One Mom, Two Daughters: Their Shared Stories of Food, Faith & Family
by Pam Anderson, Maggy Keet & Sharon Damelio
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Published Apr 2015
336 pages
Genre: Biography/Memoir
Publication Information
When the women behind the popular blog Three Many Cooks gather in the busiest room in the house, there are never too many cooks in the kitchen. Now acclaimed cookbook author Pam Anderson and her daughters, Maggy Keet and Sharon Damelio, blend compelling reflections and well-loved recipes into one funny, candid, and irresistible book.
Together, Pam, Maggy, and Sharon reveal the challenging give-and-take between mothers and daughters, the passionate belief that food nourishes both body and soul, and the simple wonder that arises from good meals shared. Pam chronicles her epicurean journey, beginning at the apron hems of her grandmother and mother, and recounts how a cultural exchange to Provence led to twenty-five years of food and friendship. Firstborn Maggy rebelled against the family's culinary ways but eventually found her inner chef as a newlywed faced with the terrifying reality of cooking dinner every night. Younger daughter Sharon fell in love with food by helping her mother work, lending her searing opinions and elbow grease to the grueling process of testing recipes for Pam's bestselling cookbooks.
Three Many Cooks ladles out the highs and lows, the kitchen disasters and culinary triumphs, the bitter fights and lasting love. Of course, these stories would not be complete without a selection of treasured recipes that nurtured relationships, ended feuds, and expanded repertoires, recipes that evoke forgiveness, memory, passion, and perseverance: Pumpkin-Walnut Scones, baked by dueling sisters; Grilled Lemon Chicken, made legendary by Pam's father at every backyard cookout; Chicken Vindaloo that Maggy whipped up in a boat galley in the Caribbean; Carrot Cake obsessively perfected by Sharon for the wedding of friends; and many more.
Sometimes irreverent, sometimes reflective, always honest, this collection illustrates three women's individual and shared search for a faith that confirms what they know to be true: The divine is often found hovering not over an altar but around the stove and kitchen table. So hop on a bar stool at the kitchen island and join them to commiserate, laugh, and, of course, eat!
"More prose than cookbook, this work will be enjoyed by cooks and noncooks alike. The 26 recipes are easy to follow (though not always simple) and most are forgiving of substitutions (e.g., this cheese for that, store-bought pie crust for homemade). The book's highest readership will be found in libraries where cookbooks circulate well." - Library Journal
"A scrumptious pairing of nourishment and familial devotion." - Kirkus
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
New York Times bestseller and author of seven books, Pam Anderson is AARP's official food expert and a Runner's World contributing columnist. She is the former executive editor at Cook's Illustrated. She and her two daughters, Maggy Keet and Sharon Damelio, are the voices behind the blog Three Many Cooks, featured in several national publications, including Woman's Day and Redbook. Anderson lives in Connecticut with her husband.
Maggy Keet graduated from the University of Exeter with a degree in English literature and sociology. After several years in the social-work field, she went back to school, graduating with a master's degree in globalization and international development from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies. After living in Malawi and building a maternity clinic, she moved with her husband, Andy, to New York City where she now works fund-raising for Haiti.
Sharon Damelio graduated from Williams College with a degree in English and classics, and spent the next two years working at Fine Cooking magazine as assistant web editor. She recently graduated from Yale Divinity School with a master of divinity and now works at a nonprofit in Atlanta that provides programs and services to homeless and near-homeless individuals.
Visit them at threemanycooks.com
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