Customer Reviews

Eat Your Way Through the USA

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This is such a fun book for families to discover the USA. I haven't made anything from this cookbook yet, however do also own the other one in this series, Eat Your Way Around the World, and the dishes in that one turn out very well. I enjoy this series because there are actual menus for a meal instead of just a dessert. The ingredient lists are all familiar items and can be found at the grocery store.

One thing the author has really tried to do is keep the menus palatable to even picky eaters. The one down side is that there are a very few recipes that require processed foods. In addition to the recipes, each state has a "Food Facts" that tells some interesting information.

Although another commenter complained that the recipes weren't authentic, I'd say that most of them do seem very regional. This book is suppose to be educational and a jumping off point to studying the states. It would be fantastic if one would decide to look up other menus for the state/region if the cookbook didn't meet their palate expectations.

Some sample recipes include:
Alaska Crustless Salmon Quiche
Colorado Trout with Garlic & Mushrooms
Connecticut New England Pot Roast
Georgia Peach Pie
Indiana Corn Pudding (a side dish)
Maryland Crab Cakes
Rhode Island Red Clam Chowder
Tennessee Hoppin' John (Black-eyed peas & rice)
Wyoming Cowboy Beans

I purchased this book at our yearly homeschooling convention in Florida with the intent of using it as a fun supplement to our study of the 50 states. While the idea is a great one - preparing and eating foods peculiar to each individual state - the execution leaves a lot to be desired. There is not much appealing about the recipes that use margarine, canned soups, evaporated milk and other unappetizing and less than healthy ingredients. There is frequently no explanation for why a food was chosen other than it was a recipe given to the author by someone who happened to live in that state. I live in Florida but that doesn't mean that all of my recipes are authentic Floridian foods - why does someone's cousin-in-law from Pennsylvania's cream of chicken soup casserole qualify as authentic Pennsylvania fare? We have had more success using the cookbook as a jumping off point in our own search for authentic state foods than using the actual recipes - although a few have been good most have been less than stellar. It really was irritating to consider all the myriad Pennsylvania Dutch foods that COULD have been included but weren't. That seems to be a common problem with most of the states we have covered so far. Doing an internet search using the official websites for each state has yielded much tastier, more imaginative foods for our family's study. I'm keeping a file of all the official state foods we discover - who knows, we may publish our own cookbook when we're done!

"Eat Your Way Through the USA" is designed to be a cookbook companion to the unit study "Cantering the Country." The recipes represent authentic meals from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. For each state there is a native dish, sidedish and dessert along with "fun food facts." The recipes are simple to follow and the ingrediants are easily obtainable at your local supermarket.