Festive Maryland Recipes: Holiday Traditions from the Old Line State

While much of America may not have a clear understanding of what Maryland cooking is,this charming book is a testament to how clearly the people who live there understand themselves, even if from many different perspectives.

Attractively and somewhat nostalgically designed, Festive Maryland Recipes gathers dishes from community cookbooks, newspaper columns, important local cooks, and other sources to testify to a remarkable range of dishes and cuisines—especially for holidays.

For example:

• St. Mary’s County stuffed ham, a specialty in some Black kitchens
• Turkey stuffed with oysters, abundant in the Chesapeake Bay
• Cornish saffron bread from Western Maryland
• Chop-Chae from the Ladies of the Bethel Korean Presbyterian Church of Baltimore
• Ginger cream cake from “Favorite Recipes of the Women’s Welsh Club”
• Esther Baral’s blintzes

Author Kara Mae Harris, whose blog oldlineplate.com, explores Maryland culinary history is enthusiastic about her subject matter but careful to trace origin stories and ask questions about glib assertions. She illustrates her book with abundant period photographs and advertisements, as well as original art, all of which create a friendly atmosphere.

Hardcover. Color photographs throughout.