It almost didn't happen. I was browsing a bookstore's after Christmas sale, just happy to be out of the house since I had had a baby just two months before. I had never heard of this cookbook before, or even Clementine Paddleford, but there it was, 50% off. I loved the colors, I loved how big it was, and I loved that it was everything I loved. That being history, food, and America. I picked it up, looked at it, put it down, walked away, then walked back. I mean, after all it WAS 50% off. After bringing it home and reading the brilliantly written tales of American travel, travel for food, and learning how people cooked based on where they lived, I was so inspired. As I flipped to Pennsylvania I imagined my great-great grandmother cooking spatzel, the Ohio chapter made me hungry for the sauerkraut balls my family used to make, and I wanted so much to have these memories for my daughter.
But when would I ever cook Tennessee Club Chicken, Fresh Strawberry Pie from Minnesota, or Sausage Fruit Scrapple? After putting the book on the shelf at home I almost felt sad that I, in reality, would probably never make half of these wonderful hidden gems that Clementine Paddleford had found decades ago. That night while rocking my baby to sleep I made a vow to myself that I would indeed make these dishes. I needed to be held accountable for doing so, so I would write about it. And that's why I am here.
Yeah, I know this may seem familiar, you're thinking this is "Julie and Julia" all over again. I admit it is similar in a way. We were each inspired by feisty women who came before us. We both wanted to take the kitchen back to what it was before the Food Network and Cooking Channel. She was not a cook, neither am I. Some of these dishes may not work out for me in the end but at least I can say I tried. That's really all I want to do. Try to bring some historic, meaningful cooking to my modern, cookie-cutter kitchen, and for you to follow along as it happens.
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