Castle Rock Kitchen
As a fan of horror and cookbooks I was immediately pulled into the concept of this cookbook by Theresa Carole-Sanders. Wicked Good Recipes from the world of Stephen King.

A cookbook isn’t something one reads like a book from start to finish. So I did as I usually do, flipped around, skimmed the pictures, read the recipes that interested me most and then went back to do a larger review starting with Stephen Kings Foreword all the way through Theresa’s Afterword (which I think I’d have actually appreciated up front since it answered some questions I had about the books chosen and why certain recipes were selected.)

Here is what I appreciated: The concept is unique. That each recipe is relayed through the voice of one of Stephen Kings Mrs. Garraty made it feel like a story was weaved throughout the pages. That each recipe has a connection to a King story. I admit, as I read each excerpt I had no memory of it from the books so was confused if these were real or creative license. I grabbed my old copy of Cujo and found it there. I guess I wasn’t focused in on the food references when reading his works previously. The pantry notes are very helpful and I like that it didn’t feel like a repeat of every other recipe I already had. This might be the first cookbook I’ve ever seen featuring a recipe with fiddleheads as a main ingredient. I remember my mom pulling over on the highway to pull them when I was a kid - and being absolutely mortified.

What I had hoped for:
Pictures of every recipe - seriously, why not? No one wishes a photo of the recipe wasn’t included.
More horror - again, seriously, why not? Okay so I realize this was all about those Castle Rock / Maine vibes, but I can’t help it…if you tell me something has a tie to Stephen King I want to be a little scared and this cookbook isn’t scary.

Overall a nice addition to the Stephen King lovers cookbook collection filled with comforting recipes to try when you’re scared from his actual books.

[Will hold on sharing reviews on other sites until week of books publication.]

I'm not one who usually reads cookbooks. I buy them, and I try the recipes but I do not sit down and read them unless I have a good reason to do so. The link between Castle Rock and Stephen King was a good enough reason to read this and that connection is what will sell.

There are 80 plus classic and modern takes on recipes that are more familiar to someone from New England and the Maine areas than someone from Philadelphia.

But even though the names of the dishes were odd, many were familiar to me. If you want to know how to make a good crab cake there is an awesome recipe for that here, though I would skip the fried egg. As a northerner that just sounds weird.

I did enjoy the way Ms.Carle-Sanders linked the food with quotes from Stephen King novels, but for me, the string that connected these recipes to Castle Rock was a little thin. But kudos for one hell of a good hook.

Thanks to @netgalley, Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press, and Theresa Carle-Sanders for the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

As a fan of King's work, I loved reading this and the nods to his literature. It has some amazing dishes in it that I look forward to trying!

I really wanted to like this cookbook because, well, you know - Stephen King.
But it was nothing special. Outside of several recipe introductions that used characters from King novels (Dick Halloran's Baked Beans? Life-Sentence Oatmeal?) the recipes were mundane and nothing better than you could find in <i>The James Beard Cookbook</i>.
The excerpts from King novels and the recipe blurbs ("...oatmeal that’s much tastier than the slop they served to Andy, Red, and the rest of the boys in Shawshank State Prison.") were actually very forced and distracting.
I don't know... I hate to be cynical... If you're the world's greatest Stephen King fan and you want to believe the recipe for Dick Halloran's Baked Beans is his (it isn't--the closest Halloran came to baked beans in <i>The Shining</i> was "peeking in" on some in the Epilogue) then you might enjoy this.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Castle Rock Kitchen.

I was super excited my request was approved because I've been a fan of Stephen King since I was a kid, far too young to be reading his books!

With the author's blessing, the author takes on the fictional role of a character from Mr. King's first book, The Long Walk Home, which is a great idea.

Using this method, she fully brings us (the reader) into Stephen King's Maine, which includes Derry and Castle Rock.

Of course, when I think Stephen King and Castle Rock, food doesn't immediately pop into my mind!

Things like vampires and killer clowns do.

But, the author discovers hearty and comforting dishes from Mr. King's best known works, including excerpts from each novel, serving as an intro to the recipe.

I didn't realize food was often mentioned in his books, until I read Castle Rock Kitchen.

The photos were good and came through on my Kindle; the dishes are photographed against rustic and homey backdrops, which give it a authentic feel.

Naturally, the seafood and dessert sections caught my eyes, because I love seafood, but not as much as I love dessert!

I also appreciated the section on drinks and condiments, which I didn't expect, but enjoyed. I always love it when the author goes the extra mile and she definitely does here.

I've read The Outlander Kitchen as well and also enjoyed it immensely.

Castle Rock Kitchen isn't just a cookbook I'd recommend for a cook, but also for any Stephen King fan, like me!

I love this idea of the cookbook. I'm seeing more cookbooks with themes related to movies or series. I think that's a lot of fun especially if you are a fan of that particular type. I thought the book was beautiful in the sense of the writing. I enjoyed Stephen King as always. His writing is always on point. But I felt like the overall theme didn't really connect to Stephen King. I felt like that is what you're selling. As with any of the cookbooks I've read, it's hard to assess as an e-book format. Cookbooks I like to feel my hands and study the pictures along with the recipes. But I am definitely planning on purchasing it when it comes out later this year. I haven't had a chance to try out some recipes but it looks really interesting especially for fall time. I hope my two cents helped. It looks like you guys did an amazing job!

I chose to make the fish and chips, garlic sauce (for the fries), tarter sauce, baked beans, fig bars, and red tea for a delicious dinner to review this book. The tarter sauce was the best I've ever had hands down. I will make that every time we (spouse, teen, me) have fried fish. I only deep fry about once a year but the fish and chips were worth it., just know that the chips take quite some time so be sure to do those first. I also used the fish coating to fry chicken strips for my teen who doesn't eat cooked fish and it was amazing on that too.

I liked the red tea but teen didn't and spouse found it just ok. Spouse loved the baked beans but I found them rather tasteless, and in need of more of everything. I shared the fig bars with my coffee group and everyone loved them. Certainly a healthier take on the ones commercially available.

So if everything was a hit why am I rating this 3 stars? These were the only recipes in the cookbook that I wanted to try. I would never make anything else from it. Therefore, I feel like this cookbook is really meant for hardcore fans of Stephen King, and that isn't me.

This is a really well rounded cookbook especially since its a fandom based cookbook. The foreword by Stephen King is a really nice added touch.

I love that its a slight love letter to Maine and all the seafood recipes that aren't the classic lobster roll recipes are all on my to-make list.

Theresa Carle-Sanders does it again with a creative but down to earth cookbook that is comprehensive and unique. There are several sections in this cookbook including breakfast, dinner, vegetables, desserts and cocktails. She also provides many basic recipes and the vibrant and beautiful photos provides a depth to this cookbook you won't find with others. Whether it is a gift for yourself or someone else this one will definitely provide a wealth of knowledge and wonderful meals.

I wanted to like this much more than I did. While I liked the recipes, I would have wanted a Stephen King themed cookbook to have more SK themed recipes. Many of the recipe titles didn't even refer to a book or character. I would have also loved to have seen a wider variety of SK books referenced, not just the most recent titles.

What a fun idea for a cookbook!

I am not a cookbook connoisseur, but I do love me some Stephen King. I found this to be a nice piece of expanded unvierse fun. I would say that I might try some of the recipes, but I am notorious for just looking at the pictures in cookbooks and never making the food.

This was a hoot!

This cookbook is great! I was expecting something a bit on the cheesy side, but I instead found myself impressed. This was a nice collection of recipes fit in well with the show and you could easily see them being served in the homes of the Castle Rock residents. I’ve only tried a couple recipes so far but they were both delicious with easy to follow instructions and simple to find ingredients. Looking forward to trying more recipes for the family this weekend.

This book would be a great addition to anyone's Stephen King collection. There are so many recipes to try out that are local to Maine.

In a world with many cookbook gimmicks- i love the idea of tying the written word of Stephen Kings books- to the culinary traditions of Maine. This book features hearty food, including “stick to your ribs” recipes like Apple Cinnamon Rolls or a Dutch Baby with a Banana-Pecan Compote. Cozy yet upscale food you would expect to see at a lovely Maine Bed and Breakfast. If you’ve ever read a book and have gotten hungry at the descriptions of the meals-you’ll like this book. I can’t say a Stephen King book has made me hungry, but it has made me scared, and eating does have a wonderfully soothing response on the nervous system. My own personal theory of course.

The headnotes, my favorite parts of cookbooks (besides the whimsy and the eating), are sparser here than in other cookbooks- the top of the page will show an excerpt from a book that leads to a related recipe. And of course, the excepts and the eerie pictures create such a good tone that you feel a sense of dread and also hunger at the same time. It also just goes to show you how good of a writer Stephen King is that even a paragraph of his work inspires a shiver. Having never been to Maine, I had no idea about the breadth of the type of cooking that had been long-simmered there- often a recipe felt very Midwestern even in scope, which was a pleasant and unexpected surprise. The recipes also felt like they could have indeed come from some 1950’s grandma’s cookbook with a modern twist- I’m sure an intentional process by the author. Perfect for fans of Stephen King, and also fans of eerie cookbooks.

Thanks to NetGalley and Clarkson Potter/ Ten Speed for my ARC (and honest review)!

This is a wonderful cookbook for people interested in local Maine cuisine! It is also a fun pick for fans of Stephen King.

This cookbook is for every Stephen King fan out there. It has wonderful pictures of not just the recipes, but outdoor and indoor scenes. Before each recipe, there is a quote from one of King’s books that mentions the recipe. And Stephen King, himself, did the forward for the book. Plus, the author included a page on King’s works and his websites.

There are sections on tips, common phrases, pantry notes, and equipment. The recipe collection is broken down into Breakfasts, Dinners, Suppers, Fish and Shell Fish, Vegetarian, Side Dishes, Baking and Sweets, Drinks and Cocktails, and Basics. Some of the recipes included are Sausage on Cheese Biscuits to Go, Sunday Boiled Dinner, Fried Clam Rolls, Dick Hallorann’s Baked Beans, Garlic Fries, Farmhouse Egg Bread, Deadly Moonquake, and New England Fry Mix.

For this review, I opted to test Mother Morton’s Pork Chops which are mentioned in the book Revival. The recipe instructions were easy to follow, the gravy was simple, but had a nice flavor, and the pork chops were quite tender which was achieved by frying the fat caps first.

My review is voluntary and all comments and opinions expressed are
my own.

What a great cookbook! I'm not a cookbook person but when I saw that it was Stephen King themed, I needed to try it out. The pictures were fantastic, both of Maine and the food. The author does a fantastic job of weaving in recipes, history, and information about Stephen King's stories and their connection with the state. I can't wait to try out some of the recipes in the book and to see what the physical book will look like in person! Definitely will get a copy of this to add to my growing King collection!

Wish I had read more Stephen King than I have as it would have been nice to put more into the context. The ones I did know were nicely backed up by small quotations from the books. The recipes sound delicious and I will be trying a few. Glad there were a few healthier dishes in there too.

What a delightful cookbook and fans of Stephen King and good Maine coast cooking are in for a real treat.I loved this book and plan on trying lots of the recipes. I have been a Stephen King fan for years so all the references are so entertaining. I can see myself buying this book for gifts for family and friends. I loved it.

Another great title by the master of horror, Stephen King! I loved reading all his recipes and learning more about King. Looking forward to other similar books from King.