Tour Dates:      Oct. 7 – 31^st

Book Title:       The Romney Family Table: Sharing Home-Cooked Recipes and Favorite Traditions

Author:            Ann Romney

Home is where good things happen–and for the Romney family, the heart of the home is the kitchen. In The Romney Family Table, Ann Romney, wife of former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney, reflects on her many years as a mom, shares family recipes, and describes some of her favorite and not-so-favorite moments of raising a family. Woven together with personal memories and traditions are Romney family favorite recipes such as Peppered Pork Chops with Peach-Vinegar Glaze, Welsh Skillet Cakes, Honey Wheat Bread (which Ann made regularly for five growing sons), and Mimi’s Buttermilk Pancakes, which she and Mitt shared with their Secret Service detail at the end of his presidential campaign.

This unique blend of heartwarming and humorous stories told in Ann’s warm, welcoming style, candid family photos spanning four decades, and more than 125 fabulous recipes will inspire your own traditions and family dinners for years to come.

·         Size: 9½” x 10½”

·         Pages: 224

·         Year Published: 2013

Read more about the book here.

My review:  I would like to say that this cookbook came at a very timely moment.  You probably know if you read my blog regularly that I am conservative in my beliefs.  I don’t really discuss politics on here, but I’m sure you know who I voted for in the last election.  No matter what you think, however, Ann Romney is someone I liked from the beginning.  I admired how she overcame so much to accomplish what she has.  And when I learned that this cookbook was coming out, I jumped at the chance to review it.  And shortly after that, she featured her cookbook on Fox and Friends.  I was really excited now!

I subscribe to e–meals (a meal service plan), and I was running behind on getting those meals together.  So this book came at just the moment that I needed it.  It is an absolutely gorgeous book that is much more than a cookbook.  She has family pictures, traditions, and of course, there are those wonderful recipes.  I tried several of them (that must mean something because I normally don’t do that when reviewing a cookbook–funny, isn’t it?).  My daughter loved the Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe, and my parents and I loved her Parmesan Chicken recipe.  Then we tried her Minestrone Soup (I added ground meat to it) and one of her Pork Roast recipes.  I made her Chocolate Pudding Cake (or Hot Fudge Pudding Cake–not sure what she called it), and today we had her Fruit Crisp.  I have no complaints about any of them (except the fruit crisp was a little too sweet for my tastes).  Her recipes are fairly easy, but they often do require a little more work–figure about thirty minutes or so.  But it’s worth it!  They are not the healthiest recipes in the world–she uses butter, but I sometimes substituted olive oil.  I will say this is not diet food, but it is also not incredibly high in calories and fat.  They are certainly good, old-fashioned recipes that your family will enjoy again and again.

I recommend this book highly.  I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.  I was not financially compensated, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.

Ann Romney places primary importance on her role as a wife, a mother, and a grandmother. As First Lady of Massachusetts, she worked to focus attention on the challenges facing at-risk youth and served as the Governor’s Liaison to the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998, she has volunteered much of her time to raise awareness of the disease. She and her husband, Mitt, celebrated their 44th wedding anniversary this year. They have five sons, five daughters-in-law, and twenty-two grandchildren.