Rating: 
Summary: Lots of old-time favorites
Review: This is a wonderful book full of "heirloom" recipes, which can mean there's lots of butter in the recipes. I learned from her how to make a "pat in pan" pie crust and a buttermilk pie. I usually turn to her book first when I'm looking for comfort food.
My only quibble with it is the unorthodox organization--take a look at the table of contents--it's not easy to tell what's in a chapter. The index isn't complete, so you'll need to thumb through the book to find, for example, all the dessert recipes. It's a fun book to thumb through, so you won't mind too much!
Rating: 
Summary: The best cookbook I've ever used
Review: This is the best cookbook I own. The recipes are relatively simple but also unique in a way. I especially like the vegetable dishes. I use this cookbook as a wedding present all the time. My wife makes the Amish apple pie and it is the best. Every New Years Day I make the cabbage rolls and they are outstanding. The crushed ginger snaps make it special. Men and women who cook should own this cookbook.
Rating:
Summary: The best cookbook I've ever used
Review: This is the best cookbook I own. The recipes are relatively simple but also unique in a way. I especially like the vegetable dishes. I use this cookbook as a wedding present all the time. My wife makes the Amish apple pie and it is the best. Every New Years Day I make the cabbage rolls and they are outstanding. The crushed ginger snaps make it special. Men and women who cook should own this cookbook.
Rating:
Summary: "The heart of regional American cookery"
Review: Unique and marvelous, this is a cookbook I enjoyed reading from cover to cover, with recipes I had never seen before, and as Ms. Adams explains in her excellent introduction, that because the Amish and Mennonites have kept themselves outside of mainstream society, "their folkways, language, and eating habits have changed very little in hundreds of years".
The layout for the recipes is not in a category format, but thematically and by seasons: 1. "The Greening of Indiana". 2. "Summer Days". 3. "Shades of Autumn". 4. "Winter's Rest"; as an example, though there are many superb, hearty recipes in "The Soup Pot", which is part of the final winter section, the tasty Asparagus Soup is part of "The Earth Stirs" in the first spring section.Each chapter starts with some history, as in "The Barn Raising" in the summer section, which describes this terrific community tradition (those who have seen the Harrison Ford film "Witness" will remember the barn raising scene), where the women prepare a noon meal for a hundred or more men, and arrange it on long tables...and how these meals are "still prepared in kitchens without electricity" (pg. 65).
There is a chapter on Thanksgiving, with the traditional Amish-Mennonite menu. It would be interesting for someone with a large family to prepare this from the Apple Salad to the Mincemeat and Custard Cornbread. The paper quality is good, with a semi-matte finish, and the photographs by Alexandra Avakian capture the atmosphere and beauty of the rural locations, the houses, the creative and colorful quilts, and the people; the children are exquisite, and look so healthy.
This book represents a wonderful piece of Americana and a basic part of our heritage; it is lovely to look at, a pleasure to read, and full of wholesome, nutritious and delicious recipes to treasure for generations.
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