New Cooking From the Old West

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Description: The 300,000 emigrants who made the long journey westward on the Oregon Trail between 1840 and 1860 survived on their maverick spirit, grit, and resourcefulness. It was the marriage of these qualities and the extraordinary variety of native foods they found in the Promised Land that gave us the vibrant cuisine of today's American West. 

With the region's abundant game, the cherries that grow along the shores of Montana's Flathead Lake, the wild mushrooms that carpet the forest floors, the salmon and sturgeon that fill the streams and lakes, and the plump blackberries that thrive on the cool mountainsides, westerners have always eaten well. 

Now, with sophisticated yet classic recipes, some of which reflect the influences of the ethnic communities that have settled in the West, chef and food writer Greg Patent invites you to savor that legacy. 

Weaving together the many threads of the region's rich food history with archival photos and pioneers' quotes, journal entries, traditional recipes, songs, and poems. New Cooking from the Old West looks back at the people and traditions that shaped western cuisine, and presents more than 125 contemporary recipes that showcase the flavors and foods of the West. Here's what's on the menu: 

• Flathead Lake Whitefish Cakes 
• Follow-the-Sun Pickles 
• Dungeness Crab-Stuffed Morel Mushrooms 
• Sourdough Sage Biscuits 
• Elk Tenderloin Steaks with Chanterelles and Cream 
• Sturgeon Burgers 
• Salmon, Shaggy Mane Mushrooms, and Sorrel in Phyllo Rolls 
• Rhubarb, Strawberry, and Hazelnut Crisp 

From Calamity Jane's "receipt" for 20-Year Cake (which makes three 8-pound cakes!), to 102-year- old chuck wagon cook Tony Grace's description of making biscuits under the wagon when it was raining on the trail, to stories about a modern-day rhubarb festival and the making of whitefish caviar, New Cooking from the Old West is a feast of history and nostalgia, as well as a contemporary guide to the best food of the West. 

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Condition: Good condition.