Review: Twenty Five Years of Chicago's Best!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 3, 2013
One of the best sources for dependable recipes has long been our many regional newspapers and the pages of the Chicago Tribune are no exception.Good Eating's Quick Breads: A Collection of Convenient and Unique Recipes for Muffins, Scones, Loaves and Morecontains 48 of the best recipes for muffins, sweet rolls, pancakes, scones, biscuits, corn bread, and "sweet bread" (more commonly known as tea breads) that have appeared in the pages of the Tribune's Good Eating section over the last quarter of a century, with a few cakes/puddings thrown in for good measure.The selection is unique. Muffins are sturdy, packed with healthy oats, bran and sometimes fruit, redolent with spices.  The Heavenly Hots Pancakes from Ina Pinkney of Ina's Restaurant are light as air.  (When you read the recipe you might think that the amount given for flour is incorrect.  It is not.  This recipe is quite similar to one of the same name published in the New York Times.  Ina's recipe also contains potato starch.)  Pumpkin Flapjacks with Cider Walnut Syrup are enticing - and loaded with healthy whole wheat flour and oatmeal along with pumpkin, spices and the usual pancake ingredients.  (Buttermilk!)  Those are going to make an appearance on Grandma's Sunday Brunch table next week.  (This is Super Bowl Day.  It would take something like an earthquake or a tornado to get my son-in-law off the couch today, pancakes or no!)You'll find recipes for Strawberry Quickbread (it will be strawberry season before you know it), a slew of traditional Irish breads, Beer Bread, Maui Bread which contains both zucchini and pineapple as well as two different recipes for Persimmon Pudding for those lucky enough to live where persimmons grow.The recipes are nicely laid out and the Table of Contents fully interactive, making the book easy to use.  There are a few minor omissions - a note about dried cherries that is referenced but not included, a recipe or two that specify a certain pan size but don't tell you whether you'll need 2 or 3 or . . .  (Grandma can tell  you just from the size of the recipe that it will be at least two.)Altogether a unique selection that Grandma will greatly enjoy using.  She suspects  you will too.  Highly recommended