Dishing Up Maryland: 150 Recipes from the Alleghenies to the Chesapeake Bay

A cookbook that will make you look forward to cooking and eating!

When I heard about Dishing Up Maryland by Lucie Snodgrass, this is what I expected: A few recipes, a few pictures, and a list of where you can find things in Maryland (including a map and contact information), possibly even a list of farmer's markets or websites that will direct you to them. I also expected the author to talk about CSAs and possibly even list some of them or include a website.

What I expected is not what this cookbook is---BUT that's okay. I still love it! This cookbook is a treasure whether you live in Maryland or in the surrounding areas, or you once lived in Maryland (it will evoke nostalgic feelings in your heart), or you live somewhere else and you are a firm believer in local agriculture and are encouraged to hear the stories of small farmers and cooks who believe in the same things.

So, what is in this cookbook?
+ A lot of wonderful pictures
+ Recipes that will make your mouth water--they will make you want to cook, and of course to eat as well!
+ Recipes separated by season to make it easier to use the special fruits and vegetables that are available in Maryland at different times of the year.
+ Stories about cooks, inn keepers, farmers, and crabbers in Maryland
+ Interesting information about fruits and vegetables (I learned a lot about asparagus and soft-shelled crabs!)
+ An alphabetized list of some of the farms in Maryland. I assume that there are more. I know there are more that have CSAs locally in Harford County that weren't listed, so that leads me to assume that this is only a partial list.

The recipes are not ones that you will generally make any night of the week (though some of them are) if you have kids, like I do. But, they are recipes that you could make for special occasions and ones that will remind you how yummy good food is (and how it really is worth the work!). I will mention though that the recipes I made last night were very easy (there's a wide variety of easy and more complicated recipes) and well written.

A cookbook isn't really a good one, in my humble opinion, unless the recipes taste as good as they sound! Last night I made the Apple Bread and I couldn't wait until morning to have more for breakfast. I am certain it will become a recipe regularly requested in my house. It definitely isn't lowfat, but it was quite the treat. I also made a pear, pecan, and chicken salad. It was quite good as well. I look forward to trying more recipes!

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