Any cookbook recommended and sold in the Savory Spoon has to be good. I bought a copy of The Lake Michigan Cottage Cookbook to see why. (Click here for the story about our visit to Savory Spoon).
The Lake Michigan Cottage Cookbook © by Amelia Levin. Used with permission from Storey Publishing.
This cookbook, by Amelia Levin, is educational for the cook and for the traveler—and, face it, often the two intermingle. Most food lovers I know also love to travel and, whether they cook or not, they fantasize about cooking, to the point that cookbooks are their novels. If that describes you, this is a book you’ll want to read.
The Lake Michigan Cottage Cookbook takes you on a tour of some of the most iconic sites and activities in the Upper Midwest. Right at the front the author tackles the “Traditional Door County Fish Boil,” which is combination storytelling, cooking, and fire show, ending with a dinner of boiled whitefish, potato, and onion. It’s not something that can, nor should it be, replicated at home—but there is a recipe if you want to try the version sans kerosene-fueled fire!
Traditional Door County Fish Boil. Photo: Photo: © David Nevala.
The cookbook also addresses two of Door County’s staples: cherries and apples, depending on the season. The most popular cherries in the area are tart Montmorency cherries—not easily eaten right from the tree, but pretty amazing in a pie or any of the myriad cherry recipes you’ll find in the book (see our story on the White Gull Inn and its Cherry French Toast).
Your Virtual Trip To The Upper Midwest
Through the stories and recipes in the cookbook, you’ll visit Wilson’s Ice Cream, go fishing in Lake Michigan, stop at Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant for a glimpse of the goats on the roof and a taste of Swedish meatballs inside. You’ll go beyond Door County into Northwest Indiana and around the peninsula into Mackinac Island. But spend a little time on the cherry recipes and pretend you’ve just picked them up at Seaquist Orchards.
If you want a tour of Door County and surrounding areas without leaving home, this book will give you a taste of it all. But, really, find a way to go and experience it for yourself, then use the cookbook as a reminder of all the wonderful food and the people who grow it, prepare it, and live their lives around its seasons.
Here’s a sampling of the recipes you’ll find in The Lake Michigan Cottage Cookbook:
This is part of The Food Channel‘s coverage of Door County, Wisconsin, from a recent tour hosted by the Door County Visitor’s Bureau. Find all the stories in the series here.
Travel accommodations and tour arrangements in Door County were provided by the Door County Visitors Bureau in conjunction with Geiger & Associates Public Relations.
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