Cookology

Rosemary Shortbread Cookies
We recommend giving kids cookbooks for the holidays. Yumm. For kids who are inspired by relatives who cook, TV cooking shows, or their innate wish to make (and eat) good food, a cookbook will travel with them throughout life. (And it’s a sneaky way to encourage reading and math!)

Vinegar Pie
In honor of our Bookstorm, Presenting Buffalo Bill: the Man Who Invented the Wild West, we discovered that on the wagon trail, when fresh apples weren’t available, apple cider vinegar made a tasty pie.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Inspired by our Bookstorm feature this month, Let Your Voice Be Heard: The Life and Times of Pete Seeger, there was a pot of stew bubbling in many a hobo camp during the Great Depression and many a hootenanny in the ’50s and 60s’. This quick-to-assemble version can stay in your slow cooker until you’re ready to eat.

Decadent Chocolate Raspberry Cake
Inspired by our Bookstorm feature this month, No Monkeys, No Chocolate, bake this rich chocolate cake, and indulge in every sweet chocolate-raspberry bite.

Louis Armstrong’s Red Beans and Rice
A Cajun-inspired favorite recipe from jazz musician Louis Armstrong, this is a perfect accompaniment to your reading of Jazz Day by Roxane Orgill.

Lighthouse Beef Stew
Author Aimee Bissonette writes, “To accompany your reading of Miss Colfax’s Lighthouse, here’s the type of recipe Harriet would have cooked in winter months. It gets incredibly cold on Lake Michigan in the winter and Harriet was always so busy! She would have needed something that was pretty easy to make (no time to fuss)
Twisted Tots Hotdish
We wouldn’t be surprised if Travis’s grandmother had a frozen version of this hotdish stored next to the state fair butterhead. This recipe is a staple across the Midwest.

Pork Roll Sandwich
One of New Jersey’s most famous foods, the Pork Roll sandwich is made from John Taylor’s Pork Roll, first made in 1856. We’ve chosen it as our featured recipe this month, honoring William Carlos Williams, who lived in Rutherford, New Jersey.

Sunflower Cat Treats
Patches in Little Cat’s Luck (Marion Dane Bauer and Jennifer A. Bell) would find these healthy treats a reason to purr.

Kung Pao Chicken with Broccoli
In honor of Jing’s delicious cooking in Chasing Secrets, here’s a recipe for one of everybody’s favorite dishes.

Princess Posey’s Crazy Lazy Vacation Cookies
If you like crispy, crunchy cookies and the taste of almonds, you’ll love these! Princess Posey’s author Stephanie Greene shares one of her favorite recipes.

Kim-Chee
Kim-chee, a traditional fermented side dish made of vegetables, is the national dish of Korea.

Best Ever Banana Pudding
A Southern-style banana pudding that’s a fitting treat while you’re reading Anita Silvey’s Untamed: the Wild Life of Jane Goodall

Flowerpot Cakes
At a spring conference we organized back in 2004, Karen Ritz, author, illustrator, and baker extraordinaire, made one of these for each of our guests. They were a hit! We think they’d work well with a construction-themed party or storytime, too.

Orange Omelet
Gennifer Choldenko’s Chasing Secrets takes place in the late 1800s — this recipe is one that might have been served at a luncheon. From the Boston Cooking School Cookbook: Orange Omelet Ingredients: 3 eggs Few grains salt 1 teaspoon lemon juice 2 1⁄2 tablespoons orange juice 1⁄2 tablespoon butter (for pan) 2 oranges 2 tablespoons powdered sugar Separate yolks from whites. Beat yolks until thick and