Book Review - "Simply Delicious Amish Cooking"

"Simply Delicious Amish Cooking: Recipes and Stories from the Amish of Sarasota, Florida," by Sherry Gore, is a beautiful collection of Amish recipes and stories that will have your mouth watering and you ready to go to the kitchen to make each and every recipe in here!

Book Description from the publisher:

Unbeknownst to many folks outside the Amish Mennonite population in America, Pinecraft, Florida - a village tucked away in the heart of Sarasota - is the vacation paradise of the Plain People. Unlike any other Plain community in the world, this village is a virtual melting pot of Amish and Mennonites from around the world, intermingled with people, like author Sherry Gore’s family, who live there year-round.

Gore has put together a cookbook that represents the people who make Pinecraft unique. With hundreds of easy-to-prepare recipes, 16 full-color photographs and black-and-white photographs throughout, this cookbook includes traditional favorites such as Sweet Potato Sweet Mash and Mrs. Byler’s Glazed Donuts, as well as Florida favorites including Fried Alligator Nuggets, Grilled Lime Fish Fillets, and Strawberry Mango Smoothies. Interspersed with the recipes are true-life stories about births, engagements, weddings, deaths, funerals, celebrations, wildlife encounters, and accidents told through years of Sherry’s Letters from Home column published in The Budget, the Amish newspaper. This delightful cookbook offers readers a faith-based, family-focused perspective of the simple way of life of the Plain People. It is truly a breath of fresh air from Sarasota, Florida!

My Review:

First of all, this book is a spiral bound edition which is my favorite type of book for cookbooks as the book lays flat and stays open on the page I am using. This book begins with an introduction in which the author explains why she has written this book, who the Amish and Mennonites are and about Amish cooking in general.  The recipes are divided into various sections by type, including breads and rolls, soups and salads, pies and meats and main dishes.  There are pictures and stories interspersed throughout the book as well.  Some of these recipes are ones that are similar to others I have made or are things I have heard about, but all of them sound delicious and I cannot wait to try them.  There is a recipe for Gingerbread Waffles which sound delicious and I am looking forward to making when we get back to colder weather in several months.

*Thanks to Thomas Nelson Publishers and Booksneeze for the complimentary copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.*