Last of the January Thrifty Cookbooks ~ Garden Gate and Italian Kitchen

Meet Me at the Garden Gate: An Invitation to Seasonal Traditions & Southern Hospitality, published in 2001.  Recipes compiled by the Junior League of  Spartanburg, South Carolina. This is the third cookbook endeavor by the League (other editions were published in 1941 & 1964) and the book is the official cookbook of the city of Spartanburg. All the recipes are arranged by season ~ from appetizers to desserts.

Spring is up first and offers a daffodil dip (mayo, cream cheese & egg), smoked trout pate, almond tea, strawberry bread, a red cabbage slaw, chicken salad with wild rice and baked tomatoes with artichoke hearts for starters, followed by red chicken stew, a spring onion turkey bake, gnocchi, almond roasted grouper steaks, Blue Ridge burgers, a shrimp pasta medley, lavender ice cream, rum cream pie, peach shortcakes and lemon chess pie.

A few of the selections for Summer include crab fritters, artichoke salsa, a spinach/feta spread, mango margaritas, iced coffee punch, blueberry cornbread, curried squash soup, Caesar potato salad, Piedmont marinated slaw, broccoli raisin salad, Kahlua baked beans, a summer veggie bake, pickled okra or peaches, instructions for a Southern style hog smoking, Greek shrimp, seared venison with port wine & figs, grilled bourbon & orange salmon, peach bread pudding, tea cakes, hummingbird cake and lemon crisps.

Moving onto Autumn, we encounter black eyed peas cakes, herb brie, a green onion spread, amaretto slushies, apple baked German pancakes, fresh fish stew, baked potato soup, a fresh apple salad, a marinated green bean & pea salad, baked hominy with cheese, brown rice with pecans, club steaks, a BBQ pork chop bake, penne with sausage, chicken scallopine, BBQ quail, spinach & mushroom quesadillas, apple crescents, butterscotch pound cake and caramel brownies.

The final season, Winter, dishes out baked cranberry brie, roasted pecans, hot citrus tea, sour cream rolls, caramel French toast, venison three bean chili, St. Nicholas cranberry salad, escalloped apples, collards with red onions & bacon, 4 cheese macaroni, beef brisket, Asian pork tenderloin, hopping John jambalaya, lamb in phyllo, blackened duck, chicken lasagna, oyster pie, chocolate cobbler, bananas Foster rum pudding, sugar & spice baklava and a pumpkin cake roll.


Two Meatballs in the Italian Kitchen, published in 2007. Both the authors are chefs (one a transplant from Italy - the other born and raised in New York) who co-own a restaurant in New York.

Stand Alone Soups begins the recipes and consist of a workers farmhouse soup (beans, LOTS of different veggies and plum tomatoes), Neapolitan marriage soup, plus lentils & sausages or artichoke with cumin. The Great Meatball Debate offers veal with green apple meatballs, meatloaf, fresh pasta with meatballs & mushrooms and meatballs with amaretti.

A few of the selections in Dried Pasta include rigatoni with game sauce, baked penne with radicchio & sausage and whole wheat pasta with vegetables, while Fresh Pasta Like Mama Used to Make dishes out fresh egg pasta dough, pappardelle with lamb ragu, fresh carrot  & ricotta ravioli with carrot orange sauce, lasagna, Roman style baked semolina gnocchi and tagliolini with chicken livers & onions.

Risotto & Farrotto encompasses risotto with quail, rice with escarole, a fisherman's style white risotto and farro with button mushrooms, cherry tomatoes & goat cheese, with Two Meatballs Go Fishing marking the start of the entrees and pitching broiled calamari, Tuscan fish stew, halibut with mushrooms, baked clams, a cod & Yukon gold  gratin and grilled tuna with a farro & barley salad.

The entrees continue with Meat & Poultry presenting braised veal shanks with rigatoni, sausage & cranberry beans with polenta, pork loin with orange sauce, rabbit braised in wine & herbs and chicken scapariello and also include Cucina al Fresco (Grilling Italian style!) with ribs, a sliced shell steak salad, baby back ribs with cucumbers & frisee, mussels in green sauce and butterflied game hens with rosemary.

The chapter titled the 21st Region Of Italy is a salute to Italian-American cooking and showcases beef braciole, losbter fra diavolo (lobster in spicy tomato sauce), parmigiana (veal, chicken or eggplant) and Italian sausages & peppers. Sunday Means Dinner trots out shrimp in blood orange marinade with fennel, a 7 hour roasted ham with potatoes & sauteed peas and a braised holiday capon with sweet potatoes & roasted Brussels sprouts.

Winding down, Two Meatballs go Veggie offers a raw artichoke salad, Caesar salad, a leek & fennel gratin, baked asparagus, fried artichokes and Belgian fries and Desserts At Last rolls out biscotti, a warm chocolate pudding cake, Neapolitan cheesecake and panna cotta (espresso or with orange & campari sauce).