Cooking from Quilt Country : Hearty Recipes from Amish and Mennonite Kitchens

by Marcia Adams, Alexandra Avakian (Photographer)

Includes nearly 200 family recipes from America's heartland, a culinary folk history of the Indiana Amish and Mennonites. This celebration of farm life is a companion volume to the PBS series hosted by Adams. 64 full-color photographs.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Amish, Food, Nonfiction

202 pages, Hardcover

First published February 13, 1988

Reviews

[Cheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

To me, good cookbooks are like anthropology texts--you learn about society and family systems, tools, faith, languages, and culture. This cookbook does a very good job of providing background on the Amish, Mennonite, and Dunkard people groups from whom these recipes come. While I don't know that many modern day cooks would use some of these recipes, it isn't the recipes for what to do with butchery scraps and ways to make food for 150 people before a barn-raising that are important to me. Rather, it is the history of these recipes and the stories of a simpler life--one that inspires me to pull down my own grandmother's cookie recipe and bake a few dozen for friends and family.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my mother's. I imagine it was a gift from someone -- if she bought a book she liked, she usually got one for me...Every recipe in it is good and the photos are wonderful. In August, 2009, my book group decided to read a cookbook (any, you choose) and copy a recipe for each member of our group. This was an easy choice.

[Susan Laabs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cookbook changed my life... Through this cookbook, I realized that I could cook any of these recipes and they would be enjoyed by all of my family. Each and every ingredient was well recognized and easily accessible. I enjoy the stories told before each recipe. The photographs are also really nice throughout the entire book. This cookbook is a staple in my Kitchen. Over the years, I have purchased a number of these cookbooks and gave them as gifts. Of all Marcia Adams cookbooks, this is my favorite. Cooking from Quilt Country : Hearty Recipes from Amish and Mennonite Kitchens

[Amber Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the three Amish cookbooks I borrowed, this is the oldest and the one I like best. Set in northern Indiana, the book takes us through the four seasons of a farm life. The photos are mostly of the land and activities and the faces of people are shown only in profile or shadow. There are no photos of the recipes.

But the recipes are what makes the book so precious to me, for my parents grew up on Indiana farms and I know this food in a way that is deeper than the food I've learned to love as an adult. The one ingredient that I found missing is the wild mushroom.

(will write more later)

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I checked this book out from the library as I am interested in Amish cooking. Every single recipe I have made out of it is excellent - so good that I now own a copy. Try the Swiss Meat Loaf or the Dried Lima Bean Casserole. The Lima Bean Casserole is like baked beans made with limas. Yum!

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my all-time favorite cookbooks. I have never made anything from any of Marcia Adams's cookbooks (I own this one, Heartland, and New Recipes from Quilt Country) that didn't come out right, and the food is well received by even picky eaters (plus the illustrations are fabulous).

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful recipes and quips from their kitchen to yours.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delicious sausage gravy recipe that I make all the time.

[Genevieve Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a love of niche cookbooks, and this one is so charming. Picked it up at a thrift store. I have a couple of cookbooks from the 1980s and this is one of the most applicable to current day. Sure, I’m never ever going to make jellied chicken, but I loved reading all of the different preambles to chapters. I found a few recipes, like stuffing and chicken and corn soup, that I’ll look forward to making.

[Donna Labrayere Sandegren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cookbook is truly different and amazing! The recipes are sorted by the life events of the Amish such as Spring garden or wedding. My favorite recipe is Tuna and Cream Cheese Sandwiches.

[Vickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent read - too many recipes to try!!

[Ida Wilcox · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Amish are Great.

The dishes are just so fresh and tasty.

:)

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book for the recipes and the information about the year and celebrations of Indiana Mennonite/Amish communities.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

History! Good pictures. Really fascinating tidbits.

[Fig · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve flipped through some truly stunning cookbooks, but none have awed me quite like this one. I sat, from start to finish, poring over its pages like a long lost manuscript I’d all but forgotten. As a southerner born to a midwesterner, the comforts I found spread through these pages brought me back to a childhood sometimes spent out in the bootheel of Missouri, next to Mennonite and Amish communities my grandparents were quite friendly with. Many recipes are old friends, and more still are friends to be. I cannot wait to dive into these recipes—I’m so appreciative someone saw how vital it was to record. This book will bring joy to many who pass through my kitchen for years to come.

[Ragan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This cookbook is filled with tasty recipes. Every recipe I have made out of this cookbook I have loved. It also contains beautiful photographs and information about the Amish people and their way of life. Warning! These recipes are high calorie, but very delicious.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

No shortcuts here. If you are looking for how to cook the basics from scratch, check here first. This book provides midwestern recipes from Amish and Mennonite kitchens. It is as much a history book as it is a recipe book. It depicts regional Indiana cuisine - season by season.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite cookbook.

[Mardi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some great recipes here....a few my group asks for again and again.

[GE · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was given to me as a gift in 1990. It has been well used.

It is one of the first cookbooks I reach for when digging for inspiration for the dinner table.

[Linda Hartlaub · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of my favorites. I had bigger hopes for the baked goods, but they all came out so-so. But if you like pork products, this would be a good book for you.

[Yvonna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book about the Amish and Mennonite people with excellent recipes! I adore cookbooks that tell me something about the people as well as their cooking!

[Margaret Crisp · Rating 5 out of 5]

My most used book. Easy to make and dishes that turn out good every time.

[Kelly Schooler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book with beautiful photos and delicious recips

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every recipe in this book is a winner and I love the stories of Amish and Mennonite life each chapter begins with.

[Deb Rankin-Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not the kind of cooking that one can or should eat on a daily basis. But oh my! THIS is what comfort food is all about!

[Naomi Cannistraci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the recipes, Elderberry pie is on my list to make.