Customer Reviews

Breakfast at Nine, Tea at Four: Favorite Recipes from Cape May's Mainstay Inn

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a collector of cookbooks I know quality when I see it. This cookbook contains delicious taste-tempting recipes that are simple and easy to prepare. Sue Carroll is to be commended for creating an elegant/"user friendly" cookbook. It makes an excellent gift!

After going to tea at The Four Seasons I just had to have a cookbook to plan my own tea. Wonderful recipes, great tea sandwhiches, Yummy breads. A must have!

I am an innkeeper myself and it is sometimes difficult to find new recipes that are easy to make and delicious to eat. The recipes in Sue's book are both. Some of them have become "regulars" at our morning and tea tables.

I found this book and the recipes in it to be of exceptional quality. It provides wonderful, fairly simple recipes for delicious things, while capturing the charm of the Mainstay Inn. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Sue Carroll is a genius! Relatively minor effort with many of these recipes results in rave reviews from friends, family and co-workers. Move over Martha!

A friend recently bought me a copy of Breakfast at Nine, Tea at Four ... and I haven't stopped cooking from it since! Easy and delicious recipes with many you can do ahead. The Mainstay French Toast with Spicy Apple Syrup, Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies, and Banana Chocolate Bread are all favorites of mine.

A close friend of mine is a wonderful cook and hostess. For years, I often wondered what her secret was; I just never asked. This weekend I discovered at least part of that gourmet-like secret: BREAKFAST AT NINE was laying on her counter, written by a friend of hers--the author. Not only are the recipes yummy (not a gourmet term?), but the non-recipe parts of the book are a delight to read, also. This former Cape May, New Jersey, famous B&B owner-author, was not just a fussy cook-experimenter, but a crowd pleaser as well.

I have to agree with the other reviewer who found some recipes dry and tasteless. Several years ago I had an opportunity to visit the Inn. The book purchase was to be a trip momento as well as a working cookbook - my family loves brunch/tea items.

Unfortunately, I haven't found one recipe that's "a keeper." Everything I've made from it has come out technically okay and is edible, but is either dry (if cake) or not particularly tasty (if a savory dish). There are a lot of recipes, so maybe there's something in the index that tastes as good as it sounds. However, I don't think at this point I want keep trying 'just one more,' knowing the work, ingredients, or leftovers are likely to go to waste. Wish I knew which recipes the other reviewers particularly liked.

I do really like the book's design/layout, including the vintage Victorian illustrations, and enjoyed visiting the Inn.

The recipes in this book produce generally dry and tasteless results.