Whatchagot Stew: A Memoir of an Idaho Childhood, with Recipes and Commentaries

This cookbook has McManus's memoir at the front and recipes in the back. I made a few of the recipes when I was in college, and they all got rave reviews except for the griddle scones (maybe it was my fault since I was a new cook). The spaghetti sauce with clams wowed my Italian-American friend. I still need to get up the nerve to make the dandelion wine and other spirits. The recipe for hot dogs made by Boy Scouts had me rolling on the floor. Definitely pick this one up!

The book is typical McManus humor interlaced with good, bad, and ugly recipes. Always the recipes have some story and show what cooking was like when they used things like bacon grease to cook with. No doubt some of these recipes are heart stoppers but a fun book with varying types of things for campers and home cooks which have to be tried. Recipes range from simple to complex and are generally survivors of the passage of time.