Have you ever giggled while reading a recipe book? It’s hard not to if you have the “Little Old Lady Recipes-Comfort Food and Kitchen Table Wisdom” on your hands. I had such a wonderful time reading through the recipes and "Kitchen Table Wisdom" over the weekend.
“When it comes to comfort food, little old ladies know what's up. They know what will taste good, how to fatten up a family, and what will leave their diners craving seconds (if not thirds and fourths). Collecting these gum-smacking, finger-licking-good recipes from the matriarchs of society is Little Old Lady Recipes by Meg Favreau.”
Book Cover Image from Quirk Books’ site
“Little Old Lady Recipes honors the extraordinary women who create pot luck dinners, church socials, wedding banquets, and the best desserts you've ever tasted. Every page features their simple, no-frills recipes for pot roast, meat loaf, dumplings, corn bread, fried chicken, bundt cake, and other mouth-watering favorites-along with gorgeous photography of the chefs at work and generous portions of their kitchen table wisdom ("Butter comes from a cow. Tell me where the heck margarine comes from, and then maybe I'll eat it!").”
I followed one of the little old ladies’ advise and recipe and made some of these scrumptious Candied Pecans. “A good hostess makes big show-stopping meals, but a great hostess pays attention to the details. Place a bowl of these nuts in every room guests occupy during the co*cktail hour before a dinner party; it’ll give them something to munch on and help ensure people don’t get sauced too quickly.” I took the advise a step further and packaged some of these candied pecans for guests to take home after the party. 
They are great for holiday gift-giving as well!
Here are a couple Kitchen Table Wisdoms that I love….”A grandmother isn’t the same thing as a restaurant. Shut up and eat the eggs.”—Ruth, transcriptionist, 77. LOL…Does that sound familiar or what?
Here’s another one, “Club soda is a wonderful thing. You can use it to remove any stain, or mix it with gin and drink until you don’t care about the stain anymore.”—Chastity, deli clerk, 72.
While I was searching which wonderful recipe to make from the Little Old Lady Recipes book, I came across this quote on the Pumpkin Butter Recipe. “Like good-looking people, pretty pumpkins are often really stupid on the inside. Find an ugly, knobby variety for this recipe, because it’s likely to be sweeter. Also keep this point in mind when looking for a husband….” Opps…..I guess it’s too late for me to follow this advise as I’m already married to my handsome hubby for 7 years now. hahahaha….
The Little Old Lady Recipes book is definitely a fun book to read for all. Guess what, the size of the book will make it the perfect stocking stuffer as well! Pack it along with a bag of these Candied Pecans and you’ll be all set. For sure your foodie friends and family would waive about them.
Update: This giveaway is now closed!
Rules for the Giveaway:
With thecourtesy of Quirk Books, one lucky uTry.it reader (with an U.S. mailing address only) will have a chance to win a copy of The Little Old Lady Recipes Book. You have until November 27th, 12 midnight PST to enter this giveaway. Winner will be announced and contacted via email shortly after the deadline.Mandatory Entry:
Simply leave a comment and tell me what your favorite holiday treat is.
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Good luck everyone!
Disclaimer: I was given a copy of The Little Old Lady Recipe Book free of charge for the purpose of this review. I was not compensated in any other way. All opinions are 100% my own and always will be.
Candied Nuts (adopted from Little Old Lady Recipes)
Printable Recipe
2 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
4 cups pecan halves or other nuts*
a dash of vanilla extract*
Whisk egg whites with a spoonful of water (*I substituted with a dash of vanilla extract instead). Combine everything else but the nuts in another bowl. Coat the nuts in egg whites. Toss in sugar mixture. Spread on a greased baking sheet and bake 45 minutes at 250F, stirring occasionally.
*Note: The original recipe calls for 2 cups of nuts only. I was able to cover all 4 cups of pecans halves with the same amount of egg whites and sugar mixture.
