Best of Mennonite Fellowship Meals [Paperback]

Phyllis P Good (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 25, 2001

Many people no longer have time to entertain and cook for large groups of people in their homes. Hence, the growing interest in potlucks, fellowship meals and carry-in dinners. Here are 800 recipes ranging from Sweet and Sour Baked Beans to Amish Vanilla Pie, perfect for sharing with friends at home or at church.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

As a working mother, Phyllis Pellman Good has learned the difficulties of hosting a traditional Sunday noon dinner -- and the relaxed comfort of Sunday noon fellowship meals! Good, her husband Merle and two daughters are members of East Chestnut Street Mennonite Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Good is Book Editor for Good Books and Editor of Festival Quarterly, a magazine exploring the arts, faith and culture of Mennonite peoples.
Good and Louise Stoltzfus had an earlier collaboration -- co-editing The Central Market Cookbook.
Good is the author of Cooking and Memories, The Festival Cookbook: Four Seasons of Favorites and The Best of Amish Cooking. She is co-author of From Amish and Mennonite Kitchens with Rachel Thomas Pellman, and of 20 Most Asked Questions About the Amish and Mennonites with her husband, Merle.
Having come through the Old Order Amish and Beachy Amish line into the Mennonite church, Louise Stoltzfus has attended many church dinners and fellowship meals and has often struggled with knowing what to take. She is a member of Blossom Hill Mennonite Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
In addition to working as an assistant editor for Good Books, she also works as director of The People's Place Gallery in Intercourse, Pennsylvania.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Food for Fellowship
We have observed the growth of a wonderful practice in many Mennonite congregations during the last several years -- the church fellowship meal! Where we once invited "company" home for Sunday dinner, today we are more likely to share a carry-in lunch in the church fellowship hall after morning worship.
It's a custom worth fostering, we believe, especially when we see so little of each other apart from Sunday morning. Furthermore, it seems more appropriate to relax in the spirit of community rather than to be entertained by one starring (and probably tense and exhausted!) cook.
Familiar Favorites
Collected here are favorite recipes from Mennonite fellowship meals, offered by the cooks who prepare them. "People ask me to bring this," some explained with gentle pride. "I love watching people go for this dish," or "I take this because I never have any leftovers," admitted others!
A Multi-Cultural Event
Food fuels friendships and begins to undo prejudices. In that spirit, this book contains favorite dishes from the many food traditions which are now part of the Mennonite family of faith. In some places throughout North America, Mennonite fellowship meals are multi-cultural events, reflecting the make-up of their congregations. Experiment with the Lao, Chinese, Belizean, Mexican, Native-American and African-American dishes that are part of this collection.
For Eating at Home
Not only are all these recipes fellowship meal favorites, they also feed family and friends equally well at home. One note if you prepare these dishes for eating at home -- the number of servings included with each recipe assumes the traditional bounty of a fellowship meal. Consequently, we have assumed more servings per recipe than is likely to be adequate for home use.
About Titling Recipes
While most Mennonite cooks take pride in the food they fix, they are also a modest lot. We took one liberty as editors that may challenge the humility of a few who submitted recipes to us: in some cases we included the name of the submitter in the title of the recipe, in an effort to distinguish it from similar surrounding recipes. (We figured that was in keeping with our tradition of crediting the maker of a favorite dish by the name we give it -- "Aunt Anna May's Snickerdoodles," for example.) We do apologize if we have embarrassed anyone with this decision.
If You're in Charge
In the interest of easing your planning for a fellowship meal we have included a chapter about overcoming common hurdles -- what to do when your oven space is limited; what if there are too few electrical outlets; how to overcome tight quarters for eating.
If You Don't Know What to Make
To give you inspiration when you've been asked to bring finger food, when you're looking for something children will enjoy or when you want to make an unusual dish, we offer special indexes at the back of the book to those categories, plus several others.
May you find this food delectable and nourishing, not only for your bodies, but for your friendships and families also. There is incomparable warmth in eating together. This is food for fellowship. Thank you, countless cooks, for offering your best dishes so bountifully!
--Phyllis Pellman Good and Louise Stoltzfus

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Good Books (November 25, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561480487
• ISBN-13: 978-1561480487
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #500,961 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended!, October 24, 2004

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Best of Mennonite Fellowship Meals (Paperback)

One of my favorite traditions is the church fellowship meal - where each family brings a dish to pass, and the whole congregation gathers together to eat in Christian fellowship. This wonderful book is a collection of over 900 recipes (I took the author's word for it, I am NOT going to try to count them!) that were collected from Mennonite churches across the United States.

The main part of the book is divided into seven sections: 1) breads, rolls and muffins, 2) soups, 3) salads (vegetable, meat & fruit), 4) main dishes (vegetable, chicken, ground beef, turkey, ham, sausage, seafood, other meats, bean & pasta), 5) breakfast foods, 6) pies and tarts, 7) cakes, 8) bars and cookies, 9) desserts and candies, 10) appetizers and snacks, 11) cheeses and dips, and 12) beverages. But, that's not all; there are also three fascinating chapters on one-pot meals, "if you do not cook," and "time savers, space savers and other hints."

This is a great book, with lots of wonderful, easy to read and follow recipes. So far, my wife and I have made the Mexican Salad (p.65), the Almond Chicken (p.113), and the Double Chocolate Crumble Bars (p.215) - all of which were great. We love this book, and highly recommend it to you!

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My FAVORITE cookbook!, January 24, 2002

By 

mamahobbit (Maybee, MI United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Best of Mennonite Fellowship Meals (Paperback)

Not only do we do a lot of entertaining, but we have a large family, so EVERY DAY we need recipes for a crowd. This book, designed for potluck suppers (everyone knows church potlucks provide the best food in the whole world!), is an every-day necessity at our house. My only complaint: I wish it was available in ring-bound hardback- my copy is in four pieces!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most used cookbook, December 4, 2003

By 

Angie (Eastern USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Best of Mennonite Fellowship Meals (Paperback)

I have a fairly large collection of cookbooks and this is the one that has the pages falling out and corners all bent over. I've used it until it has started to fall apart. Its not poor quality. Its well used. This cookbook is lent out more than its in my cabinet. These are down home recipes that make use of commom ingredients. There are even recipes for large gatherings and I also like the helpful tips that are included through out. I was on line today looking to purchase a copy of this book for a friend who is a frequent borrower. I'm gonna buy a new copy for myself very soon. Highly recommended.