Marcia Adams Christmas in the Heartland: Recipes, Decorations, and Traditions for Joyous Celebrations

Excellent Cookbook!!!! The receipes are just good home cooking from scratch!!! Marci Adams always puts together a good cookbook!!!!

This 258 page book is generous with color photographs of food, local people and regional scenes. There are ample recipes and plenty of information about many of the recipes, and all sorts of background material that gives one a richer "taste" of the bounty of the eight Midwestern states covered in this book. I am from the East coast, and much of this is new to me...so I'd happily rely on a true Midwesterner to really rate the recipes. I'm picky about giving 5 star ratings, and this is over a 4 rating for most people, as some of the true 5 star books can be breathtakingly beautiful and/or informative. From gamebird pie to snickerdoodles, Amish friendship bread to blackberry jam cake with sherry sauce, and "newcomers" such as Asian-American slaw with peanuts and jalapenos, this instructs about comforting foods, and leaves you more knowledgeable about delicious food that doesn't rely on "stacking", "foams", mismatched cuisines and spices (stretching the intent of "fusion") or other trendy artifice to satisfy your palate. Learn about the Spoon River Anthology, Sinclair Lewis, Polish Pierogis, Poticia and antique apples...learn the best times to plant root vegetables, corn or apples while flipping the pages...this is a book to be savored, whether next to a wood burning stove or from a 24th story balcony overlooking a sunset...

I love Christmas and books on holiday cooking, decorating, customs, and so on. I have a bunch of these books, but Marcia's is my all-time favorite. Her writing is engaging, the photos are lovely, and the recipes and decorating ideas are terrific. Every year, I pull this book out around the holidays and leaf through it while curled up in front of the fireplace. This book always puts me in a festive mood and is a great resource for planning holiday gatherings. It's also a delightful coffee table book to set out at Christmastime; my guests enjoy browsing through it, too. Highly recommended!

Are we on a wait too? for how many Months???

Once I found this book in the bookstore, I was hooked! It's much more than just a recipe book, but the recipes . . . oh my! If you're looking for a book that will remind you of the recipes that you enjoyed from your grandmother, this book is for you! Treats both old and new - dandelion wine, elephant ears, best-ever brownies... Even if you aren't looking for a new cookbook, buy this one for the breath-taking photography and captions that pick you up and drop you breathlessly into the middle of the Heartland. This is a feel-good book that offers culinary delights and captures the essence of the Midwest beauty and culture at the same time. Don't miss it!