• nomadchowwoman on January 08, 2010

  Love this book, love Colwin's writing, love some of these recipes very much.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Inez Fontenez's succotash

  • jenmacgregor18 on April 21, 2015

    The sofrito really made the dish. This is going in my regular rotation. I used some sofrito I had made in a big batch & frozen in 1/2 cup portions. Since we don't really care for okra, I left that out & added some Anaheim and red & green bell peppers. And I added a little butter at the end to the reduced liquid.

• Damp gingerbread

  • ellabee on December 23, 2016

    See Food52 post with recipes and ratings for several LC gingerbreads; this one is the winner. https://food52.com/blog/15108-the-definitive-ranking-of-laurie-colwin-s-gingerbreads

  • jenmacgregor18 on December 16, 2019

    Quick & easy. One bowl, mix it with a spoon. This is a lighter gingerbread due to the cane syrup & no molasses. Lovely texture and aroma. Very good gingerbread.

• Classic shortbread

  • chriscooks on December 23, 2018

    Recipe says bake at 375F for 20 min. Should be 325 for 30 min, which I found in an English cookbook. 375 results in dark edges and undercooked middle.

• Nantucket cranberry pie

  • LauraG on December 08, 2012

    This is an extremely easy, quick "pie". Chopped cranberries and nuts go in the bottom of the pan, topped with a cookie-dough-like mixture which spreads out in the oven and becomes a crust. It's become part of our Thanksgiving and That Other Holiday celebrations. Very sweet, especially popular with kids (and me).

• Plum jam

  • Shelmar on September 06, 2019

    Yummy, though John overcooked to make it spread like fruit leather. Make them feel like a worm. A delightful read too.

• Karen Edwards's version of buttermilk cocoa cake

  • aeader on May 09, 2015

    I was looking for a chocolate cake that used cocoa since I didn't have any chocolate on hand and this fit the bill. It was very quick to make and tasted even better on the second day. The buttermilk keeps it moist without a lot of fat. I baked it in a silicone tube pan and it took a little less than the recommended baking time.

• Rosemary walnuts

  • Bloominanglophile on November 16, 2025

    Made these to include in a homemade gift basket for a fund-raising auction. Laurie said this recipe is the one out of The Pink Adobe cookbook, but I haven't compared recipes to see if they are exactly the same. I used fresh rosemary instead of dried, and a bit less cayenne than called for. The walnuts were still a bit greasy after baking, so I might lightly take down the amount of butter next time. They were, however, very nice!