This is a MUST-have cookbook of recipes for the serious Stephen King fan!

Inside this Stephen King literary-inspired cookbook you will find over eighty delicious recipes, for breakfast, dinner, supper, fish, vegetarian meals, side dishes, desserts and sweets, miscellaneous things like stocks or special sauces, and drinks (including cocktails!). All are directly related to the fictional worlds created by King. It is absolutely amazing the number of recipes that can be pulled from the scenes of these different worlds that were given to us. Theresa Carle-Sanders obviously put a great amount of time and effort into the research and organization of this fantastic recipe collection.

I found the recipes easy to follow as did my spouse, and all of them turned out absolutely delicious. My favorites were "Dog Days French Toast Casserole", "Blue Plate Special", and "Homemade Root Beer". Each recipe is inspired by a different King short story or novel, and with each recipe, there is a forward with a direct quote from the source material that shows where the inspiration came from.

Although sometimes one does not need - or maybe "want" is the right word - to be told the inspiration, King fans will immediately be drawn to some of the more obvious recipes in this book. With an extremely cringe-worthy memory for those who have read the novella "The Body" or the movie it was made into, "Stand By Me" (1986), I thought that the inclusion of the "Blueberry Cheesecake Pie" recipes was delightfully wicked!

The recipe book has a foreword by the King himself, which is brief but insightful and actually quite funny, that includes a whopper of a Maine food joke that might leave you inwardly shaking your head long after, I also would love to give 5 shining stars to the person who not only created this collection, but also prepared the delicious food that there are mouth-watering photos of some of the recipes within the cookbook, Theresa Carle-Sanders, and to the photographer who has a fabulous eye for culinary delights, Jenny Bravo.

I love that the author included a bunch of culinary tips at the beginning of the book and tips on cooking and baking in general throughout. At the beginning of each section, there is a small blurb that lets you know a little about what is contained in that recipe section and a word from the book's author, Theresa Carle-Sanders,

Before each recipe, there is a direct quote from the source material, whether a Stephen King book, novella, or short story that is about a paragraph or two in length, along with the title of the source material, that directly relates to the recipe you are about to read next.

Then the title of the recipe and the serving sizes are listed, followed by a short paragraph from the author and developer of the recipe which gives awesome tips and tricks for fine-tuning or making the most out of that recipe and sometimes their own delightful discussion of King's writing.

After this comes the recipe itself, including all ingredients and measurements, then, of course, the instructions for each recipe. So very simply organized, and also a joy to remember all the wonderful worlds that King has created in such a sensory-filled manner! Some of the recipes are a bit more complex and advanced, but others are simpler and easy to follow. I imagine that the most difficult thing for some is to get their hands on the specific and sometimes unique fresh ingredients, but let me assure you that the freshness of the ingredients is absolutely what makes the final dish so incredibly delicious. The fresher you can find your ingredients, the better!

Finally, the book includes an afterword, author acknowledgments, and biography, as well as a full bibliography including a thorough list of all of the King material which is referenced in this cookbook. I have to say, I was absolutely delighted to have received an advanced reading copy for the purposes of an honest and unbiased review, and I can say with complete honesty that this is a cookbook that every single Stephen King fan should have in their homes, Five out of Five stars, and very high recommendations from this lifelong King fan.

I don't normally think about good read while reading Stephen King books, but this cookbook has convinced me otherwise. With an appropriately desolate, yet energetic vibe, "Castle Rock Kitchen" focuses on the work based in Maine, including Derry and Castle Rock. We get recipes like "Dick Hallorann's Baked Beans" and "Life-Sentence Oatmeal." I was expecting this cookbook to be very meat and seafood heavy, but was pleasantly surprised by the vegetarian section.

I'm a big Stephen King fan, and this inspires me to reread "Elevation" or "IT" while cooking these recipes. I did test out "Life-Sentence Oatmeal" (inspired by "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption"), and it was delicious and great for breakfast on busy weekdays.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Castle Rock Kitchen
Wicked Good Recipes from the World of Stephen King [A Cookbook]
by Theresa Carle-Sanders

Pretty good cookbook. Some seem to take far too long. Of course in Texas, lobster cost the same as a car. I guess my beef in Texas wins.

I am glad this book had Stephen King's "approval" with a foreword by him.

This cookbook includes just a few of King's multiverse locations/books and made a recipe out of a sentence in that specific novel or a variation based on what a character in King's book would possible eat/make.
If it were not for the afterword by the author, I probably would have liked it less. I was not happy that it only included a few novels and really missed the mark on what could have been made or used. Carle-Sanders let readers know, she too was disappointed with just condensing the books & recipes to King's Castle Rock novels.
Part of me wonders if the author actually read all of the books that she included out of love and adoration for King's work or just read them as research. There were so many recipes that I think just missed the mark and lacked the creativity that could have made for some really neat recipes. "Pancakes with the Toziers" sure that was creative and made sense; Jessie in Gerald's Game made sole, so using that sentence, the author created a sole recipe. I get it, BUT there could have been so much more to it. There is not one person I know who read 11/22/63 that did not want to try a milkshake and burger from that diner (and the burgers were a semi-important part of the book). That should have been one of the recipes for that novel., not just the random sentence the author chose to include a recipe from.

The recipes seemed easy to replicate, and I will most likely try a few of the fun ones out. Even if I do not purchase this title for the actual content, I will purchase a copy for the appeal and advancement to my King shelf at home. If she moves forward with the multiverse, I will probably purchase them all-just to have.
On a side note, one reviewer mentioned the photographs being too dark and unappetizing, but I think that is exactly what a King recipe book would have, and I think it worked perfectly to set the tone.

Recipe books themed off of movies/tv shows have become all the rage lately, so it was only a matter of time before one popped up based on Stephen King's connected universe in Maine. Castle Rock Kitchen features an evocative foreword by the King himself reminiscing on some amazingly odd sounding local Maine dishes he remembers eating growing up and then delves into a traditionally laid out cookbook (breakfast, dinner, supper, dessert, drinks). The gimmick is that each of the dishes is ostensibly inspired by some part of the King universe, and here is where my rating takes a bit of a hit. The connections between the dishes and King's books are a stretch at best, as any Constant Reader may be hard pressed to think of many detailed descriptions of recipes or food from his books. At the very least, we should have gotten a drink named after Jack Torrance! Missed opportunity. Despite this, it's a good and varied cookbook, especially if you're a seafood or meat lover. The atmospheric nature shots of Maine add to the overall aesthetic as well. Good gift for a King maniac in the family.

**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Ten Speed Press and Netgalley**

Castle Rock Kitchen by Theresa Carle-Sanders is bound to be a sought after cookbook for fans of Stephen King. She has tied in many of his novels and short stories to Maine-centric recipes gathered from family, women’s associations and clipped from The Portland Telegram.

Stephen King wrote the forward with memories of his favorite (and unfavored) dishes served up in his childhood home. He ate “poor-food” like lobster stew, whoopee pies, creamed cod over mashed potatoes – a dish his toothless gramps liked. There was baked haddock in milk, his brother’s favorite.

This book uses the delicious Maine staples: lobster, clams, turkey, corn, squash, cranberries, blueberries and maple syrup and shows you how to turn them into baked beans, brown bread, lobster stew, clam rolls and winter squash donuts. Always with the twist of a Stephen King reference.
For example, in the breakfast section the author makes “Life Sentence Oatmeal” cooked in maple syrup and blueberries as homage to Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption.

In this book the mid-day meal is called Dinner There’s a stick to your ribs recipe for Potato and Collard Soup. The reference is The Long Walk – “side meat only when your daddy could afford the ammunition”.
Supper or Suppah features the Tommyknockers Big Last Weekend Bar and Grill Whopper Spareribs.
There’s also Fish and Shellfish, Vegetarian, Side Dishes, Baking and Sweets, Drinks and Cocktails, and finally Basics.

The recipes are well curated and presented. The fact that they’re geared toward Stephen King fans does not detract from the overall basics of recipe writing. I also must mention that the photographs by Jenny Bravo are mouth-watering and enticing. Overall – this is a book you’ll want for your own collection of cookbooks and Stephen King collectables.

One of the many strengths of Stephen King’s suspenseful horror novels is his attention to the ordinary. Small towns are perfectly described from the parking spaces to the shops that front the sidewalk. There’s a patterned carpet runner in the halls of an old hotel. And there’s food…yes food. Castle Rock Kitchen imaginatively combines excerpts from King’s novels with true to Maine locations mouthwatering recipes.

The Institute provides a literal inspiration for Sausage and Cheese Biscuits to Go. Under the Dome gives us One-Handed Frittata. Gramma provides the recipe for Killer Mac and Cheese, ‘Salems Lot Delicately Braised Wings. All recipes include “found in Maine” ingredients but Pantry Notes explains where they can be found and gives substitutes.

This unique cookbook is a must have for Stephen King Fans. The atmospheric photographs of Maine as well as the gorgeous pictures of the food are excellent! 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press and Theresa Carle-Sanders for this ARC.

3.5 stars, rounded up.

Castle Rock Kitchen is a cookbook (very loosely) inspired by Stephen King's works of fiction that take place in Maine. There is a collection of recipes for breakfast, dinner, supper, fish and shellfish, vegetarian, side dishes, baking and sweets, and drinks and cocktails. The author also provides a concise introduction and separate "basics" recipe section to provide instruction. Ingredients for these dishes are easy to obtain at the average grocery store, but directions to require an above-average cooking knowledge to understand.

I don't think Castle Rock Kitchen knows quite what it wants to be. The connection between the recipes and excerpts from King's books provided to introduce them are really a stretch; It seems like someone went through King's novels and just circled whenever a food was mentioned. Dolores Claiborne has rice in her hair? Okay, we'll write a recipe for Dolores's Oven Baked Risotto. Then, the photographs -- wow, are they unappetizing. There is a dark filter over everything that makes the food look old and cold.

However, die hard Stephen King fans would likely want to add this book to their collection simply because it exists. That means something - this book has a niche and it works for that niche. I can't imagine how the cookbook could have been improved. It's not like King's works are filled with George R. R. Martin level descriptions of food.

I would not buy this book for myself, but I could see gifting it to a King fan.

Now that I’ve had a chance to review I am Absolutely going to purchase this upon release. A must-have for any King fan! Can’t wait to cook my way through it!

When i first saw this cookbook I couldn't request fast enough! I am a huge Stephen King fan and then to find out there's food based on his movies?? Sign me up! I was approved and couldn't be happier! This book is everything I hoped for and more! Great recipes, easy to make and common ingredients. I especially loved he stories with each recipe. I can't wait to buy a hard copy for my collection when it's released! Thank you so much!

Well-written, understandable and easy for the Hine cook! Recipes from Castle Rock? Yes, please. What an original and fun idea for a cookbook! Well done!

I adore picking up cookbooks that are very niche and this one is absolutely perfect if you're like me!

I don't recall food being featured in King's books, but I have enjoyed his books, so I was excited to check this out. I liked the foreword from King and snippets throughout.

I like that photos are included, and they were very authentic and inviting. The dessert section caught my eye. Here's a sampling of other recipes that I look forward to trying: One-Handed Frittata, Killer Mac and Cheese, Holy Frijole Enchiladas, Blueberry Cheesecake Pie, and Homemade Root Beer (something my family used to make when I was a child). this is a fun book for King's fans!

Love this Stephen King tribute. Easy and awesome recipes for anyone to make at home for a taste of Castle Rock!

This wonderful book is certainly not your run of the mill cookbook. It is essentially a fictional book about the food of Stephen King's Maine based stories, with snippets of said stories interspersed with real Maine recipes and a little of the area's history.  

Although Stephen King (who personally provides a lovely introduction at the beginning of the book) is most famous for scary, disturbing stories, this cookbook has a lovely cosy feel about it.  One thing that I absolutely loved and that really amused me about this book is that it is 'narrated' by a minor character from my least favourite Stephen King novel. This is so clever and works so wonderfully as it makes the book feel as though it is the personal cookbook of an actual Maine resident, sharing her own insights and stories about life in the area, both real and in the Stephen King universe.

I had forgotten how many times food is mentioned in Stephen King's books.  He must have been thinking about dinner a lot while writing!  The recipes are all real and sound delicious and I will certainly be trying some of them out as soon as I can. And the photographs of the dishes and of Maine are fantastic.

This book is a beautiful love letter to the works of Stephen King and Maine itself and its residents (Mainers).  I cannot recommend it enough.

This is a great cookbook for fans of Stephen King.

I'm impressed with the research that went into this cookbook. If there's food mentioned in a Stephen King novel, it's probably recreated in here. Complete with full quotation about said food from the novel.

The recipes aren't too difficult, but they aren't quick either, so this book isn't something to go to when you want something in a hurry, but will taste really good and homemade. Many of the recipes are a bit old fashioned, but it just means they're tried and true. The author describes them as down home Maine favorites.

You really get a feel for what Mainers like to eat, encompassed in the novels of Stephen King and I loved all the photos of Maine throughout the book.

Thank you to Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a great and handy “keep in your kitchen” cookbook. The photographs of the food and other photographs from Maine make you feel like your right there in the middle of it all. Don’t be intimidated by titles or ingredients because once you “read over” the recipe or try one they are not difficult. I did make the ever popular Fettuccini Alfredo and the simple yet tasty and satisfying recipe did not disappoint. Great cookbook for any Stephen King fan or the simple cookbook collector.