Category: Book of the Month Recipes

Mini Zopf Bread: Soft, White Rolls from HEIDI

Posted March 4, 2021 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

March is here and, with it, a new menu! For March-April, I’ll be making recipes inspired by the book HEIDI by Johanna Spyri. If you ever needed a sweet, wholesome read, this book’s for you. It’s a darling gem of a story about a little orphaned girl who goes to live with her grandfather in a cottage in the Swiss Alps, where she is a force for good in the life of everyone she meets.

If you’re familiar with the book, you know exactly what food we’re making today: the soft, white rolls! When Heidi befriends Granny, the goatherd’s grandmother, she learns the old woman cannot eat tough black bread. Since that’s the only kind of bread the family can afford, Granny hasn’t tasted bread in years. Heidi is extremely distressed by this, so when she’s served soft white rolls while staying in Frankfurt, she resolves to bring some home to Granny. At her departure, her friend Clara sends her home with a heaping basketful! The rolls are the most prominently featured food in the story–arguably synonymous with the book itself–so I knew they had to be the first item on the menu. Read More

Mr. Rochester’s Bonbons

Posted February 18, 2021 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Make way for bonbons! Today we’re making the last recipe in my Jane Eyre menu: bonbons inspired by Mr. Rochester’s time in France. Although the rest of this menu was heavily influenced by early 19th century recipes, I had a difficult time finding bonbon recipes from the period. Luckily, the basic process doesn’t appear to have changed that much over the years, so I decided to use modern techniques but stick with period-appropriate flavors. Let’s take a look at the flavors we’re using today: Read More

Roasted Potatoes: My Take on an Early 19th Century Recipe

Posted February 4, 2021 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Today my foray into early 19th century cooking continues! I’m making a recipe for roasted potatoes I found in the 1823 cookbook The Cook’s Oracle by William Kitchiner. Roasted potatoes may sound like a dull choice, but I think this is the perfect recipe to showcase one of the fascinating differences between modern and historical cookbooks: the level of detail in the recipes. Read More

Mr. Rochester’s Breakfast: Toast with Fried Ham and Poached Eggs

Posted January 21, 2021 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

This year I have a special cooking goal. I want to delve into historical recipes and cooking methods, so I can create food from fiction that’s more accurate to the period in which the characters lived. Today’s recipe is inspired by a scene in JANE EYRE where Mr. Rochester is convinced Jane is a ghost or figment of his imagination. To prove herself, Jane promises to make him a breakfast of eggs and fried ham. Of course, there’s no harm in just throwing some eggs and ham in a hot skillet and calling it done. They’re good no matter how you make them! However, in this scene I saw the perfect opportunity to learn how people would have made such a breakfast in 1820’s England. Read More

Rustic Brown Bread from Jane Eyre

Posted January 7, 2021 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Hello, 2021! If you guys caught my post yesterday, you’ve heard all about my blog plans for this year, so I won’t dive into the details here. The short, quick version is that I’m back to making 4-course menus for every book I cook here on the blog, albeit on a relaxed schedule. I’ll be spending 2 months on each book instead of 1 and posting a new recipe every other week. Read More

Jo’s Gingerbread Nuts: Tiny Gingerbread Cookies from The Little Women Cookbook

Posted December 10, 2020 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book Events and Tours, Book of the Month Recipes, Holidays / 1 Comment

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Can you believe Christmas Eve is just TWO WEEKS away? After such a chaotic year, I’m so ready for the cozy familiarity of the Christmas season. For today’s recipe—the final post in my fiction-themed cookbook recipe series—I wanted to make something festive, fun, and chock-full of holiday spices. I found just what I wanted in the delightful LITTLE WOMEN COOKBOOK by Jenne Bergstrom and Miko Osada, co-creators of the blog 36 Eggs.

Their cookbook is a thoughtful, creative compilation of recipes inspired by the Louisa May Alcott classic. Many of the recipes are as close to period-authentic as possible, a detail I appreciated. Today we’re making their recipe for tiny, crunchy gingerbread cookies called “gingerbread nuts!” In LITTLE WOMEN, Jo shares some with some children who are getting antsy on a long train ride to New York. These cookies are super easy and a bit unique too!

Baloo’s Fruit and Nut Granola Bars from The Jungle Book

Posted December 3, 2020 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

It may seem backward to kick off December with a book set in the hot Indian jungle, but let’s face it, this has been a backward year. For some reason, I just REALLY wanted to read The Jungle Book right now. And I figured, why not just read what I want, even if it’s not seasonal? After all, this is 2020, the year from the chaos dimension. Plus, I’ve already done recipes for A Christmas Carol, The Nutcracker, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Little Women, and The Polar Express. I’m kinda running low on wintery classic books (If you have any requests in that area, feel free to send them my way!).

Anyway, I’m glad I followed my whim, because The Jungle Book is pretty darn delightful. It’s got all the fun of jungle animals having crazy adventures, but it doesn’t shy away from the harsh reality of life in the wild either. There’s danger, violence, and even death, but that’s all somehow softened by the fact that we’re experiencing it through talking animals. In many ways, Kipling’s writing style reminds me of Jack London, because in every sentence you can feel the author’s awe at the beauty and power of nature.

Today’s recipe is inspired by Baloo who, to quote Kipling, “can come and go where he pleases because he eats only nuts and roots and honey.” I wanted SO MUCH to make a traveling snack for Baloo jam packed with all his favorite foods. Something easy my kids could make and eat with me (The Jungle Book is a children’s story, after all!). I also wanted it to be healthy (because, again, children), and heavily feature Indian nuts and fruits as a nod to the story’s setting.

Miruvor: A LOTR-Inspired Recipe from The Geeky Bartender Cookbook

Posted November 12, 2020 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Hi, everybody! To celebrate the recent release of my second book, A LITERARY HOLIDAY COOKBOOK, I’ve been doing a monthly post series devoted to recipes from fiction-inspired cookbooks. Today’s recipe is from THE GEEKY BARTENDER COOKBOOK by Cassandra Reeder, creator of The Geeky Chef blog. When I first started blogging, The Geeky Chef was one of my greatest inspirations when choosing a focus for my blog, so making a recipe from Cassandra’s book is great honor for me! Let’s get started!

Mrs. Markham’s Steak and Ale Pies with Mushroom and Caramelized Onion

Posted November 5, 2020 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Say hello to Anne Bronte’s newest fan: me! * waves excitedly * Admittedly, I’m a bit late to the party (about 172 years too late). I have a habit of putting off hefty books if my library doesn’t have the audiobook, since my kids try to climb on me whenever I sit down. Still, I managed to eke out little parcels of time over the past month to read an ebook of Anne Bronte’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and I’m SO glad I did! I like it even better than Wuthering Heights, my first foray into the Bronte books. The main characters are much more likeable, and I love the role books play in the story. For example:

Want to declare your undying fidelity and affection for someone? Give them a book!

Want to express your disdain for your husband’s paramour? Lend her a book and write a note on the flyleaf declaring her unworthy of consideration or respect!

Want to let your friends know your soul is filled with disquiet and anguish? Continually pick up and discard a book (alternatively, stare at the same page for several minutes while absorbing nothing).

Seriously, can we make the Victorian attitude towards books a thing again? Because I’m all for it.

Mana Cookies from The Wizard’s Dessert Cookbook

Posted October 8, 2020 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Hi, folks! As I celebrate the release of my new cookbook, A LITERARY HOLIDAY COOKBOOK, I’m taking the opportunity to share recipes from other fiction food cookbooks as well. Today’s recipe is from THE WIZARD’S DESSERT COOKBOOK by Aurélia Beaupommier. With Halloween just around the corner, Aurélia’s book is just what I needed to get me in the mood for mysterious, magical, fantastical food!

When I first opened THE WIZARD’S DESSERT COOKBOOK, I expected to find references to pop culture staples like Harry Potter and D&D. This book has a lot to offer in that regard, but the recipes I appreciated most came from less obvious sources, like Baba Yaga, Stardust, Nostradamus, and Inkheart. I could see Aurélia did a lot of research to ensure her book was a comprehensive resource, and although there’s plenty of spooky food, she doesn’t confine herself to a Halloween theme. There are lots of magical foods perfect for Christmas, birthdays, or even game nights! I had difficulty choosing between so many delicious recipes…that is, until I came across one inspired by Magic: The Gathering.