with Lemon Couscous, Sweet Potato Tagine, and Spatchcocked Chicken with Chickpeas. They eve include a recipe for the spice blend Ras el Hanout.

Next is a tour of Europe, where the recipes include Crispy Potato Latkes with Caviar, Gazpacho, Smoked Tomato and Sausage Ragu, Fish en Papillote, Paella, Chicken Provencal, Irish Boiled Dinner (Corned Beef and Cabbage, of course), Venison and Stout Stew, Spaetzle, and a Cinnamon Apple Dutch Baby. And then it's off to the Americas. These diner classics include Hot Chicken and Waffles, Southern Fried Chicken with Gravy, West Coast Smoked Salmon, Jerk Chicken with Grilled Romaine Salad, Duck Poutine, Peruvian Hen Soup, Chicago-Style Beef Brisket Sandwich with Giardiniera, Pork Tomatillo Tacos with Onion Pico, Pulled Pork Sandwiches, New Orleans Fried Fish Po'Boy with Smoky Remoulade, and Mexican Chocolate Flan.

Home and Away is the perfect introduction to world cuisine for those who can't afford to travel (like me) or who want to try out some new food before heading out to the airport. It's a great way to build a bridge to other cultures. And all the beautiful photos and stories of the authors' travel experiences offer a lot of insight into traveling and eating in countries where you don't know the language or the customs. It's a great cookbook for those who get around and for those of us who are mostly stuck at home, as it gives us a glimpse of the rest of the world to try at home and share with friends and family.

Galleys for Home and Away were provided by Arsenal Pulp Press through Edelweiss, with many thanks.