American Lighthouse Cookbook: The Best Recipes and Stories from America's Shorelines

by Becky Sue Epstein, Ed Jackson

Overview

Features 47 lighthouses, dozens of stories, and more than 300 recipes from
eight coastal regions of the United States

You are invited on a culinary journey across America to visit some of our country's most beautiful and historic lighthouses. Lighthouse keepers and their families perfected the art of local dining by learning to gather food from their immediate areas.

The American Lighthouse Cookbook celebrates the local cuisines that have long been the staple of lighthouse keepers. Arranged geographically in eight regions of America, the lighthouses were chosen for their interesting backgrounds and stories. Following the story of each lighthouse is a menu for a modern-day lighthouse meal. Included are recipes mostly developed by Chef Ed Jackson, and others contributed by lighthouse societies, inns, and individuals. Each of the approximately 300 recipes captures the essence of
the local foods available to lighthouse keepers from the 1700s through today.

Contains fascinating histories and delicious, seasonal recipes for:

• Honeymoon Breakfast at the Fort Niagara Lighthouse in Youngstown, New York


• Asian Pacific Dinner at the Lahaina Lighthouse in Maui, Hawaii


• Cowboy Dinner at the Point Isabel Lighthouse in Port Isabel, Texas


• Danish Breakfast at the Sand Hills Lighthouse Inn in Ahmeek, Michigan
  
  ...and much more!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781402243899
Publisher:	Sourcebooks, Incorporated
Publication date:	11/07/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

Becky Sue Epstein is a successful food writer and senior editor, Wine and Spirits, for Intermezzo Magazine. Ed Jackson has worked at Maison Robert, Tremont 647, and The Tuscan Grill in Boston, where he currently runs a popular catering business. Both authors live in Lexington, Massachusetts.

Read an Excerpt

Lighthouse keepers were the ultimate "local eaters" (locavores): after all, how far could you go when you had to be at work 24/7, and your only transportation was a rowboat or a horse? Keepers and their families dined on foods that were in season and found at their doorstep: from the sea, from their gardens, and from nearby farms and forests.

Surrounded by extremes of weather and ocean, the lighthouses themselves witnessed heroic rescues as well as tragedies during their decades of history. Some lights are haunted. Some have disappeared. Others stand proud and alone, uninhabited for decades. But they are not lost to us. We can visit many lighthouses on every coast, lighthouses that have been saved from the elements and turned into inns, cottages for rent, and museums. The stories of their local dishes are the tales of the people of America's coastlines, lighthouse keepers and their neighbors, both in the past and today.

Editorial Reviews

"Those with a connection to the lighthouses profiled will get the most out of the book, but even landlubbers will find new favorites among this surprisingly rich haul of Americana cooking." - Publishers Weekly

"Whether you are a collector, lover of lighthouses, or really want to get into the history of regional foods, this book will make a nice addition to your library. I encourage you to take the time to read it through, the historical information is wonderful and there are many references that will cause you to pause and think differently about dishes that have been around for over a century." - Gourmet Girl

"A cookbook organized around an appealing concept that boasts a diverse assortment of 300 easy-to-follow recipes." - Insatiable

"It is clear that The American Lighthouse Cookbook is a labor of love by Epstein and Jackson, and it will become an indispensible resource for anyone who has even a casual interest in cooking." - San Antonio Book Review

"Beach lovers will treasure this charming book...Traditional recipes from each coastal region have been adapted by Jackson for easy home use." - Raleigh Metro Magazine

"A delicious trip around the nation's shorelines...Epstein and Jackson offer an historic perspective along with great regional menus including nearly 300 recipes." - Intermezzo

"The book is actually a primer on some of our more historic beacons-in this regard it is certainly one of a kind. The recipes are easy to follow, and truly are a compendium of regional dishes." - Falmouth Enterprise

" The American Lighthouse Cookbook: The Best Recipes and Stories from America's Shorelines was fun, grabbing recipes and inspiration from America's peninsulas and shores, tiny islands and various coastal regions of our country. It is bursting with the bounty of the sea-not a bad idea if you want to insert more Omega-3's into your diet. Or perhaps... as a cool coffee table book for those of you with island cabins..." - Talk of Tomatoes

"The book as a whole is nice blend of history, personal stories on the lighthouse keepers and regional recipes. There are over 300 recipes in the book, and as always the taste-testing process was the most time consuming but entirely enjoyable." - Kelly's Kitchen

From the Publisher

The American Lighthouse Cookbook: The Best Recipes and Stories from America's Shorelines was fun, grabbing recipes and inspiration from America's peninsulas and shores, tiny islands and various coastal regions of our country. It is bursting with the bounty of the sea-not a bad idea if you want to insert more Omega-3's into your diet. Or perhaps... as a cool coffee table book for those of you with island cabins...

Talk of Tomatoes

"A cookbook organized around an appealing concept that boasts a diverse assortment of 300 easy-to-follow recipes."

Insatiable

"Whether you are a collector, lover of lighthouses, or really want to get into the history of regional foods, this book will make a nice addition to your library. I encourage you to take the time to read it through, the historical information is wonderful and there are many references that will cause you to pause and think differently about dishes that have been around for over a century."

Gourmet Girl