The Cool Mountain Cookbook

I met Gwen Ashley Walters, author of The Cool Mountain Cookbook at the West of Western Culinary Festival last weekend. It is hard for me to resist a new cookbook, and with three to choose from, I asked Gwen for a little guidance. She said that The Great Ranch Cookbook contained the easiest recipes, her newest book, Par Fork, The Golf Resort Cookbook the most complex, with The Cool Mountain Cookbook falling in between. I bought The Cool Mountain Cookbook. Aside from the skills issue, I think it has the best looking cover.

The Cool Mountain Cookbook is a carefully selected compilation of recipes served in the restaurants of 20 of the best ski lodges and resorts in the country. You know the stuff I mean: At the end of the day, you sit down to one of those wonderful orgasmic meals that you wished to God you could recreate at home. Well, Gwen has done a great job of making that possible, I think.

Recipes are organized by state and then by the lodge or resort. There are TWO Tables of Contents (Thank you Gwen. That’s the one thing I hate about Sharon O’Connor’s Menus and Music series), The first is by state and lodge, and the second is by category and recipe name. The recipes from each lodge are preceded by a few descriptive paragraphs about the lodge to set the mood. Of the 110 recipes, 21 include photos.

For us fumblers, Gwen has included some nice helpful ancillary material with a bunch of helpful hints, common procedures, and a GREAT section in the back containing sources of the few more obsure items.

I prefer to try a couple receipes from a cookbook before I brag about it. I tried two recipes from The Cool Mountain Cookbook tonight, and frankly neither were difficult. Dinner tonight was:

Honey Soy-Glazed Chilean Sea Bass with Ginger Butter Sauce
Green Onion Spaetzle

I have a spaetzle maker and actually used it for the first time tonight but Gwen provides a method for making spaetzle for those that are deprived of this simple but obscure tool. The presentation did not come out as nice as the photo in the book but that’s my problem, not Gwen’s. The family certainly didn’t complain while wolfing it down.

In all, none of these recipes appear to tax even a fumbler like me, and boy are some of these recipes going to make me look good the next time I have company over for dinner (I’m thinking Maine Shrimp Fritters here.) And next Saturday morning I’m going to make the Blackberry-Stuffed French Toast for breakfast for my wife and me. I am salivating already

You can get this book directly from Gwen Ashley Walters at http://www.PenAndFork.com (I love that name).

Tags: Cookbooks, Recipes