A Return to Sunday Dinner

Rating:
Summary: Inspirational Cooking
Review: As I glanced over the pages, I was immediately reminded of Sunday dinners at our home. This book not only introduces the reader to exciting meal planning but gives us insight into family
gatherings that stay with you long after the last bite. It is truly inspirational and makes a wonderful gift for the next family get-together.

Rating:
Summary: Inspirational Cooking
Review: As I glanced over the pages, I was immediately reminded of Sunday dinners at our home. This book not only introduces the reader to exciting meal planning but gives us insight into family
gatherings that stay with you long after the last bite. It is truly inspirational and makes a wonderful gift for the next family get-together.

Rating:
Summary: Great Dinners for Beginners
Review: By Bill Marsano. Well! Not so many years ago the "futurists" whose job it is to see what the next few years will bring boldly predicted that Americans would soon eat fully half of their meals outside the home. I laughed; I scoffed; I failed to see the light. Here it is 20 years or so later and the futurists were right. We breakfast at McDonald's and IHOP; we lunch there too; and we eat dinner at "family restaurants" like Sizzler, Outback, Ponderosa and the Olive Garden. Of course when I say 'we' I don't include me, and that's not because I'm a snob who thinks the Rusty Scupper, Mario's Pasta Garden and the like are beneath him (although I wouldn't eat at any of them on a bet). It's just that I just don't like restaurants in general, even the tony and expensive ones. I like to eat at home with friends and family, and I wish more people did. They'd eat better and save a bundle besides.

A fellow who wishes likewise is Russell Cronkhite, who spent 12 years as executive chef of Blair House, the official guest quarters provided to international dignitaries visiting Washington, D.C. When Cronkhite says that what he cooked for important foreign guests was, essentially, "Sunday dinner," he means it in the traditional over-the-river-and-through-the-woods-to-grandmother's-house-we-go, Leave It to Beaver manner. In other words, the sort of dinner that too many of us don't bother with any more.

That's what Cronkhite gives us here, hoping we'll be brave enough to tackle something grand instead of ordering take-out again. The 20 or so complete menus presented run from the ceremonial to the casual to the celebratory, and although they include the occasional nod to the international or the up to date, they're basically all-American standards: roast beef and pan gravy, peppercorn steak, pork (sage-rubbed roast, or chops smothered or stuffed), glazed baked ham, butterflied lamb, chicken and dumplings. You get the picture--this is what the team 'meat and potatoes' was made for, and I doubt any diner will leave Cronkhite's table unsatisfied. Some won't be able to leave at all.

There are handsome and honey photos galore and lots of foodish quotations from notable writers and diners: Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson, Louis May Alcott and Washington Irving (there are also some quotations that oughtn't to have been quoted at all, but they're made up for by useful do-ahead tips).

It should be noted that this book is aimed at beginners, and the recipes proceed in a very basic, step-by-step manner. No way can anyone go wrong with this book, but cooks of some experience are likely to find that approach irritating, because it's so slow and cautious.So give this to the ambitious beginner--someone who's not afraid to tackle a fairly big project so long as she is assured of complete and reliable guidance. Or he, for that matter. Either way, there's a high probability of success.--Bill Marsano, an award-wining writer on wine, food and travel, cooks often for his family.

Rating:
Summary: Great Encouragement For Prayer
Review: I just finished this great little book this morning. I love to read books by Dr. Jeremiah. He is a very gifted communicator, and a wonderful preacher. This book was a great encouragement to keep on praying. I don't think that I learned anything new as a result of reading this book. However, the author discussed some of his struggles with prayer, and that was a great encouragement, because I could relate to what he was saying. This is an excellent book to read as a part of your devotional time. It will inspire you to keep on praying.

Rating:
Summary: Great Encouragement For Prayer
Review: I just finished this great little book this morning. I love to read books by Dr. Jeremiah. He is a very gifted communicator, and a wonderful preacher. This book was a great encouragement to keep on praying. I don't think that I learned anything new as a result of reading this book. However, the author discussed some of his struggles with prayer, and that was a great encouragement, because I could relate to what he was saying. This is an excellent book to read as a part of your devotional time. It will inspire you to keep on praying.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful & Inspirational Book
Review: This is a wonderful cookbook in addition to being an inspiration for all families and cooks. My favorite hobby is cooking for my family and friends, and Sunday dinners have long been a tradition going back to my own Grandmother's table when I was a child. It was over her table that I got to know her and my grandfather and share time and fellowship with my aunts, uncles, and cousins. Without those times together I wonder if we would be as close as we are today.
This book however, is absolutely beautiful. It offers an endless array of menu ideas and wonderful, delicious recipes to satisfy any taste. I think the layout is perfectly done -- each menu is preluded with stories of the food selection and the meaning that Sunday dinner has had for people in their lives. The book is highly inspirational in this respect, taking us back to a simpler time, that doesn't have to remain in the past.
Some of the recipes are labor intensive -- which I don't mind because I enjoy cooking -- however I can understand that it might be a burden for the time-sensitive cook. I don't see anything wrong with substitutions made from time to time for added convenience (like ready made rolls instead of handmade, for example). But the recipes that I have tried are delicious and reminiscent of foods that my grandmother used to make when we would be over for Sunday dinner.
This book contains dozens of "traditions" for the entire year, which I feel will inspire many cooks and leave loving memories for their family and friends for decades to come.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Cookbook
Review: This truly is a beautiful cookbook.
It is at home on the coffee table as well as in the kitchen.
American regional cooking is highlighted by short vignettes on
the importance of Sunday family meals.
The photography is stunning, the paper of quality stock, the
book lies flat (!), the recipes are exquisite but straight
forward, and each recipe is on a single page. No turning pages
in mid-recipe!

The author has written many interesting and informative articles
for the _Washington_Post_ newspaper. The recipes have had
delicious results from my kitchen. His writing style is very
personable, clear, precise, and easy to follow.

Rating:
Summary: An extensive, easy-to-follow cookbook
Review: Written and compiled by Russell Cronkhite, A Return To Sunday Dinner is more than just another recipe book - it is a celebration of the quiet, simple life, -- a life shared with friends and relaxing after a hard week's work. Heartwarming color photographs embellish the sentiment of an era that should not be lost and forgotten amid the endless hustle and bustle of the twenty-first century. Twenty-one complete menus offering dishes such as Sage-Rubbed Roast Pork Loin With Apple Cider Glaze, Black-Bottom Cream Pie, Soda Bread, and a great deal more. A Return To Sunday Dinner is both an inspirational treasure and an extensive, easy-to-follow cookbook for creating meals, moments, and evenings to remember.