Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice: A Book-to-Table Classic by Jane Austen and Martha Stewart
This book came out about five years ago and it has been on my to-buy list for a while.
But it no longer has a place on my list as I was blessed with it by my friend for Christmas. After all, books make the best gifts!
When this book first came out Martha Stewart and articles touted it as the “…newly released Fall cookbook Jane Austen diehards could only dream of.” They also claimed that these “…recipes by Martha Stewart will make you want to host a tea even if you aren’t looking to woo a wealthy suitor for one of your many daughters.”
From all I heard about it, I really expected it to be the novel with recipes for food mentioned in the book; along with historical info or facts about Jane Austen and the recipes. It was really promoted as the first of its kind, a book to table classic, with the actual Pride and Prejudice novel and recipes for the perfect teatime.
This book was not what I was expecting. It wasn’t a bad book but from all that Martha Stewart talked it up I was expecting more recipes. Something more along the lines of the The Mitford Cookbook or The Betty Crocker Celebrate Cookbook.
The first thing that surprised me with this book is that there is no foreword about Martha Stewart’s love of Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, or why she even wanted to make this book.
The book goes right into the novel with recipes put here and there. The recipes are:
- Sugar-and-Spice Cake
- Linzer Hearts
- Cream Scones with Currants
- Rosemary Pound Cakes
- Petits Fours
- Chocolate Shortbread Fingers
- Old-Fashioned Berry Layer Cake
- French Almond Macaroons
- Fruit Turnovers
- Gingerbread Icebox Cake
- Lemon Madeleines
- Hazelnut Cookies
The other thing that surprised me is that there is nothing in here why she picked these recipes or why they would be perfect for a Pride and Prejudice cookbook. These recipes aren’t ones mentioned in the novel and some are interesting choices, like the icebox cake, which was made popular in the 1920s. Why is that perfect for a Pride and Prejudice tea party?
For someone, who according to her author bio, “is America’s most trusted expert and teacher and the author of more than ninety books on cooking, entertaining, crafts, homekeeping, gardens, weddings, and decorating”; I excepted more. Unfortunately I don’t think as much effort went into this as could have been implemented. It makes me wonder if they moved up the publication date to cash in on holiday sales and then weren’t able to add all the extras.
Even though I’m a little disappointed in Martha Stewart as this wasn’t what I was expecting or how they marketed it I still like that this was a wonderful gift from my friend, is another book to add to my Jane Austen collection (and Pride and Prejudice collection), and am looking forward to trying out some of these recipes.
For more Pride and Prejudice, go to Jane Austen Children’s Stories: Pride and Prejudice
For more Pride and Prejudice adaptions, go to Christmas at Pemberley Manor (2018)
For more Jane Austen adaptations, go to An Appearance of Goodness
For more recipes, go to Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato Tea Sandwiches
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