Samantha's Cooking Studio

by American Girl Editors (Editor)

You're the chef! Roll up your sleeves and discover how fun it is to make the meals Samantha loved. Chose from more than 20 easy-to-follow recipes. When you're ready to show off your cooking skills, turn to the party chapter for ideas on throwing three different Samantha-inspired parties! Samantha's Cooking Studio also includes a cookie cutter, 20 Table Talkers, and 10 reusable Place Cards.

Genres: Cookbooks

Spiral-bound

Published January 1, 1900

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, well, well...looks like there's been a fourth cookbook added to the Samanthaverse. Time for a surprisingly dedicated review to this extremely niche set of doll-based cookbooks.

For context, I have reviewed
--American Girls Cookbook, published 1989 and contains about a third of the recipes included in the Cooking Studio along with recipes for Kirsten and Molly.
--Samantha's Cook Book, published 1994, and whose recipes all appear in the Cooking Studio.
--The American Girls Party Book, published 1998 which contains several overlapped recipes with Cooking Studio.

You can click the links above if you want my evaluation of the recipes. In this review, I will be going over the differences between this cookbook and the previous iteration.

Introduction

In the Cooking Studio book, I appreciated how they kept much of the historical content the same.

I see that there's the same blurb about Dining in the Early 1900s (retitled as Samantha's Kitchen), as well as the Servants and Serving, and Setting Samantha's Table sections. They kept most of the historical photos as well, which was a great touch.

The Tips for Today's Cooks section was revamped, with images that were later seen in Samantha's World.

One thing that I say over and over is that the nonfiction books based on the American Girls are truly works of art. I love learning about the hows, and the whys, and the context regarding cooking in that era and I feel really happy that they kept this section.

Main Recipes

From there the beat-for-beat remake pages commence - with the Breakfast, Dinner, and Favorite Foods sections having the same recipes, the same historical blurbs, and same illustrations as the older book.

If I'm being really nitpicky, they do sometimes leave out a few of the historical pictures that were in the older book but honestly, I think the recipes are still really solid. The research behind them is excellent. And I'm happy with the new layout.

A New Section

I will admit, I was surprised by the new section. In the old version of Samantha's Cookbook, there's a "Plan a Party" section that provides a bit of background on different kinds of parties you could plan but the details are rather vague.

This cookbook takes the Samantha section from The American Girls Party Book and pars it down (just a bit) but still includes three themed parties for the reader, complete with crafts, activities, and (of course) recipes.

If you are curious about the parties included:

A Victorian Tea Party - This is a cute old-fashioned tea party!
Recipes Include
--Jam Tart Cookies (basically jam thumbprints)
--Hot Tea Punch (using tea bags, orange juice and lemon juice, sweetened)
Crafts Include
--Victorian Scrap Invitation (a 7x7 inch piece of paper decorated with color scrap paper)
--Pressed-Flower Name Cards (for assigned party seating)
--Butterfly Napkin Ring (how to fold napkins)

A Nutting Party - I'm just going to say it cause we are ALL thinking it. Phrasing. But that aside, this is really cute idea!
Recipes Include
--Nut-Crunch Apples (apples cored and filled with a mixture of currants, walnuts and sugar)
--Nut Sandwiches (walnuts and cream cheese on bread)
--Apple Cider
Crafts and Activities Include
--Squirrel Invitations
--Walnut Shell Fortunes (a cute activity where you sail a walnut shell into a fortune)

Samantha's Painting Party - I love all the fun activities you can do with this one.
Recipes Include
--Water Color (sparkling juice colored with food dye)
--Artist's Palette Cake (decorated to look like a paint palette)
Crafts and Activities Include
--Framed Invitations
--Drawing Games
--Tableaux Vivants

Overall Thoughts

Honestly, I went into this cookbook expecting not to like it - I'm generally not a huge fan of when companies republish their books...but I actually like this version better than the original. I KNOW!

The Cooking Studio provides all of the original recipes along with their historical context blurbs, plus it adds in a bit more information about the times.

Additionally, it has a hardcover protective shell around the spiral-bound cookbook, name cards for your party, conversation starters, and a little butterfly-shaped cookie cutter.

More reviews in the Samantha-verse

Main Series:
Meet Samantha - ★★★★☆
Samantha Learns a Lesson - ★★★★★
Samantha's Surprise - ★★★★☆
Happy Birthday, Samantha - ★★★★☆
Samantha Saves the Day - ★★★★★
Changes for Samantha - ★★★★☆
Samantha's Boxed Set - ★★★★☆

Best Friend Book:
Nellie's Promise - ★★★★★

Short Stories:
Samantha's Winter Party - ★★★★★
Samantha Saves the Wedding - ★★★★☆
Samantha and the Missing Pearls - ★★★★☆
Samantha's Blue Bicycle - ★★★★★
Samantha's Special Talent - ★★★☆☆
Samantha's Short Story Collection - ★★★★☆

Mystery Books (My Order):
The Curse of Ravenscourt - ★★★★★
The Stolen Sapphire - ★★★★☆
Clue in the Castle Tower - ★★★★☆
Danger in Paris - ★★★☆☆
The Cry of the Loon - ★★★★☆

Additional Historical and Activity Books:
American Girl Cross-stitch - ★★☆☆☆
The American Girls Cookbook - ★★★★★
The American Girls Party Book - ★★★★★
Everything I Need to Know I Learned From American Girl - ★★★☆☆
The Making of American Girl - ★★★★★
Minute Mysteries - ★★★★☆
Minute Mysteries 2 - ★★★★☆
The Official American Girl Cookbook - ★★★★☆
Samantha's Cookbook - ★★★★★
Samantha's Cooking Studio - ★★★★★
Samantha's Craft Book - ★★★★★
Samantha's Friendship Fun - ★★★☆☆
Samantha's Ocean Liner Adventure - ★★★★★
Samantha's Theater Kit - ★★★★☆
Samantha's Valentine Crafts - ★★☆☆☆
Samantha's Wedding Memories - ★★☆☆☆
Samantha's World: A Girl's-eye View of the Turn of the Century - ★★★★★
The Titanic (American Girl: Real Stories From My Time) - ★★★☆☆
Welcome to Samantha's World · 1904 - ★★★★★

Beforever (Re-Release of Main Series in mid 2010s):
Manners & Mischief - ★★☆☆☆
Lost and Found - ★★★☆☆

Abridged Version (Re-Release of Main Series in 2020s):
Samantha: The Gift - ★★☆☆☆
Samantha: Lost and Found - ★★★★☆

Beginner Reader & Picture Books:
Happy Birthday! (Little Golden Book) - ★★★★☆
Happy Holidays! (Little Golden Book) - ★★★★★
Making a Difference (Little Golden Book) - ★★★☆☆
My First American Girl Boxed Set - ★★★★☆
Samantha Helps a Friend (Step Into Reading) - ★★★☆☆
Time for School! (Little Golden Book) - ★★★★☆