"Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all." ~Harriet Van Horne

This eclectic collection was first published in 1996 and since then, this literary gem is back in print with a new cover. Sherman Asher Publishing is trying to change the world one book at a time.

Poetry and Cuisine unite in a blissful expression of love of food, cooking and writing.
The pleasure of poetry and cuisine are given a voice in one volume.

The tastes and aromas in food are just as important as the recipes themselves. A great poem about food can recreate the powerful images and emotions that inspired the poet while they were cooking.

"The syrup should drip in an amber pool
Over the white flan, reflecting the light.
Uncomplicated, delicate
Cooked so it slides gently on the plate.
A taste like sun-dried roads,
Red geraniums in shaded patios,
And dreaming in the afternoon...."
-Deborah Casillas who also shares her Flan Recipe

60 contributors shared their heirloom recipes and each has a short biography at the end of the book. These recipes were tested by Lisa Sarenduc.

The recipes and poems often share opposite pages. The cook/poet is the author of both.

The Contents include:

Assembling the Pieces: Appetizers, Relishes, Salsas
Soups and Salvation
Grist for the Mill: Pastas, Grains, and Breads
Entrees
Desserts and Remembrance
Comfort Foods
Café Culture

In the first chapter Anne Marie Mackler writes a cute story about her brother Bernie chasing her about trying to make her eat a pickled pepper which she finally learns to enjoy. Her recipes included dill pickle juice and jalapenos and is called James' Winter Salsa.

When Marian Olson speaks of onions as "pearls of the earth" wanting tears, I keep wanting to find her and ask her if she has put the onions in the refrigerator. I no longer cry when chopping onions, most of the time.

Some of the recipes:

Fig Cake
Golden Spanokopita
Chicken Ginger Soup

New England Strawberry Pie
Chicken Breast A L'Orange
Sukiyaki

Many of the poems will make you laugh, some are quite profound and will make you nostalgic for times gone by. Many poems take on a more narrative style. You might even add a few tears to the recipes now and then by accident. ;)

Essential for your culinary collection! Suddenly food becomes an unforgettable sensuous and emotional experience. Don't be surprised if all of a sudden you start
writing a poem in a moment of inspiration. To put it mildly: "I LOVE this book!"

Inspirational and Highly recommended.

-The Rebecca Review.com

Written With A Spoon: A Poet's Cookbook is a unique compendium of poetry and cuisine. First is a wonderfully crafted poem in celebration a food or a dining experience, followed by a mouth-watering recipe. For example, Mary Connell's "Celebration of Apples" is followed by Apple Onion Soup; Trinidad Sanchez's "Mama's Tortillas" is followed by Bertha's Mother in Law's Tortillas; Lorraine Lener Ciancio's "Suddenly From a Gentle June Day in the Mountains" is followed by Elvira's Kitchen Cake. Each poem is exquisite. Each recipe inspiring. Written With A Spoon is a perfect blending of nourishment for the mind, food for the soul, and sustenance for the body!

Here is a great review from Internet Bookwatch on one of my favorite cookbooks. Don't miss this treasure.

Written With A Spoon: A Poet's Cookbook is a unique compendium of poetry and cuisine. First is a wonderfully crafted poem in celebration a food or a dining experience, followed by a mouth-watering recipe. For example, Mary Connell's "Celebration of Apples" is followed by Apple Onion Soup; Trinidad Sanchez's "Mama's Tortillas" is followed by Bertha's Mother in Law's Tortillas; Lorraine Lener Ciancio's "Suddenly From a Gentle June Day in the Mountains" is followed by Elvira's Kitchen Cake. Each poem is exquisite. Each recipe inspiring. Written With A Spoon is a perfect blending of nourishment for the mind, food for the soul, and sustenance for the body!

I have this edition of the Food & Wine annual as well as the previous two editions, and they are typically the first cookbooks I turn to when I'm in need of a recipe. The Food & Wine annuals are nice because the recipes always taste great, are well written, and are much easier to locate than sorting through magazine clippings. In addition, the annual incorporates many of the tips included in the magazine such as how to make a successful merengue, etc.

Despite the breadth of well-loved recipe books on my shelf, Food & Wine is especially useful because it presents a wide range of dishes from classics to regional cuisine, desserts to barbecues and appetizers. The only reason I don't have the most recent editions is because my dad stopped purchasing the annuals, and I didn't know where to find them until today! You can be sure I'll be picking up both the 2000 and 2001 editions of this great compilation.

Actually, I can't believe you don't have this book yet. The hotel that I work for already has a copy and I have been "chomping at the bit" for my own personal copy. I have secretly made copies of some of my favorite recipes, and let me tell you, they have turned out FABULOUS. When are you going to get this book?

This anthology by a group of Oklahoma mystery writers cleverly uses animals to help solve the various crimes. For example, Moira K. Wiley's story, "Old Mack Donald's Ghost", features an emu. One cautionary note--husbands and boyfriends don't fare too well in some of these tales so all of you men be sure to check your egos at the door!!

Food & Wine Magazine is well known for their unique recipe selections. Now you can purchase an entire year's worth of recipes in one elegant book. Each year they publish a marvelous collection of the tastiest recipes from all 12 issues of the magazine in the previous year.

This book contains the recipes from the year 2000. There are over 700 recipes in this volume. Everything from hours d'oeuvres and cocktails to main dishes, side dishes and delicious desserts.

All of the recipes have been tested to perfection in the Food & Wine test kitchens, so they have clear, easy step-by-step directions. They also include kitchen hints and many inspirational color photographs.

There are some special symbols in this book. They have marked the "quick, health-conscious and winners" with cute symbols. Each chapter starts with a full list of recipes in that chapter.

The Contents Include:

Hors d'oeuvres - Impress your guests with a colorful Roasted Red Pepper dip or elegant Mushroom and Goat cheese Phyllo Triangles. They also include ceremonial foods like "haroset" which is a fruit-and-nut mixture used to symbolize parts of the Passover story.

First Courses - If you have yet to taste seafood and eggs, the Seafood and Scallion Pancakes on pg. 40 are a good introduction. Who knew shrimp and eggs could taste so good together.

Salads - Balsamic Caesar Salad, Endive and Grapefruit Salad with Smoked Trout, Asparagus Salad with Herbs and Parmesan.

Soups - Curried Butternut Squash and Cauliflower soup is so exotic! If you love cooking with beans, they really have quite a few winter bean soup recipes. If you love seafood, don't miss the smoky seafood chowder.

Eggs - Spinach, Ham and Parmesan Souffle, Omelets and Frittatas

Pasta - Saffon Linguine with Herb Oil and Shaved Manchego Cheese, Mushroom and Tomato Lasagna, Brown Butter Potato Gnocchi.

Fish & Shellfish - Grilled Fish with Sauce au Chien, Grilled Sea Bass with Lemon-Mind Dressing, Baked Turbot with Herbed Hollandaise, Miso-Glazed Salmon and Grilled Tuna with Coriander Seeds and Cilantro.

Chicken and Other Birds - Cumin-Garlic Chicken and Beet Kebabs, Coconut Curry Chicken, Spicy Chicken Salad with Papaya, Chicken Baklava with Spices and Dried Fruit, Chicken Masala..(complete with a list for an Indian pantry), Fried Chicken, Coq au Vin, Jambalay, Thai Green Curry Chicken, Lemon and Garlic Roast Chicken (I must say this is the best recipe in the book).

Pork & Veal - Barbecued Pork Loin, Passion Fruit and Ginger Glazed Pork Tenderloin, Standing Pork Roast with Fresh Herbs, Pork Burgers with Sage, Saltimbocca di Vitello, Grilled Veal Chops with Tasso, Foie Gras and Sorrel, Roasted Rack of Veal. Impressive.

Beef, Lamb & Game - Now we are talking Dinner! Beef Tenderloin with Roasted Garlic Crust with Winter Vegetable Pan Roast, Miami Cuban-Style Steak with Mojo, Beef Stew with Red Wine, Braised Brisket with Rosemary, Shallots and Red Wine, Kalahari Venison Medallions with Plum Sauce, Lamb Tagine with Prunes and Carrots, Spicy Lamb and Bulgur Meatballs. I don't know about you, but this is making me really hungry.

Breads, Pizzas, Sandwiches & Tortillas - A unique chapter for sure. You will find recipes for Cornmeal Crackers with Pumpkin Seeds, Squash and Stilton Biscuits, Corn Bread, White Bread, Garlic and Thyme Croutons, Pumpernickel waffles, Four Cheese Panini, Cuban Roast Pork Sandwiches with Mojo Sauce, Grilled Fish Tacos.

Vegetables - If you have been looking for a creamed spinach recipe, this one has shallots and parmesan cheese. There are recipes for the cutest stuffed zucchini with pecorino sauce that are a visual delight. White Asparagus with Pitachio Polonaise is most elegant. Do you want a few "lentil" recipes. Here they have a lentil salad and a fragrant Toor dish with Garlic and Tomato.

Potatoes & Grains - If you love potato gratin, here are a few delicious variations. Then there are potato cakes and even a potato soufflé. The Tomato Risotto is on my list of dishes to make with fresh vine ripened tomatoes.

Sauces & Condiments - Everything from a garlic vinaigrette to a Fourth-of-July Firecracker Salsa. They also have some sauces and chutneys like Tamarind and Date Chutney for serving with curry.

Cakes, Tarts & Cookies - If you are looking for new ideas for "semolina" there is a cake complete with a cherry sauce. Then you have gingerbread, a country cake with strawberries and whipped cream (my husband's favorite recipe in this book) and a rather interesting "Giraffe-Spot" Cake for the adventurous. Looking for a recipe for those soft chocolate cakes? The Custard-Filled Crostat with Amaretti looks incredible. Now, what I was really enticed by was the idea of adding "passion fruit" to a Lemon Meringue Pie.

Fruit Desserts - Summer Bliss! Apricots in Vanilla Cardamom Syrup, Warm Apple Charlottes, Golden Strawberry Gratin, Honey-Carmelized pears with Orange-Vanilla Flan, Banana-Bread-and-Butter Pudding, Frozen Lime Souffle.

Other Desserts - Chocolate Fonue with Fresh Fruit, Chocolate-Filled Bomboloncino, the cutest "chocolate sweethearts," Coconut Flans with Rum, Molasses-Cinnamon Cake Doughnuts, Hazelnut Meringue Ice Cream Sandwiches and Coffee Granita with Lemon Cream.

Beverages - Lemonade, Hot Chocolate with Whipped Cream, Masala Chai, Smoothies, Punch, etc.

This is almost a guide to what the top chefs were doing in the past year so you can keep up on food trends. Dana Cowin is the wonderful magazine editor who also serves on the board of directors of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, so she knows where to find all the tasty food secrets. Judith Hill was once the director of publications for La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine in Paris and this book has a rather French appeal in the design.

There is a unique "quick" guide to special recipes. The Index is very easy to use and the entire book format is very organized and appealing.

Sensual exoticism to delicious traditional American food.

These Cookbooks are worth collecting!

The book primarily focuses on Germantown and good thing: Germantown is rich in history and Judith's selection of pictures demonstrates this.

She really dug deep into the Germantown Historical Society's picture archives to come up with the treasures she did. For instance, on page 71, there is a picture of the James M.E. (Methodist Episcopal) Church, on the corner of Haines Street and Belfield Avenue from 1890. This became the site of the famed Holy Rosary Italian Catholic Church in 1927.

I especially love the older, pre-Industrial Age pictures, when streets were unpaved and Germantown had yet to be really developed.

The Images of America series from Arcadia Publishing is a pictorial history of America's neighborhoods. The Germantown book is definitely worth buying and proudly displaying on your shelf.

This is my bible for pasta recipes. Not one is bad. Most ingredients called for are found in large chain grocery stores or can easily be substituted without changing the quality of the dish. For example where flat-leaf parsley is called for, any parsley will do. Where scallops are called for, try chicken. You can't go wrong.

The best part of the book is for those who are patience impared. The chapter on 20 MINUTE pasta dishes will serve up quick and very delicious meals or side dishes.

Enjoy!

I found this book by accident in a bookstore, and am glad I bought it. It is an excellent story. The setting is well-described, the writing style is eloquent, and the characters are presented with depth and emotion.

The only slight problem with this book is that it does hold a very obvious Christian bias. I was not aware that this book fell into the genre of "Christian fiction" when I bought it. Although the plot is great and the story is very entertaining, it is obvious to me that the authors intend to bring a stong faith element to the story. I wish the authors had broken out of their Christian bias long enough to simply tell a good story.

However, in spite of the Christian bias to the story, I will still complete all six books in this series. This is a great tribute to the authors, because in spite of the fact that they have introduced a bias that I personally do not agree with, the story is still worth reading to the end.

I picked up this book yesterday evening and I couldn't put it down. I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen to Maggie and Ian. Now I have to go find the next books in the series! I also enjoyed the thread of faith in God that the authors wove throughout the book. It was a great read!

The Heather Hills of Stonewycke is a wonderful book. The characters are so realistic and you feel as though you're right there with Maggie, Ian, Digory, Atlanta, and James. It was a beautifully written novel and everyone should read. The only bad part was when I finished all six of the books!

It's always amazing to me to browse the used book section and discover a good book published years ago I somehow missed! As soon as I finished this book I looked up the author.(This at 4am in the morning!) I hope she does take up the pen again. She has that special "spark" that draws the reader in and it would be a pleasure to see her continue writing and watch her creativity develop. This romance, set in England in the 1100's, tells the story of a "tormented hero" who inadvertantly finds himself taking the charge of an "educated (for the times) woman" away from her "wicked and greedy" brother. The hero has her fake being his mistress in order to give her a place in his household but the king (who is unaware they are pretending) won't have it, and forces them to marry. Neither wants this,although the hero finds himself attracted to her, the tragedy of his first marriage left him cold and bitter. She is unaware of this and although not clueless to the fact he doesn't want to marry,she is determined to make a place for herself in his world. Reading as they overcome their conflicts, assisted by a wily,plotting servant (who thinks she knows best) and a knight with a mysterious past and you have a story that keeps you reading until 4am! ......and Judith?....WRITE Simon's story and put us out of our misery!

As soon as I finished this book I went surfing for the next book. It just seemed that Simon's story was right around the corner. After reading MS Hills comments I was dissappointed that it wasn't to be. MS Hill if you see this pppllleeeaaassseeee his story just begs to be told.

This book ties as my favorite with Johanna Lindsey's "Hearts Aflame" and Jude Deveraux's "Knight In Shining Armor" To me Judith Hill seems to be a cross between them. Seeing that there is no synopsis for this book, I will proceed to copy the SYNOPSIS FROM THE BACK OF THE BOOK. "Taryn Maitland faced the Great Earl of Arudel and let her garments fall to the ground. She had to make him want her, had to make him take her. It was the only way she could escape the hideous marriage her greedy brother had arranged. Her lecherous groom insisted on a virgin bride, so a wanton she must be. She would give herself to the handsome, powerful lord of Castle Jaune, one man her brother wouldn't dare defy. And then she would be free. Free of everything but the taste of the earl's passion on her lips, and the brand of his hands on her innocent flesh! Many women had offered themselves to Garret d'Aubigny, but none quite so unexpectedly. In no mood for a wench's tricks he scowled at Taryn's shapley form. She was delectable enough, with her flaming tresses and creamy skin. And it was his unquestionable right as liege lord to sample whatever pleasures he desired. But he did not enjoy being a scheming bride's pawn. He would have the very willing lady, but he would make certain she knew he was master here. He would make her cry out with passion, writhe with wanting, and surrender completely to his most intimate embrace." *END* Trust me when I say this is one of the most heart wrenching, touching books I have ever read. Be forewarned, have a box of Kleenex handy for this book! Thank you a million times Judith Hill for writing this WONDERFUL novel!

The prologue of this book takes place in St. Cloud, MN on Prom night, 1976. Then the authors fast forward to the Christmas Season, 1988 and slowly, in multi-layered character exposition "like time through an hour glass," tell the reader what everyone has been up to in the intervening years.

Like Stephen King's Carrie, it observes high school foibles: "You've been away too long, Charlie. I'll tell you something. There is no life after high school. Not in this town. The grown up world is just high school with money." That statement rings true. Those who remain in town appear to be locked in a sort of "time warp." They maintain the harsh high school cliqued pecking order in which they were, and are, mired and "pigeon hole" returnees in their long-ago station.

I found myself wondering if I had been mistaken about the genre as I was reading the first part of the book. The dead body at the center of the who-dun-it murder mystery doesn't even appear until page 167 of this 300 page work. So, for the first half of the book, the story is soap operatic a la "As St. Cloud Turns" - but that could be anticipated in a book co-authored by Judith Guest, who also penned "Ordinary People." The unsympathetic mother character played by Mary Tyler Moore in the Robert Redford movie of that book has aged a bit and now appears as a mother/grandmother in St. Cloud.

Remember old-fashioned roller coasters? When the ride starts and your car is slowly being hauled up the first incline from whence centrifugal force and gravity take over? That's what the first part of this book feels like. Once "up top" it's time to "Hang on folks, we're in for a bumpy ride." When this book gets going, it is intriguing.

This is the first novel from the author that I have read. The book started out very good, in fact is was good up until Quinn and Levitsky got caught following the psychopath from his house. It literally falls apart at that point. It seemed as though the author lost site of where she was going or just got tired of the task. A mystery should hold you until the very end and also clean up the loose ends left dangling.

Overall, I did enjoy this book.It was a book that made you wonder what might happen to the lost girl next.

Released from prison after losing his sight, and then incarcerated in a once-deserted home at the edge of the woods, Ellie Weir is under constant surveillance electronically. They say it is a fail-proof system and that he can't possibly escape
But this isn't so.

Abigail, Nora's ten year-old girl wanders over to the deserted home one day with the fence. But once inside the gate around it, she never returns home. Quinn Gallagher, the police/detective is trying to solve the case, as she is convinced that somehow Ellie must be holding Kate somewhere. And she needs to do it before it's too late.

Not to be confused with the film, "House on Haunted Hill", The House on the Hill is about a blind convict, living in a formerly condemned house, who's crime involved raping young girls. The tale is told non-narritvely through three characters: a cop, a mother, and her daughter.
If you're looking for a scary book, this is it. The situations of the kidnapped daughter are especially terrifying as you never know what is going to happen next. The only problem really is that the story can get confusing -- it took me awhile to figure out which house I was looking out of on the cover. I know that sounds lame, but it's just an example.