Saltville Centennial Cookbook,
A Century of Good Cooking, 1896-1996

If you like this Heritage Recipe website, then you will want to get a copy of The Saltville Centennial Cookbook, A Century of Good Cooking, 1896-1996.  Following a similar format to this website, every recipe has a story.  Out of print for many years, cookbook has been reprinted by the Friends of the Museum of the Middle Appalachians, Saltville, VA and is available again at the Museum of the Middle Appalachians Store.

The cookbook contains over 110 old recipes, family photos and articles from and about the old time cooks in the Saltville area. This cookbook is a "must have" for collectors of old fashioned recipes.

Here's the beginning of one of the stories, "Sarah Greer's mother died at birth.  Her father had to go off to the Civil War and never returned..."  If you want to know what happens to Sarah, you are going to have to buy the cookbook!

You can learn more about the Museum of the Middle Appalachians on their website.   If you are traveling on I-81 through Virginia, take a detour off the interstate and visit Saltville.  It is located eight miles north of I-81 in the southwestern part of Virginia.  Take exit 35 via Route 107 or Exit 29 via Route 91 for the short and scenic drive into Saltville.

The funds from the sales of the book go to support the museum.

If you are interested in obtaining a copy,  contact the Museum Store at (276) 496-3633. The price is $20 per copy and supplies are limited.  The museum doesn't have online shopping so you will need to call them. They are happy to take phone orders!

This is a terrific small, community museum, located in an area of Virginia that is rich in both American history and pre-historic history.

This looks like such a terrific book, I'm going to go ahead and share it with you -- while I wait for mine to arrive!  It's only been in bookstores a short time.

According to the publisher's (Gibbs Smith) website,  "The Pantry ponders the history, return and rebirth of the kitchen pantry. With a nod toward the philosophy "a place for everything and everything in its place," author and historian Catherine Seiberling Pond delves into the past, present, and future possibilities of this important room, and finds ways to incorporate a pantry into any home."

You can learn more about the author at her blog and I'll be posting my review as soon as my copy arrives.  I love pantries and old kitchen utensils so I can't wait to get it!

Click here to purchase the book from the publisher.

This little book is both heartbreaking and fascinating.  It's the story of the women held in the Terezin (Theresienstadt) concentration camp during World War II and their recipes.  These women were literally starving to death and their thoughts became focused on food and recipes.  This book is the manuscript of recipes collected by Mina Pachter, who died at Terezin before the end of the war.  Many years after the war the manuscript was delivered to her daughter, when a woman telephoned her and said "I have a package for you from your mother."  The package included photographs, letters and these recipes.  A book worth reading.

American Pie My Search for the Perfect Pizza by Peter Reinhart

Mr. Reinhart's description of his search of the perfect pizza immediately took me back to 1967 and the pizzeria in my hometown. I thought it was the best pizza and it was the only pizza I had ever had (that didn't come from a mix in a box)! The author's search for the perfect pizza takes us to Italy and across the U.S. Along the way he collects some extraordinary recipes for pizza dough's, sauces, toppings and more. Don't look to this book as a good bedtime read -- you will want to jump out of bed and either start packing your bag for a trip to Italy or start cooking. As with his other cookbooks, Mr. Reinhart's recipes come with an interesting narrative description and are easy to follow. 

Favorite Section: Ten Tips for Making Pizza Dough
Favorite Recipes: The entire toppings section