Something Warm from the Oven: Baking Memories, Making Memories

What a wonderful surprise. This is a cookbook for everyone. Not only are the recipes that I have tried easy to put together and delicious but above each recipe is a short memory from the author about her family. Her tips for better baking are very helpful. So far my family's favorite recipe is the Apple Crisp, page 198. It is so good warm and just as good cold the next morning. Thank you Eileen for sharing your family recipes and your lovely memories that go along with each one.

AFTER SAMPLING THE MICROWAVE CRANBERRY PUDDING WITH BUTTER-BRANDY SAUCE(YUM) AT A BOOK SIGNING, AND THEN HAVING THE GOOD FORTUNE OF TRYING THE CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE TART AT THE NEW YORK CHOCOLATE SHOW, I WAS HOOKED. THIS LADY BAKES AS WELL AS SHE WRITES. BUY THIS BOOK AND SEE FOR YOURSELF.

I have been a fan of Eileen Goudge's romance novels for some time. She's a prolific writer with fans from all walks of life , and from all around the world. So. when I heard that she had written a cook book, I thought "just what we all need - another cook book!" But, was I ever surprised. This book is about baking, and as I began to browse through the many recipes with titles such as Fudge Meltaways, Pecan Sandies, Nanny's Swedish Rye Bread, and Mom's Gingerbread with Lemon Icing, I was immediately transported back to my childhood, with warm remembrances of coming home after school, and inhaling those sweet smells from the oven that we all, as kids, coveted from our mother's and grandmother's kitchens. I have already tried about half a dozen of these truly delectible desserts and breads, and cannot wait to try many more. I mean, come on - Blue-Ribbon Chocolate Cake with White Chocolate - Creams Cheese Frosting! So what's another couple of hours at the gym!

I love to bake and own quite a few cookbooks, but have to say this is the most unique and delightful cookbook I have ever read and utilized. Not only are the recipes scrumptious, but you will find yourself picking it up just to read the stories that accompany each recipe. For you chocolate lovers, you must try the Chocolate Swirl Cake or the Fudge Meltaways. They are some of my favorites so far. I also found the "Tips For Better Baking" very useful as well as other tidbits of information given throughout the cookbook. This is definitely a cookbook you will find yourself using for years to come and a "must own".

Description from Goudge's webpage: "Baking isn't about loads of equipment and reams of recipe books; its about the desire to create something from scratch. There's something deeply satisfying to me about kneading dough or frosting a cake, or watching slimy egg whites transform magically into snowy peaks. Those of you familiar with my novels know that some element of food and baking always seems to figure in. In Such Devoted Sisters, Annie becomes a chocolatier. In One Last Dance,Kitty Seagrave owns a tearoom called Tea & Sympathy, where her famous cinnamon sticky buns are gobbled up as fast as they come out of the oven. Kitty and her tearoom make an encore appearance in Taste of Honey, the second book in my Carson Springs trilogy. The baked goods so lovingly described therein inspired a number of readers to write to me requesting the recipes. ... A woman who'd made my Mocha Buttercrunch Pie for a French friend (with predictably high standards) who was staying with her at the time reported that he'd been wowed."