There is always a mile high Sunshine cake in Grandma Anderson's pantry in her house across from the Hotel, and there was always a towering filled angel food at the Hotel for the unexpected guest and the small granddaughters to nibble on... (page 205 from the chapter on Cakes)

{HISTORY}

A true gem to the hospitality industry, the Anderson House hotel was one of the oldest, operating midwest hotels in the United States. Located in Wabasha, Minnesota, it was built in 1856 by B.F. Hurd, and purchased by Grandma Anderson in 1909 where it remained in her family for the next 100 years. A transplant from the mid-Atlantic, Grandma Anderson brought along her Pennsylvania Dutch recipes which soon made the hotel famous for its food and a hotspot for an international crowd of epicureans around the world.

By the 1940's, the menu included gourmet foods, prepared fresh in the hotel kitchen, that highlighted Grandma Anderson's homespun recipes. Influenced by globe-trotting hotel guests, recipes and dish ideas were exchanged by the hundreds, culling a style of cuisine that was both exotic.and nostalgic. Eventually, the Anderson family published a 1948 cookbook titled 500 Recipes By Request  that became so popular a follow-up edition was published 12 years later. Today, these recipes are elegant, easy to make and a delightful combination of old-world cooking and modern midcentury creativity. 

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

- Contains 500 recipes covering everything from appetizers to dessert with influences from France, India, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and the USA 

- Special prize-winning family recipes where the Andersons won first place for cooking challenges and contests 

- Some of the more unusual recipes include Blue Cheese Biscuits, Skewered Lamb with Cranberry Burrs, Philadelphia Pepper Pot, Banana Cream Fluff, Sea-Foam frosting, Angel Puffs with Apricot Cream, Glamorous Macaroon Pudding, Snow Ring braided bread and Maine Rye Pancakes

- For the most part, this cookbook uses entirely fresh, whole ingredients. There is only a small amount of recipes that call for canned foods or pre-packaged convenience foods.

- There is a handy wine cooking guide in the back along with a plethora of interesting kitchen stories involving Grandma Anderson and the rest of the hotel staff and family. 

{CONDITION}

In practically brand-new condition. There is no dust jacket. Tight spine, clean pages, and bright cover boards.

{SIZE}

Measures 5.5" inches (width) x 8.5" inches (length) x 1.25" inches (depth)

{WHY IT IS ESPECIALLY MARVELOUS}

Written by Grandma Andersons granddaughter Jeanne, this cookbook contains all the warmth and joy that a lifetime spent around food and family manifests. So proud of her family and their hotel business,  Jeanne writes with an artist's enthusiasm for creative, good food while showcasing the gracious spirit that only a true hospitality industry employee can exude. This cookbook is delightful in so many ways - from the recipes to the stories, you'll be charmed into wishing that the hotel was still open sp that you too could go and meet the Anderson family and share a seat at their hotel table. 

***Photo of the Historic Anderson Hotel courtesy of the Wabasha Chamber of Commerce & CVB