By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
I went in search of possible Thanksgiving recipes at the Wood County District Public Library’s Local Cookbooks display. I ended up with a few ideas, but more importantly a lot of reasons to be thankful.
Scouring through the impressive array of cookbooks—published by churches, service groups, libraries, businesses and even “An Old Professor”—I discovered some interesting facts.
Most of the cookbook titles were cleverly aligned with the group that collected and shared their recipes. The First Christian Church in Bowling Green offered recipes under the title “Bread & Blessing, A Christian Tradition.”
The “Piety Hill Cookbook,” by the First Methodist Church of Clyde, is named for the church’s location on Piety Hill at the corner or Maple and Race streets, which is the same location where the first congregation met in a log cabin in 1821. Publishing the cookbook in 2000 was a continuation of the church’s food ministry and a demonstration that their faith is alive and well.
Wood County Hospital, which published “Prescriptions for Good Eating” to celebrate its 40th anniversary in 1991, focused on their role “as a provider of quality health care to the community.”
Bowling Green State University Libraries had two cookbooks in the collection: “Food Footnotes,” the alliterative and fun word play on the world of academia, and the 1997 “Taste of Jerome,” named for the university’s main library building.
For me, the most intriguing cookbook name was “Bakeless Bakesale Cookbook” by the Ohio Federation of Women’s Clubs. I expected to read recipes for crispy cereal treats, fruit kabobs, popcorn balls, sweet and salty snack mix and no-bake cookies. As I skimmed through the pages, I was surprised to find recipes for meats and casseroles, breads and appetizers.
It turns out the cookbook was used as a fundraiser for the October 1990 Great Lakes Conference held in Perrysburg. Instead of providing bake sale recipes that didn’t require baking, Women’s Club members were asked to donate the amount of money it would have cost to prepare the recipe they contributed to the cookbook. I wish I knew how much money the clever fundraiser raised for the conference over 30 years ago.
Local History Librarian Marnie Pratt curated the interactive display from the nearly 40 local cookbooks in the library’s Local History collection. An additional 100 cookbooks that do not have a local connection are housed in the regular nonfiction collection.
“We chose November because this is the time of year when many families make family-favorite recipes. We thought people might enjoy looking at some favorite, and even some award-winning, recipes from others in the community,” Pratt said.
The cookbooks are always available to patrons; however, this is the first time they have created an interactive display using the local cookbooks. The local cookbooks will be on display through Nov. 28.
According to Pratt, patrons have been visiting the collection every day and many have filled out the questionnaire that asks: What did you discover? Tastiest recipe? What was the most unusual recipe or ingredient? Did you find any recipes by family members or friends?
“WBGU Cooks Gourmet” probably had the most unique compilation of recipes, all truly epicurean in their ingredients and final foodie creations. Jan Bell’s Crawfish and Shrimp Citrus Salsa sounded like a divine accoutrement to grilled salmon. I also found a possible alternative to the traditional green bean casserole—which by the way, I could not find that recipe in any of the 20 cookbooks on display.
Cheryl Critton’s Green Beans, Feta and Pecans may be the featured side to the roast turkey and our family-favorite sausage and rice dressing this year.
In my search of Thanksgiving recipes, I found only one recipe for a roast turkey. That kind of stunned me. I don’t know if roasting turkeys is a secret recipe only shared through experiential learning, or if it’s so simple it doesn’t require a written explanation. There were plenty of turkey leftover recipes from Turkey Soup Parmenter and Turkey Tetrazzini to Turkey Squares and Stir Fry Turkey Fajita.
Turkey’s cousin, the chicken, seemed to be the poultry dish of choice. In the hospital’s “Prescription for Healthy Eating” cookbook, instead of turkey, there were 46 of 160 main dish recipes that featured chicken.
Most of the cookbooks had plenty of pumpkin options to try beyond a tasty pumpkin pie. There were recipes for Pumpkin Dream Pie, Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Bars, Pumpkin Torte and Pumpkin-Raisin Muffins. They all sound delicious, but sometimes tradition is the best choice, so Pumpkin Pie, it is.
The interactive question about finding names of family and friends ended up being the highlight of the cookbook scavenger hunt for me. The university libraries’ cookbooks included recipes from long-time family friends Mary Lou Willmarth and Jo Baker, as well as some of my former university colleagues such as Teri Sharp, Beverly Stearns, Ann Tracy and Ann Bowers.
The Wood County Fair cookbooks— “Blue Ribbon Cookbook: Wood County Fair Prize Winners” (1956) and “Wood County Cookbook”—included names of so many kind and caring families I met during my nearly 20 years of reporting on the Wood County Fair.
The “BG Jaycees’ Beary Best Recipes” from 1989 included Jackie Dubler’s Champagne Salad, June (Gregson) O’Neill’s Oyster Crackers, Carol Sanner’s Puppy Chow; Margie (Geiser) Harris’ Pumpkin Pie; Kathy (Panning) Thomas’ Taco Dip; and Sue Shank’s Amish Sugar Cookies (couldthat be the recipe for her renowned sugar cookies?).
Reading all the familiar names brought back wonderful memories of the many connections I’ve made over the decades in Bowling Green. So, in addition to finding some interesting and delicious recipes to consider for our Thanksgiving table, I found even more reasons to be thankful this holiday season.
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