Kara Mae Harris, author of Festive Maryland Recipes: Holiday Traditions from the Old Line State, has long been a cookbook connoisseur and collector of around 300-something Maryland cookbooks. With recipes also gathered from libraries and manuscripts, this expedition through history and geography weaves together the stories of people from around the world who have made a home in Maryland. Harris, a self-described hobbyist recipe collector, and amateur food historian, put an incredible amount of time and energy into research. It took her all over Maryland: from the Eastern Shore, down to Saint Michaels, and to the Chesapeake Maritime Museum where she searched photo archives. She credits Digital Maryland, Enoch Pratt Free Library, and several institutions in Maryland as resources for photos and newspaper clippings.
Indulge in a Kinkling on Fat Tuesday; celebrate Passover and Easter in East Baltimore; taste cookies from the oldest Maryland cookbook; be the first to visit neighbors on New Year’s Day in St. Mary’s County; engage in Christmas mayhem and blame the eggnog; find out why the Frostburg post office smells like saffron in December; stuff your Thanksgiving turkey with oysters from the Eastern Shore, and please, don’t forget the sauerkraut!
Holidays in the Old Line State have taken many forms, but there is always something good on the table, drawing family and friends together. Come make a plate!
Authored by Kara Mae Harris and featuring modernized recipes by Rachel Rappaport so you can recreate these traditions at home. Foreword by John Shields. 104 pages, 8×10, hardbound, Full Color. Autographed by Kara Mae.
This is a collection of 23 recipes. Each recipe in Festive Maryland Recipes is introduced by Harris with a thoughtful essay on the historical background and cultural context of the dish. The modernized recipes are presented with notes. The book combines Kara’s historical essays and Rachel’s translated recipes. It’s very unique because it’s half history text and half cookbook—so there’s a key on how to use the book after the introduction.

The book includes recipes Marylanders have used to celebrate New Years’, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Rosh Hashanah, St. David’s Day, Strawberry Festivals and more. With stories about traditions from around the world and how they have been celebrated in Maryland, with Marylanders’ own recipes for White Potato Pie, Stuffed Ham, Blintzes, Chop-Chae, Kuba, Italian Easter Pies, Kinklings, and more.