By William Smith
Just in time for Christmas, beloved
Burlington chef Martha Wolf will have a new cookbook out filled with recipes from her years as a restaurant owner.
That’s
why she chose the no-nonsense title, “Ivy Bake Shoppe Cookbook II,”
which she hopes will be on sale around Dec. 10. Her first cookbook,
released in 2007, covers the recipes from the first half of her cooking
career. The sequel closes out the latter half of her career, with a little something more.
“There are a few family favorites,” Wolf said with a grin. Wolf
had been promising to start the book since 2014, but never really got
the chance until she retired and closed the Ivy Bake Shoppe in February
of this year.
“I needed a few months to clear my brain,” Wolf said.
Her
children grown and business in the past, Wolf wakes every morning with
the most wonderful feeling. She knows she won’t have to cook for anyone.
She knows there isn’t a kitchen depending on her from morning to night.
“I love it,” she said.
It’s
a very different state of mind than the one she carried into the first
book. Wolf said she was so frantic, so constantly busy, that she
completely forgot to include any recipes with lemon. That’s been
rectified in the sequel.
“I don’t know how I wrote that first book while I was working,” she said.
Like
her first book, the recipes in the new one aren’t exotic enough to
frighten a Midwestern palette. Wolf is an adventurous eater, to be sure,
but promises the ingredients in her new book can easily be found in
local grocery stores.
“I really love food
stories, and the culture of food. It’s so much about the world. It’s
what we all have in common. That, and music, is easily identifiable for
everyone,” she said. Wolf has ordered 3,000 copies, which will eventually be available at Burlington By The Book and Under The Sun in Fort Madison.
Stuffed Acorn Squash
(from "Ivy Bake Shoppe Cookbook II")
3 acorn squash
¼ cup butter
¾ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Granny Smith apple, skin on, ¾ inch dice
½ cup walnuts
½ cup craisins
Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut acorn squash in half, removing seeds and pulp. Place in appropriate size pan with the cut half down. Add about 1 ½ inches water and bake in oven for approximately 40 minutes, or until squash is tender.
In saucepan, melt better and add brown sugar and stir until sugar is melted. Add cinnamon and stir until all combined. Add apples, walnuts, and craisins and cook until the mixture is warm and thickening.
To serve, mash gently on the inside of the squash and add a teaspoon or so of butter to each half; portion the apple mixture on the top. Serve immediately.