★★★★★
Going through old cookbooks makes you realize that food is as trendy as fashion
Authors Jenne and Miko are librarians by day and renegade chefs by night.
As longtime fans of Little Women ( by Louisa May Alcott), the authors have read (and reread) (and re-reread) this series ever since they were young.
As cooking enthusiasts, they (and many Little Women fans) have wondered –
What exactly would the March sisters have eaten?”
Well, wonder no longer!
Jenne and Miko applied their culinary creativity to translating many period appropriate recipes into modern-day delicacies – but that was no walk in the park!
Victorian cookbooks assume readers have a lot technical knowledge…That’s why their directions can read like the Technical Challenge on The Great British Baking Show.
This cookbook is split into recipes that match with the characters – Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy, Laurie and the March Family.
I really loved how the dishes matched the characters so well.
Meg has sophisticated dishes, Jo is practical (but ambitious), Beth has homey plates and Amy is adventurous.
Many of the recipes were inspired directly from the text (like Jo’s disastrous corned beef dish and lobster side salad or Amy’s pickled limes).
Others were included as representations of what a typical family would eat during that time period (like the picnic lunch with Laurie).
It was SO much fun to read about all of the recipes – especially when you look at the original versions (oh my gosh. I never want to be a chef in the 1800s!).
There were quite a few gorgeous images to show what the dishes should look like – and wow. They looked good!
Each recipe was accompanied by a quote or two about when the March sisters prepared or ate the food – which was fun to read.
Though, as much as I adored the accompanying the text, I wish the quotes used were a bit shorter and for there were more pictures of the dishes instead.
All in all, I will treasure this cookbook for many years to come. I have not tried the recipes yet but I will update the review once I do!
With many, many thanks to the authors for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Interested in this one from Jenne Bergstrom and Miko Osada. Buy it here: Amazon
Miranda Reads 