Best of the Best from Iowa Cookbook: Selected Recipes from Iowa's Favorite Cookbooks

Iowa cooks are some of the best in the country and this collection of their favorite recipes doesn't disappoint. I gave it as a gift and the recipient loved it. Although she is very busy, within a couple of days, she was at my door with a wonderful cake baked by following one of the recipes in this book.

Best Of The Best From Iowa Cookbook: Selected Recipes From Iowa's Favorite Cookbooks is a spiral-bound collection of approximately 400 crowd-pleasing recipes chosen for their long-lasting appeal among Iowans. From Peach Pudding Coffee Cakes to Velvety Almond Cream Soup and much more, these sumptuous delicacies are sure to please one's palate with their down-home style. A note next to each of the recipes tells which classic cookbook it was originally from. Recommended for anyone intrigued by a taste of the "land between two rivers".

I enjoy all the receipes in this book. It brought back a lot of childhood memories.

I am originally from Iowa, and this cookbook just warms my heart and makes me think of home. The authors don't just present recipes; they include photos and little facts about places in the state, so it's enjoyable to read for those tidbits. Some colloquialisms are in there, like the enduring usage of "oleo" for "margarine." You will find that many recipes reflect German, Dutch, and Swedish influences, because of the historical immigrant groups who came to Iowa and settled the prairie. The main ingredients reflect the great agricultural products of the state--excellent pork/ham and beef recipes especially, because Iowa's meats are unsurpassed in quality. A few of the recipes "appeal to the Midwestern palate," which was my mother's polite way of saying something involved too much Jell-O or other prefab ingredients, or was bland. ("Hotdish 'n' jello salad.") In any of the state series cookbooks, you gotta find the gems that appeal to you. I found that the more sophisticated and exotic part of Iowa cuisine wasn't really represented here. If you want to find the Generally Accepted Gems, try the Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame Dessert, or Hall of Fame Quick & Easy books. Thanks, Gwen & Tupper, for a very entertaining series of cookbooks!

I like to try foods from different regions of the country and like the other books in this series, this one is very good. Most of the food isn't too fancy, but everything I have tried from this cookbook has been delicious. I would especially recommend the Pork Chop Casserole and the Radio Cake. I took these to a potluck dinner and they were gone in 20 minutes! One strength of this book is that recipes are collected from different churches, families and community groups from around the state. This gives one the opportunity to try foods representing different traditions within the state. Until I read this book, I must confess that I had no idea about the great variety of culinary traditions in the Midwest.