Martha's American Food

Starred review from April 2, 2012
With her trademark glossy imagery, Stewart has always sold an appealing version of Americana, and this latest addition to her cookbook library, focused on American cuisine, is no exception. Diverse and all-encompassing, this volume ranges from the date shakes of California to the Indian pudding of Massachusetts. Chapters are organized by region, starting with all-American dishes such as hamburgers, apple pie, and macaroni and cheese, and moving on to the specific foods of the Northeast, South, Midwest, Southwest, and West. Rustic, homey fare, like shrimp and grits and Texas sheet cake, dominates the proceedings, but in Stewart’s hands, the tuna noodle casserole is updated with anchovies and artichoke hearts; the North Carolina–style pulled pork sandwich is served on homemade cornmeal rolls; and the pineapple upside-down cake relies on fresh fruit. The running “Regional Flavor” highlights individual ingredients, such as clams and pineapple. Clear, reliable instruction, coupled with interesting facts and tidbits (did you know that Athens, Tex., is the black-eyed pea capital of the world?) make this a welcome addition to the canon.

November 15, 2011

Who better than the queen of American lifestyle to give us an American cookbook? The 190 recipes here range from New England Clam Chowder and Shrimp and Grits to Indiana Succotash and Whoopie Pies. Whoopie! All those Martha Stewart fans--Martha Stewart Living alone claims 11 million readers--will want this. Stewart definitely has all the right venues for promoting; there will even be a Scribd.com excerpt.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2012
Many of these 200 recipes offer comfort. Home diva Stewart has divided her combination food-history and recipe book into five geographies Northeast, South, Midwest, Southwest, and West. She then submits a sixth category, all-American, that includes, expectedly, hamburgers, hot crab dip, turkey, and tuna noodle casserole. Dishes, most accompanied by color photographs, range from those in strict adherence to traditional tastes, such as roast turkey, to contemporary variations attuned to seasonal ingredients and newly discovered combinations, such as, for one, fig pizza. Of all the pages, perhaps the most riveting are those without recipes, concerned with the backstories of particular U.S. foodstuffs and showcasing, in sidebars, particular ingredients. The introduction of mayonnaise, the grandfather of meatloaf, the origin of wild rice, and everything you wanted to know about apples are among the topics such pages discuss.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)