Maryland's Way: The Hammond-Harwood House Cook Book

Essentially a life-long Bay-side resident, this one is my go-to cookbook on all things seafood and game (forgetting for the moment all local vegetables and the original Maryland Fried chicken recipe & etc). Many recipes for those originate from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, and indeed the book attributes and dates each recipe from the many submitted for consideration for inclusion in it. A few will require approximation, as those who are good at and really know cooking understand that exact measurements are for the faint of heart only. In sum, what this also means is that the older recipes lack contemporary fluffs and are rich in prime ingredients because, not-so-long ago, oysters, crab and fish were plentiful, cheap and easy to come-by. OK, I'm getting up there in years but... Looked at another way, there are few modern or otherwise "non-organic" recipes to be found here. As a life-long fisherman, hunter and former "waterman" (as we call commercial fisherman here on the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia or Maryland), you will enjoy these recipes. When I forget exactly my go-to recipes I refer to mine!

I first looked through this cookbook in another lady's kitchen. She had it all earmarked and I could tell she had tried many of the recipes. I knew this lady was a great cook, so I ordered it myself. I'm pretty picky about which cookbooks I keep. This one is very nice. I love all the seafood recipes. A classic.

If you lived in Maryland, but now live someplace else and sometimes pine for good old fashioned Maryland cooking, this is the book for you. The recipes run from "Mock Turtle" soup (made with a calf's head) to "Green Tomato Soy" sauce. But what you probably are looking for is seafood recipes. Of course there are crabcake recipes as well as baked rock fish and fried oysters. But do you have a recipe for "Oyster Pye"? If not, this is the place to get the recipe. Just so you don't think all Marylanders eat is seafood, there is also many recipes for meat as well as poultry. There are also some awesome dessert recipes, such as strawberry rhubarb pie as well as lemon cookies. If you've missed the taste of Maryland cooking, or maybe you just want to find out about this regional cusine, you should by the book.