In 1960 Stephanie Alexander's mother, Mary Burchett, published Through My Kitchen Door, a slender volume of recipes and reminiscences. In the '60's, Mary's dedication to exploring 'foreign foods' set her apart from her contemporaries and made her a role model nonpareil for her now-famous daughter. In Recipes My Mother Gave Me Stephanie presents her mother's original work annotated by family reminiscences and culinary tips. While Mary Burchett's recipes for gugelhupf, ch'ao mien, and tomato and basil salad were unusual in her day, her Scot's shortbread, meat and potato pie, and dried fruit chutney more than satisfy today's nostalgic yearnings. In Recipes My Mother Gave Me we can all share Mary Burchett's wisdom and the added value of Stephanie Alexander's hindsight.
