It’s officially been a decade of good food, friends, and plenty of laughter for the Way Public Library’s cookbook club.
Started by Lisa Richard and Peggy Fuller, the club has welcomed many of the same faces over the years, providing guests with a place to share beloved recipes, try new ingredients, and listen to guest speakers give food-inspired presentations.
“Ten years ago we were a group of men and women that wanted to come together to share our culinary knowledge, expand our culinary knowledge, and enjoy a good meal together,” Fuller said. “And so that’s what we did.”
As members were mingling amongst each other at their monthly meeting a couple weeks back, they collectively agreed that the club has turned strangers into friends and friends into family.
“You’re less lonely,” said Sue Perkins, a club member since the beginning. “I enjoy seeing everybody and catching up on family and what’s going on with them. It’s a social thing for me.”
Alongside the life-long friendships, members expressed how they’ve become more experienced with certain food techniques, utilizing more unique ingredients, and exploring different styles of cuisine over time.
“The best thing about cookbook club is everybody would bring a different recipe so you get to try something you wouldn’t normally make,” Richard said, who also works for the library. “I’ve made so many of these recipes at home for my family.”
The food conversations and demonstrations are another aspect of the club that resonates with members, they said, like the time when the club welcomed a guest from the Penta Career Center to teach them knife skills.
Monthly topics for each meeting rarely overlap, with club member Chris Scarlett adding that some of the more unique themes were “anything that involves nuts” and “farmer’s market.”
“I think it’s nice that it’s gone as long as it has,” Lauren Kuhr said of the club, in which she has been a member since the start. “Most everybody has stuck around.”
The club has roughly 25 members, with many of the guests at this month’s meeting expressing their gratitude for the knowledge and experience they’ve gained over the years.
In the next decade, Fuller said she hopes the club can engage in more community outreach — like working with local food drives and engaging in more collaboration with those in the area, too.
“Here we are 10 years later, but it’s changed,” she added. “Yes, we dine together and we learn together, but we share a lot of joys together and a lot of sorrows together too. … These people really mean the world to me.”
The Way Cookbook Club is currently full. To see about joining its waitlist and to learn more, contact the library at 419-874-3135.
Club recipes from over the years:
Tally Ho Tomato Pudding
Yield: 6 servings
Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients:
2 cups dark brown sugar
2 cups (15 ½-ounce can) tomato puree
½ cup water
4 cups bread cubes (½ loaf) with crusts removed
1 ½ sticks butter, melted
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Combine brown sugar, tomato puree, and water in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes until deep brown. Stir often to keep from scorching mixture.
Put bread cubes in 2 ½ quart casserole dishes, and pour in the melted butter. Combine to coat all cubes and to soak up butter. Add tomato mixture and stir to combine.
Bake, uncovered for 50 to 55 minutes. The mixture will puff up during cooking, but shrink while cooling.
Serve and enjoy, The pudding goes especially well with ham, chicken, or turkey.
Source: Adapted from club member Mama Ruetz
Baked Beans by “The Bean Lady”
Yield: 6 servings
Time: 2 to 4 hours
Ingredients:
3 28-ounce cans Bush’s baked beans, drained
1 pound of ground beef, browned and drained
1 16-ounce jar medium salsa
2 cups finely chopped onions
¼ cups spicy brown mustard or regular mustard
2 cups brown sugar
Directions:
Brown and drain beef and set aside.
Mix all ingredients in a large crock pot or Dutch oven and cook on high (or over medium-high with the Dutch oven) until mixture thickens, reduce temperature, and cook several hours, stirring occasionally.
Serve and enjoy!
Source: Adapted from club member Marty Oakley
Baked Potato Salad
Yield: 10 to 12 servings
Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients:
10 to 12 large potatoes
1 pint miracle whip
1 pound package Velveeta cheese
1 medium onion
1 pound bacon
Salt and pepper
Chives, for garnish
Directions:
Cook potatoes in boiling water with skins on under tender. Cool, then dice into bite-sized pieces.
In a bowl, spread the miracle whip over the potatoes (may not need the whole pint).
Cube the cheese, dice the onions, and add to the potatoes. Mix together and bread in a baking dish.
Cook the bacon until crisp, then dice into small pieces. Sprinkle over the potato mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Once the cheese is melted and bubbly, add the bacon to the pan, stir, and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Garnish with chives, serve, and enjoy!
Source: Adapted from club member Lauren Kuhr
First Published March 22, 2025, 3:57 p.m.
