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

by Patrick F. McManus

Memoirs blend fact and fiction including recipes for edible and not-so-edible dishes

Genres: Humor, Cooking, Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Food, Memoir, Comedy

270 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1989

About the author

Patrick F. McManus is an American outdoor humor writer. A humor columnist for Outdoor Life and other magazines, his columns have been collected in several books.

Reviews

[Caleb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to try some of these, especially the Vegetable casserole that starts with a half pound of bacon :)

[Chrystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think I'll be cooking up any bear or elk anytime soon, but this is definitely the funniest cookbook I've ever read.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This offers the closest thing to a trustworthy autobiographical account of Pat McManus's life, or at least childhood, that you'll find. You definitely realize where he got the inspiration for some of his famous characters like Rancid Crabtree. You also realize that one of the best humor writers around had a pretty tough childhood, though he certainly makes light of it in his normal self-deprecating way. The memoir is only a small portion of the book. The rest is a cookbook, which kind of makes it a strange combo.

[Min · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me in stitches. It is hilarious. McManus has quite a way with words and describes what it was like living in rural Idaho with a very intelligent and independent school teacher mother! The recipes are a plus. They are high fat and high sugar, which probably made sense because they didn't have central heating.

[Gerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Patrick McManus humor. This book is a combination memoir and cookbook. I will probably try some of the recipes.

[Jule · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having lived in the mountains of Idaho during my twenties, the notice on the cover "Memoir of an Idaho Childhood...", increased my interest in this book. "Whatchagot Stew" is written by columnist and novelist, Patrick F. McManus, who is known for his Mark Twain kind of humor. In the first 60 pages, McManus writes about his impoverished, but adventurous, childhood in the northern mountains of Idaho. Not much is written about food, except for the often-mentioned milk toast made by his mother, and her unique lunch contributions to her one-room schoolhouse students. The second portion of the book consists of recipes contributed by his sister whom he disturbingly calls "The Troll". The recipes are as common as biscuits and as odd as dandelions in cheese sauce and sprinkled with McManus dry wit. The last section mostly contains hunting and fishing recipes supplied by McManus and includes the outlandish, such as pressure-cooked corned bear. I plan to try some of The Troll's recipes.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Synopsis: "A memoir complete with prepared and tested recipes from the authors' childhood. "Read the memoir first . . . (or) you might select one of my mother's recipes and foolishly believe that because the recipe is included in a cookbook, it must be something to eat".--Pat McManus"

My Review: This was an interesting combination of memoir and cookbook. The memoir at the beginning is short and comical. The recipes are varied and I loved the commentary that was included with some of the recipes, it melded the memoir portion and cookbook portion together with some great memories and stories. This was an entertaining and light read, a fun book to have on your shelf and maybe return to occasionally.

[Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very fun book. If you are a fan of Patrick McManus, then you will love this book. This is an actual memoir and not just the outdoor tales of his other books. He talks about his childhood and his mother a lot. This book is co-written with his sister. He writes the memoir and she wrote, collected, and tested all the recipes. It is still filled with the wit and humor associated with his other books.

Some of the recipes are good, standard, homey recipes you would expect from a family that hunts and fishes. Others are definitely more scary and are clearly labeled. Somehow I don't think I want to try a recipe that starts out by saying dig a hole in the sand and lay your rain poncho inside... Still, I enjoyed reading the book and I'm happy to add it both to my library and my cookbooks.

[Karolinde (Kari) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll honestly admit I'm flat out scared to try some of the recipes, but the stories and memories included are really neat. Like all of his stuff, it's hard to know where the "truth" really is but this is closer to an autobiography and an interesting set-up.

[Lisa Kasper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious, as usual.

[Leslie Jem · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a recipe for boxty! As well as a nice little biographical section.

[Katina stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly a cookbook with about 80 pages of memoir.

[Rogue Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mother who can make toast with milk a delight, no matter how often it meets the need for convenience and budget. Half of the book is memoir, growing up in rural Idaho and the other half recipes.

[°~Amy~° · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book very humorous for the most part. I would seriously consider using some of the wild game recipes. The ending was the sweetest part of the entire thing.

[Kaeli]

I would love to write a memoir someday! This book is hilarious

[Cur3t]

Love it