Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I was looking forward to reviewing Elaine Robinson's "The Church Potluck Supper Cookbook." Unfortunately, while the basic flavors and ideas are good ones, the recipes themselves suffer from a few problems.
Nothing that we made from this cookbook was terrible; there was nothing that made me think the author was in any way a poor cook with bad ideas. In fact, the basic flavors tended to be quite good. It's just that there are a number of details missing from the recipes, not to mention ratios that just seemed off somehow, and similar things. It also seemed that many of these dishes were a little low-volume; when I think potluck supper, I tend to think of larger amounts of food. One scalloped tomato dish we made provided four not-oversized servings.
One of my pet peeves in a cookbook is inconsistency in the level of detail and type of notation. For example, if you have a cookbook where some herbs are mentioned as being dried and ground and others aren't (but also aren't specified as fresh), you can never be entirely sure whether those herbs are meant to be used fresh or dried--and there'll be a big difference in the result. This cookbook contains a number of such inconsistencies. For example, a corn casserole calls for a 15 oz. can of cream-style corn, but a "small" can of regular corn. In my experience 15 oz. cans are the smallest I've seen, but since the recipe used different notation does that mean it's supposed to be a smaller size? Any inconsistency in notation may imply a difference in usage--once those differences creep in, you can never be entirely sure what a recipe is calling for.
We tried a turkey dressing from this book that had a wonderful flavor to it. However, the consensus among all of the people who tried it was that the recipe should have used at least half again as much bread and possibly twice as much (both the consistency and the intensity of the flavors were off). The "crispee bars deluxe" (a bar cookie recipe) were delicious, but two people found them too sweet and said they had too much chocolate, and I was right on the border--and I have a pretty high tolerance for sweet stuff.
Other than the inconsistencies that confuse things, these are simple, easy recipes. I found them easy to make by myself even when I was also busy with other things, and they didn't take up much time. They're simple enough that they tend to come two or three to a page. Layout is clear and simple--there isn't much to mess up in that area when you're using such short and simple recipes!
There are no photos to go with the recipes, but when you're talking about things like casseroles and bar cookies, this isn't a big deal.
One of the more useful aspects of this book is the information on organizing such things as bake sales, potluck suppers, and church picnics. Most of it is simple, fairly obvious stuff (things like having serving spoons for each dish), but then again these are the details that it's easy to forget in the heat of things, particularly if you're new to this kind of work, so I'm glad they were included. I think someone who's already spent time organizing these kinds of things won't find much new, but someone who hasn't done it before will be glad of the help.
All in all I like the quality of the food in this book, but I find the recipes a bit frustrating. If you feel comfortable enough in the kitchen that you think you'll be able to figure out some of the confusions and you don't mind mucking with the recipes then I'd say you should go ahead and use this cookbook, particularly if you'd find the informational material handy. However, I'd recommend making any recipe from this book for your own use before you make it for a public gathering, so you have the opportunity to fix any flavor imbalances or ingredient confusions.
Click Here to see more reviews about: The Church Potluck Supper Cookbook: Over 500 Hearty, Delicious Recipes for Friends, Family, and Community
Potluck luncheons and suppers not only nourish bodies,but also souls when people come together for fellowship,community—and wonderful food! The Church Potluck Supper Cookbookpresents more than 500 treasured recipes—soups todesserts—gathered by parson's wife Elaine Robinson from churchsupper "chefs" across the country.From Raspberry Glazed Chicken to Stuffed Green Peppers to MintChocolate Squares, the recipes in The Church Potluck Supper Cookbookshow you how to create delicious dishes to take to the next potluckevent. Some of the tasty recipes include:·Real New England Fish Chowder·Chilly Night Chili·Old Favorite Ham Loaf·Hummingbird Cake ·Lemon-Strawberry Punch and Mulled CiderMake mouthwatering meals perfect for small or large groups and any festive occasion. Anyone who enjoys the warmth of good food and the company of good people will savor The Church Potluck Supper Cookbook
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