Mother's Best: Comfort Food That Takes You Home Again

I went to this restaurant a few years ago with my husband after thoroughly researching which restaurant to go to first on our trip to Oregon. My husband had the Crunchy French Toast and I had the Salmon Hash, both excellent choices. After we got home we ordered the cookbook for each my mother, and my husband's mother and step mother. I have been extensively borrowing it from my mom the last few weeks. I typically pick out a go-to cookbook for a while, and for a long time I was using either Julia Child's Kitchen Wisdom or Good Housekeeping Illustrated. I get a CSA of seasonal veg delivered to our house weekly and we buy our meats directly from farms so we know what we're getting, stocking up our freezer. Doing these things makes menu planning and grocery shopping totally different. I'm pretty apt to just know how to throw things together, but sometimes I like to get a little inspiration and try something new. This book has been super perfect for that! Everything I've tried has been over the top fantastic. One of the great perks, and same reason that I look to Julia's Kitchen Wisdom and GH Illustrated is that they give you tidbits on techniques, basics, and just general food knowledge. Lisa Schroeder's are called "love notes" and they're fantastic. I always struggle trying to cut apart a whole chicken myself and it's really helped! Another perk to the way this book was written is that they give you a big recipe so you can have the option for freezing leftovers, WHICH IS SUPER IMPORTANT for so many reasons when you have more than just a couple people to feed. Not to mention impress guests at a dinner party!Fantastic way to build excellent skills and make your family even more proud at dinner time :)

When I ran into this book at Costco I was excited by the pictures and the recipes... then I realized, this book contained recipes to one of my favorite brunch places in downtown Portland. Really? She is sharing her recipes?I was immediately compelled to add it to my cart - and bought another copy for the friend who introduced me to Mother's downtown in the first place - and let me say I am quite pleased.I love how she gives tips throughout her cookbook - and the food is all tasting super yummy! Just had the chicken dumplings last night. My husband is not a big fan of chicken dumplings because they can be all goopy and slimey - but this recipe sold him immediately - the texture was perfect!I also love how most of the ingredients can be found in a normal shopping store. So many cookbooks these days call for fancy items or hard to find items that even the store clerks can't tell you what they are. These are simple affordable yummy recipes that definitely are great for home cooking.We just recently became parents of twins - adding our child count to 4. This number makes it a lot more tricky to head downtown for a nice meal... so I am very grateful that she is sharing her genious recipes with us.If you are up for homecooking - this is the cookbook for you.And you definitely will have to have the crunchy french toast. My favorite item in the world at Mother's. ENJOY!

I enjoy eating at Mother's Bistro in Portland so much that I bought her cookbook hoping to bring home some of her outstanding recipes. So far, I've not been disappointed once by any recipe in this book. Next up I'm going to try her biscuits and gravy!She has organized the recipes well into appropriate sections and each section has a couple pages at the beginning devoted to tips, tricks, and general information about the recipes in the following section. Also, many different items in the recipes have extra, numbered tips for you so that you have a better chance of replicating the recipe as written. These helpful hints are a great boon to novice cooks or those unfamiliar with the ingredient choices she has made.The only negative I have found so far in this cookbook is the fact that there are no total recipe times listed with the recipe. I really have come to appreciate the "Cook Time: 1 hour, Prep Time: 30 minute" labels common in many cookbooks.

After a dozen or so dishes, we have yet to make a bad one. This cookbook is absolutely a perfect rendition of Lisa Schroder's dishes at her outstanding establishments. When I discovered this book in the Portland Airport Powell's, I HAD to buy it. If for no other reason - the book contains the recipe for THE best French Toast ever made. When I set up to cook it, I had my concerns - surely the "homemade" version wouldn't be as good as the one in the restaurant. I was wrong. The taste was DEAD ON, and we enjoyed a wonderful "Mother's" breakfast in our own bed. Perfect.If you are a fan of Lisa's work, buy this book. You will not regret it. If you are unfamiliar with Lisa's restaurants in the Portland, Oregon area, buy it anyway. Then book the first plane you can to the area - you will want to try her food straight from the source!

Chapters included: Starters, soups, entrees, sides, macaroni and cheese, breakfast, sandwiches, desserts. Comes with equivalency chart!Great stories, helpful variations to certain recipes and 'love notes' to help guide you through each recipe with suggestions, and tips from personal experience and professional opinions. If you are ever in the Portland area, it is a must stop by to eat at restaurant that should be on everyone's bucket list. The biscuits and gravy are super popular and highly recommended. The creamy tomato soup is out of this world!

After eating in the restaurant on two occasions, I was delighted to obtain the cookbook and find recipes for ALL of my favorite items included. (I can't wait to make the Wild Salmon Hash at home.) The book is beautifully illustrated and well-written. Of special help are the Love Notes. These include useful hints to avoid common pitfalls: e.g., curdled or separated cream. Most of the entries include the rationale for the instruction, too. Of course whenever I am in Portland, I won't hesitate to return to this wonderful establishment to enjoy the warm ambience and friendly staff, but since I live 500 miles away, this cookbook is a great "must have" in order to enjoy Mother's comfort food at the many other times when I'm craving it.