Customer Reviews

Mother's Best: Comfort Food That Takes You Home Again

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I ran into this book at Costco I was excited by the pictures and the recipes... then I realized, this book contained recipes to one of my favorite brunch places in downtown Portland. Really? She is sharing her recipes?
I was immediately compelled to add it to my cart - and bought another copy for the friend who introduced me to Mother's downtown in the first place - and let me say I am quite pleased.
I love how she gives tips throughout her cookbook - and the food is all tasting super yummy! Just had the chicken dumplings last night. My husband is not a big fan of chicken dumplings because they can be all goopy and slimey - but this recipe sold him immediately - the texture was perfect!
I also love how most of the ingredients can be found in a normal shopping store. So many cookbooks these days call for fancy items or hard to find items that even the store clerks can't tell you what they are. These are simple affordable yummy recipes that definitely are great for home cooking.
We just recently became parents of twins - adding our child count to 4. This number makes it a lot more tricky to head downtown for a nice meal... so I am very grateful that she is sharing her genious recipes with us.
If you are up for homecooking - this is the cookbook for you.
And you definitely will have to have the crunchy french toast. My favorite item in the world at Mother's. ENJOY!

When I first opened this cookbook, it made me think of all the comfort foods my mother and grandmother made when I was young. Yum! It is filled with down-home recipes and useful hints that a mother would teach her daughter. It even tells how to cut up a whole chicken! Mother's Best has recipes like Nana's Chicken Fried Chicken; Meatloaf Gravy; Manhattan Clam Chowder; Mama's Minestrone; Grandma Mary's Meatball and Sunday Gravy; $15,000 Crab Cakes with Creole Mustard Sauce; Mother's Biscuits and Gravy; Basic Scones; Mother's Pulled Pork Sandwich; Mother's Apple Crisp; and many more recipes that remind me of my own mother's cooking, with a few subtle changes.

Mother's Best: Comfort Food That Takes You Home Again has 150 recipes, and most important, teaches how to cook with love. It is an inspiration and I hope it will keep my family coming home for more. I especially like the recipe for Chicken Cacciatore. I wish I could give this cookbook more than 5 stars!

There are many things I love about this cookbook. For starters, it makes me feel like I can cook just about anything. Dishes I normally wouldn't tackle, like cioppino, are easy to make thanks to great directions and I can hardly believe I've made what's on the plate in front of me. I've also learned a lot from the tips and "love notes" that follow each recipe and love that "Mother's Best" offers an education in cooking. But mostly this cookbook is my new favorite because every recipe turns out! I have so many cookbooks that sit on my shelf looking pretty, but this one is on my counter every night. Some of the recipes make a lot, but the leftovers are great. Highly recommend this to any cook.

These recipes are easy to follow and have been a big hit with my family and friends, One of my favorites is especially good, grilled salmon with sesame noodles. I've also prepared Mother's Carrot Cake on more than one occasion to bring to dinner parties. The rave responses have made me feel quite accomplished for an amateur cook. I whole heartedly recommend this cookbook. Even if, like me, your mother did not cook like this, then the tradition starts here. Happy eating!

I am not a great cook, but I aspire to give my families the kind of meals my mother gave me: warm, delicious, something only a mother can give. That is why I absolutely loved this cookbook by Portland, Oregon restaurant owner Lisa Schroeder. The recipes offer a twist on some old favorites, along with some lessons on how to take your cooking to the next level. The stories are fascinating, and I also interviewed her for [...] where she shared her thoughts on her two successful restaurants and this cookbook that pays homage to mother's and their cooking. Here is a link to the interview: [...]

Great cookbook I highly recommend!

FTC disclaimer: book received from the publisher for review

Mother's Best: Comfort Food That Takes You Home Again is a gorgeous cookbook featuring comfort food classics with a twist.


With today's busy schedules, it's difficult to make comfort food like Mom used to make. Those dishes that remind you of home. Sunday dinner types of meals. Mother's Best is a collection of recipes from the Mother's Bistro and Bar in Portland, Oregon. And it far more than a rehashing of classic stand-by recipes. There's an entire chapter devoted to macaroni and cheese. All with a new way to prepare it that make the actual prep a touch less tedious and is filled with time saving short cuts or advance prep ideas.

The book has a bit of a vintage flair to it. The style from the retro apron on the front is carried into the book by the vintage linen look of the chapter heading pages. There are a lot of pictures (although not of every recipe). The Love Notes section had some information I already knew, but there were occasional ideas there that were new to me or a different method from one I had been using. I particularly enjoyed the M.O.M. (Mothers of the Month) stories. I think it's a terrific idea to encourage and preserve the old fashioned cooking from different countries this way.


I made the Broccoli and Smoked Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese. The preparation used a total of 2 pans, reusing the blanching water from the broccoli to cook the pasta. The total cost for me to prepare was around $10--mostly for the broccoli, cheese and cream. I had pasta in the pantry and butter in the fridge. Start to finish it took about an hour to prepare--about the same as any other homemade mac and cheese. But what I really loved about the recipe was the lack of bechamel sauce. I didn't have to make a roux and worry about my flour to butter ratio. I didn't have to worry about lumps. It made throwing the dish together so much less stressful. The yield was 4-6 servings, but it served 4 generously with enough left over for lunch.


What sets this book apart from the other classics revisited books out there are the flexibility of the recipes, the hints that other books take for granted via the "Love Notes", the inclusion of the M.O.M. ethnic classics, and the lack of pretense.


I had only a couple of complaints, all relatively minor. There is only one (!) beverage recipe in the book, which seemed odd for something purportedly from a Bistro and Bar. The desserts section also seemed light. And a little uninspired. I would have liked to see more selections for the multi-ethnic M.O.M.s No recipes for Baklava. No obscure, regional dishes at all.


Mother's Best would make a great gift for any mother or grandmother who enjoys cooking.


My Grade: B+

This book has great recipes and I've received compliments the dishes prepared based on this book. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because some of the recipes look like they may be a bit more involved than my time allows, and I probably will never attempt to prepare them. But the majority of the recipes do not take a lot of time, or a lot of ingredients. I have not regretted this purchase.

All I can say is "mmm, mmm good!" The recipes in this book are definitely comfort foods that can be made fairly quickly and without much of a hassle. The majority of the recipes do not require a lot of ingredients and you will have most of them on hand. Besides the recipes it is full of great cooking tips to help you along the way. Every home should have a copy of this book!

After a dozen or so dishes, we have yet to make a bad one. This cookbook is absolutely a perfect rendition of Lisa Schroder's dishes at her outstanding establishments. When I discovered this book in the Portland Airport Powell's, I HAD to buy it. If for no other reason - the book contains the recipe for THE best French Toast ever made. When I set up to cook it, I had my concerns - surely the "homemade" version wouldn't be as good as the one in the restaurant. I was wrong. The taste was DEAD ON, and we enjoyed a wonderful "Mother's" breakfast in our own bed. Perfect.

If you are a fan of Lisa's work, buy this book. You will not regret it. If you are unfamiliar with Lisa's restaurants in the Portland, Oregon area, buy it anyway. Then book the first plane you can to the area - you will want to try her food straight from the source!

The first recipe I made was the roasted garlic and prosciutto mac & cheese, it was amazing! Don't expect low fat recipes here, this is comfort food and it delivers. Everyone raves over the homemade olive oil and balsamic salad dressing, it is delicious and easy to make with my immersion blender.
Excellent recipes and very well written. Highly recommended!