Potluck Paradise: Favorite Fare from Church and Community Cookbooks

by Rae Katherine Eighmey, Debbie Miller, Dave Wood (Foreword)

Here is the book that answers the age-old What should I bring?

Foodies Rae Katherine Eighmey and Debbie Miller first combed through hundreds of folksy cookbooks—often spiral-bound or homemade—compiled by church and community groups around the Midwest. Then they tested hundreds of the most popular recipes before winnowing the list down to 150 of the tastiest crowd-pleasing treats such as Swedish Tea Ring, Oven Barbecue Spareribs, Corn and Tomato Casserole, Refrigerator Cookies, Blueberry Buckle, and Party Punch. Recipes are organized by course, so it's as easy as pie for the reader to find the perfect dish for the long community table.

Eight 1950s menus-with-recipes for gatherings such as a Card Party and a Ladies Club Luncheon will help today's savvy host create memorable retro gatherings for friends and family. Food and entertaining lore gleaned from the cookbooks and the authors' recollections of growing up in the Fabulous Fifties transport readers back to a time when shared food and hospitality reigned supreme.

Genres: Cookbooks

184 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2008

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title is a little deceptive in that many of the recipes & stories focus on the 1950s. Because of that, ingredients like marshmallows, Jell-O, cream soups & shortening are staples. I enjoyed the stories behind the recipes, but missed pictures. There was not one single photo of any of these dishes

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent dive into 1950s "cuisine" through the eyes of two ladies who scoured Midwestern archives and church cookbooks for the best amalgam recipes they could find. They then tested and shared them. My favorite sections of the book were the little tips included: from how the size of pan used influences cooking time to the best percentage of vinegar or lemon juice to add to milk to sour it. This is a great book, even though there are no pictures present of the finished dishes. Expect there to be jello in some of these concoctions!

[tib · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am just getting started with this one...enjoying the text and drooling over the recipes. One of my favorite cookbooks is Jane and Michael Stern's Square Meals, although I only make two or three recipes from it. This book looks like one I'll actually cook from....