It’s no secret that I have a tiny obsession with Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series and all things related to it. What may be less well known is that I also collect cookbooks of all kinds, so when Outlander Kitchen was announced I knew I just had to add it to my library.

Outlander Kitchen: The Official Outlander Companion Cookbook by Theresa Carle-Sanders is a wonderful collection of recipes featuring foods mentioned in or inspired by the entire Outlander series. Recipes include what, I assume, most would expect from an Outlander cookbook. Foods like Mrs. FitzGibbon’s Parritch, Jocasta’s Auld Country Bannocks, Jenny’s Hare Pie, The MacKenzies’ Millionaire’s Shortbread, and Laoghaire’s Whiskey Sour–things you might find in any Scottish themed cookbook with an added Outlander twist. Your first reaction to that list of recipes might be, perfect! Awesome! Just what I wanted! But then you, like I did, might begin to wonder what makes Outlander Kitchen different from any other Scottish cookbook or if you really need to buy it. The answer is YES and I’ll tell you why.

Outlander Kitchen is so much more than a Scottish cookbook filled with pop culture references. It’s an inspired collection of recipes that span continents and centuries to give fans of the Outlander series a literal taste of all the different settings they visit while reading the novels.

*SPOILER WARNING If you have not read Voyager and the later novels or have only seen the television series and would like to stay spoiler free for season 3 you may want to stop reading here*

Do you remember the scene in Voyager when Claire roasted a chicken (and probably wished it was Frank)? Or when Roger and Brianna went to the festival where the vendors had Baja Fish Tacos on the menu (Drums of Autumn)? How about Mrs Bug’s Corn Muffins and Brianna’s attempt at pizza from The Fiery Cross? I think the beauty of Outlander Kitchen is the addition of these, possibly unexpected, recipes to the collection. Readers of the series will find some recipes for old favorites and others that stretch their culinary skills and kitchen comfort zones but whatever they choose to prepare–they will end up with a delicious meal inspired by a favorite series. If that’s not enough of a reason to run out and buy the book now, Outlander Kitchen includes one of Diana Gabaldon’s personal recipes–her father’s Enchiladas. Yup, this book gets better and better. So stop drooling on your screen, make a trip to your local bookstore (and grocery store) and get cooking!

 

Rating: 5 stars

Reviewer: Jess

Title: Outlander Kitchen: The Official Outlander Companion Cookbook

Author: Theresa Carle-Sanders

Release Date: June 2016

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