Customer Reviews

A Return to Sunday Dinner

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a wonderful cookbook in addition to being an inspiration for all families and cooks. My favorite hobby is cooking for my family and friends, and Sunday dinners have long been a tradition going back to my own Grandmother's table when I was a child. It was over her table that I got to know her and my grandfather and share time and fellowship with my aunts, uncles, and cousins. Without those times together I wonder if we would be as close as we are today.
This book however, is absolutely beautiful. It offers an endless array of menu ideas and wonderful, delicious recipes to satisfy any taste. I think the layout is perfectly done -- each menu is preluded with stories of the food selection and the meaning that Sunday dinner has had for people in their lives. The book is highly inspirational in this respect, taking us back to a simpler time, that doesn't have to remain in the past.
Some of the recipes are labor intensive -- which I don't mind because I enjoy cooking -- however I can understand that it might be a burden for the time-sensitive cook. I don't see anything wrong with substitutions made from time to time for added convenience (like ready made rolls instead of handmade, for example). But the recipes that I have tried are delicious and reminiscent of foods that my grandmother used to make when we would be over for Sunday dinner.
This book contains dozens of "traditions" for the entire year, which I feel will inspire many cooks and leave loving memories for their family and friends for decades to come.

As I glanced over the pages, I was immediately reminded of Sunday dinners at our home. This book not only introduces the reader to exciting meal planning but gives us insight into family
gatherings that stay with you long after the last bite. It is truly inspirational and makes a wonderful gift for the next family get-together.

This truly is a beautiful cookbook.
It is at home on the coffee table as well as in the kitchen.
American regional cooking is highlighted by short vignettes on
the importance of Sunday family meals.
The photography is stunning, the paper of quality stock, the
book lies flat (!), the recipes are exquisite but straight
forward, and each recipe is on a single page. No turning pages
in mid-recipe!

The author has written many interesting and informative articles
for the _Washington_Post_ newspaper. The recipes have had
delicious results from my kitchen. His writing style is very
personable, clear, precise, and easy to follow.

By Bill Marsano. Well! Not so many years ago the "futurists" whose job it is to see what the next few years will bring boldly predicted that Americans would soon eat fully half of their meals outside the home. I laughed; I scoffed; I failed to see the light. Here it is 20 years or so later and the futurists were right. We breakfast at McDonald's and IHOP; we lunch there too; and we eat dinner at "family restaurants" like Sizzler, Outback, Ponderosa and the Olive Garden. Of course when I say 'we' I don't include me, and that's not because I'm a snob who thinks the Rusty Scupper, Mario's Pasta Garden and the like are beneath him (although I wouldn't eat at any of them on a bet). It's just that I just don't like restaurants in general, even the tony and expensive ones. I like to eat at home with friends and family, and I wish more people did. They'd eat better and save a bundle besides.

A fellow who wishes likewise is Russell Cronkhite, who spent 12 years as executive chef of Blair House, the official guest quarters provided to international dignitaries visiting Washington, D.C. When Cronkhite says that what he cooked for important foreign guests was, essentially, "Sunday dinner," he means it in the traditional over-the-river-and-through-the-woods-to-grandmother's-house-we-go, Leave It to Beaver manner. In other words, the sort of dinner that too many of us don't bother with any more.

That's what Cronkhite gives us here, hoping we'll be brave enough to tackle something grand instead of ordering take-out again. The 20 or so complete menus presented run from the ceremonial to the casual to the celebratory, and although they include the occasional nod to the international or the up to date, they're basically all-American standards: roast beef and pan gravy, peppercorn steak, pork (sage-rubbed roast, or chops smothered or stuffed), glazed baked ham, butterflied lamb, chicken and dumplings. You get the picture--this is what the team 'meat and potatoes' was made for, and I doubt any diner will leave Cronkhite's table unsatisfied. Some won't be able to leave at all.

There are handsome and honey photos galore and lots of foodish quotations from notable writers and diners: Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson, Louis May Alcott and Washington Irving (there are also some quotations that oughtn't to have been quoted at all, but they're made up for by useful do-ahead tips).

It should be noted that this book is aimed at beginners, and the recipes proceed in a very basic, step-by-step manner. No way can anyone go wrong with this book, but cooks of some experience are likely to find that approach irritating, because it's so slow and cautious.So give this to the ambitious beginner--someone who's not afraid to tackle a fairly big project so long as she is assured of complete and reliable guidance. Or he, for that matter. Either way, there's a high probability of success.--Bill Marsano, an award-wining writer on wine, food and travel, cooks often for his family.

My mother for the past 3 years or so, has been putting on these elaborate Sunday dinners after church. She pulls out all the stops and leaves no detail undone. The perfect dinnerware, themes, etc.. And let me tell you, the food is out of this world. She's a southern woman and can she ever cook!

I saw this book when I was looking for recipe books for my mother, as she is always looking for new ways to razzle-dazzle us. When I saw the name of the book, I was curious and needed to read a review or two and look at the description. SOLD!! I had it delivered to her and she loves it. I got a chance to look it over once or twice and it has the most wonderful stories and recipes in it. It's a heart-warming family book. Something you'd almost deem worthy of "heirloom" status.

If you love, family, food and cooking, look no further. This is the cook book for you!

This book is divided into theme dinners, where each "chapter" has a complete menu for soup/salad, entrees, side dishes, and dessert.

After being married for 20 years to a wonderful woman who has everything she wants and needs, its a struggle for me to find something special for birthday, anniversary, or even Christmas. Several years ago I gave her this book for Christmas with a note, "Choose the 12 dinner menus you like, and I'll make one for you each month for the next year." She loved it, the daughters loved it, and I ended up making about 9 out of the 12 months.

The kids are older now and they're better able to help out to make our Sunday dinners. The dinners are not quite as elaborate and not quite as often, but this book has always provided simple outstanding recipes. Its the basis for inspiration and it provides a great framework from which to launch our menus.

This heart warming book is as much a lovely lesson in creating family memories as it is a really good cookbook.

The only thing I regreted was that there is no index. But the recipes definitely do seem to compliment one another so the table of contents works fine.

I love all the quotes in the margins about food, family, memories. This will definitely become a family heirloom.

The photographs were superb and the recipes were too. This is not only a great cookbook it brings you back to when you were a kid, when Sunday dinners were common to have with the family.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought that it could easily be sappy or have bad recipes, as some I've read like this, but I was very surprised to see the perfect layout of the book. After trying a few of the recipes that sounded good to me, I can't wait to try more! This one was soooo worth the money!

My mother-in-law used this book to try to start a Sunday dinner tradition. We had one wonderful summer of homemade food and family around the table. Sadly, she passed away last year and the cookbook was passed to me. I have not been able to gather everyone for Sunday dinner (yet!), but look forward to reviving the tradition. I've already tried several of the recipes and they are absolutely fantastic. At first glance many of the recipes seem labor-intensive and intimidating, but some really aren't. The macaroni and cheese recipe is my new favorite. And, I just made the black-bottom banana cream pie for my husband's birthday and it was to die for (make the day before serving for best results)!