Ally's Kitchen~A Passport for Adventurous Palates

I am happy to announce the release of my friend Ally's cookbook, Ally's Kitchen~A Passport for Adventurous Palates! It is an amazing culinary road trip for all who love food, family and adventure! Believe me, this cookbook is not for the bland of heart! We are talking a bold bohemian rhapsody of flavors and passion for foods!


Scroll to the bottom to enter to win a copy!!!

I enjoyed reading about Ally's childhood, her adventure in retracing her steps and her recollections of the family and foods that "reflect the legacy and heritage of her homeland." Beautifully written and excellently photographed, it is so full of bold, colorful food that you can almost smell the rich exotic aromas! 



My Own Mama~Bohemian Style!

I chose to honor Ally's book on my own Mama's birthday! A day when I reflect on the multitude of hours, days, years in the kitchen with the women who made me who I am today! Ally's style and stories remind me of the summer's we spent with family on the water's of Mitchum Creek in Topping Virginia.
"We would get up early in the morning, pack a lunch, and go fishing. I loved fishing with Uncle Perry. (Helping gather bait... watching the crabs in the bucket blowing bubbles... watching Daddy on the front of the boat trying to scoop up the peelers on top of the water with the dip net... watching Uncle Perry cut up bait... Mama getting so tired from catching fish, but she wouldn�t quit. She�d just hook them then call Daddy to reel them in...) When we got in we would clean the fish and then get cleaned up ourselves. Usually, we kids could get in a good scavenger hunt before supper. Going through the crab boxes... pulling Periwinkles off the weeds by the water... playing on Uncle Perry�s boat... watching the hummingbirds from the porch... Grandmama having to walk so slow with the feeder because the hummingbirds would come to feed as soon as she opened the front door... Later that night we all came out on the porch to eat supper. In the usual family tradition, there was always mounds of food. Grandmama�s fried oyster fritters, fresh fried fish, fried chicken, Aunt Vashti�s pan fried squash, plates of tomatoes and cucumbers, biscuits and much, much more. And, of course, if Daddy had gotten a couple of peelers, we had soft shell crabs too! Uncle Perry was sitting at the head of the table, to my left. As usual we all over-ate. We sat for a rather long time talking about the day and the ones that got away."
~ Southern With A Twist

The recipe which I chose to make and tell you about is Croatian Potato Salad. (hrvatska krumpir salata) It's different from the potato salad of the South. There is no mayonnaise in this recipe! It's an oil and vinegar style dressing with lots of spices and herbs. I topped it off with some fresh Purple Basil and Sweet Basil as a garnish! Absolutely Delicious! 



Don't forget to enter to win a copy of Ally's Cookbook! Scroll down to the bottom of the post and enter!



Ally's cookbook was released in bookstores on May 12th. It can also be ordered online at:
Ally's Kitchen website: http://www.allyskitchen.com/



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