Main Street of America Cookbook Review

Posted by Juanita Avenue on Monday, April 18, 2011 · Leave a Comment

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(More customer reviews)Mrs. Clark wholeheartedly wants you to "Get your kicks on Route 66" with the help of her cookbook/guidebook. Following the classic old road from Illinois to California, she visits the kitchens of inns, restaurants, community cookbooks, and residents who provide memories along with regional tastes.
For as interesting a concept as this cookbook is, it's a shame that it has as many editing errors as it does. One can overlook the occasional odd terminology used in the ingredients lists (soda instead of baking soda), and the few rather large portion sizes (the recipe for "Mustard Relish" makes 9 pints). But it is unacceptable to have ingredients called for that are not used and exact ingredient sizes not given.
The recipe for "Chorizo Roll" asks for 4 links Mexican Chorizo Sausage but doesn't tell you how much that would be in ounces or pounds. I've seen these links come as large as Italian sausage links and as small as breakfast sausage links. It makes a big difference. The recipe for "Paper Bag Apple Pie" lists a 9-inch unbaked pie shell twice, once for the pie and once again for the topping. I double-checked the recipe and the second pie shell was definitely an accidental listing. In the same recipe, though this is probably obvious to some, the ingredients list calls for 6 baking apples but doesn't list a preparation for them (diced, sliced, chopped, etc...). It's not until you get into the description does it mention that the seasoning mixture is to be sprinkled over sliced apples.
Of the recipes I tried, each turned out delicious and satisfying, after a few adjustments. Making "Strawberry Muffins" doesn't get any easier and they are not too sweet to serve as a snack or along with breakfast. Though I had to substitute a similar local white wine for the regional one called for in "Chicken and Rice in Wine", the dish smelled heavenly and had a very pleasing taste.
The abundance of recipes and travel information warrants the price tag but the mistakes make you want to ask for a discount. If you are curious about traveling along Route 66 yourself someday, you might find some fun recipes to try out or look into tasting straight from the source. In general though, it asks for more bang for the buck than it delivers.

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