I received a free copy of "Potluck Survival Guide, Care & Feeding of the Athletic Supporter" by Cherie Kimmons, from Five Star Publications ($24.95), to review for MamaBuzz. Kimmons signed my copy, too! I love that special touch!What a *fun* cookbook! :)
Potlucks can be intimidating. Deciding on the right dish and figuring out how to multiply the recipe for a crowd can leave me stuck (okay, absolutely frozen) in procrastination. Cherie Kimmons wrote this cookbook for people like me, who need some help when it comes to preparing for a potluck. I have a baseball player at home, and I suspect that as one of his #1 athletic supporters, I'll be using this cookbook a lot in the years ahead.
Anyone who needs a tried and true potluck recipe will like this cookbook.
(A "sidebar" that I cannot resist: Does the term "athletic supporter" automatically take you to the scene in the movie, "Grease" where the school secretary is making announcements over the school PA system, and she says, "If you can't be an athlete, be an athletic supporter!" LOL)
Kimmons explains that we can benefit from her mistakes, that she "takes the fear out of feeding kids about whom you may no nothing in the way of food preferences"
Potluck Survival Guide is more than a collection of recipes. Kimmons gives readers a lot of information about how to choose a menu for the audience, options like different kinds of food bars, how to tweak recipes, how to calculate quantities, how to choose the best ingredients, and decorating the venue. She writes in a style that has me imagining I'm sitting across the breakfast bar from her, having a cup of hot coffee as she shares tips and recipes from her experience.
NO, IT IS NOT A GLUTEN FREE COOKBOOK, and most of the recipes contain not only gluten, but casein/milk, too (Kimmons uses a lot of cheese and cream of something soups). However, while the book leans toward folks who don't have problems w/ gluten or casein, there are a quite a few recipes that could be made fairly easily with GFCF ingredients. If you're a GFCFer, you'll find enough recipes here to take to a potluck that you can eat and no one will know that they're "special" recipes. Here are some I found (there are more): Oatmeal Casserole (page 51) is one breakfast item that could be made GFCF with gluten free oats. Sloppy Joes (page 71) is GFCF. Nana's Brisket (page 76), a "Hall of Fame" recipe, can be made GFCF. Flank Steak Pinwheels (page 77) can be GFCF. Chicken Paella could probably be made GFCF (is there a GFCF Kielbasa-style sausage?). Confetti Rice (page 132) and Butternut Squash Casserole (page 133) could easily be converted to GFCF.
There are no photos of recipes or recipe prep in this cookbook. (I like photos.)
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