Lincoln Del, revisited
After years of stops and starts, the elusive cookbook devoted to the late, lamented Lincoln Del has started up once again.
No publisher yet, but Wendi Zelkin Rosenstein, granddaughter of Del founders Morrie and Tess Berenberg, has teamed up with Minneapolis writer Kit Naylor, and the two are plowing ahead.
There's certainly interest. Within 24 hours of posting a plea for customer stories on the Lincoln Del alumni Facebook page, Naylor was inundated with responses.
"The Del was so beloved, and Wendi has been working on this for years," Naylor said. "She considers this her family's legacy, and feels a tremendous responsibility to preserve it."
First, recipes. Yes, Zelkin Rosenstein is in possession of what Naylor estimates are 100 Del recipes, in the form of handwritten notes from a longtime Del cook.
There's just one slight hitch: The ingredient amounts are in restaurant quantities, not home-kitchen quantities, and none of the recipes include directions.
So, roadblock. Interpreting each recipe requires tremendous amounts of research and testing, but the two are making progress.
"I can personally vouch for the Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars, and the C. Everett Koop Cake," Naylor said with a laugh, noting that the latter is an extravaganza of chocolate cake, whipped cream and chocolate icing.