Comfort food–what’s not to like? I was so excited to get this book. I’ve lived all across this great country of ours, so comfort food from around America was exciting to me! Some of this book I loved, some didn’t quite come up to par.
Fried Green Tomatoes are a southern classic that I grew up on and even though I don’t need a recipe to make them, this one is spot on. I love beef stew, so I was excited to try Ranch Stew. If you go by the recipe, expect an extremely bland stew. There is not a drop of salt called for in this recipe. The only seasoning is coffee, brown sugar (don’t try to leave it out as the coffee gives the stew a bitter taste without the sugar to counteract it!), oregano and chili powder–and it just calls for 1 t chili powder for a pot of stew with 1/2 lbs of stew meat!! I can’t help but wonder if anyone actually tried this recipe to catch omissions as there surely was something other than just salt omitted.
I grew up on Hoe Cakes, but my family would probably disown me if I added sugar to them! However, tons of people love sweet cornbread, so it’s easy to make these either way–with or without the sugar. Buttermilk Biscuits and Baking Powder Biscuits are two more that I grew up with and still make to this day!
A good portion of recipes in this book are good or look good (I haven’t gotten to cook all of them yet!), but some concern me. I’ve noticed several that don’t call for salt at all, especially some of the potato recipes. I realize some people try to keep the salt down in their diet, but this isn’t billed as “healthy comfort food”, so at least put it in as optional!!
This book has much to recommend it, but some down sides as well that kept me from giving it a higher rating. I don’t hate it, but it won’t make my favorites shelf.
I received a copy of this book from Skyhorse Publishing for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Sandra's Kitchen Nook 