Prairie Path Books Found a Great Cookbook; Come Taste Featured Recipes This Thursday

Prairie Path Books celebrated delicious food, great reads and new friends March 13. Bookstore owner Sandy Koropp welcomed about 20 people into her Wheaton home and treated them to food selections from one of her favorite cookbooks, "Keepers." 

Here's the best part. If you missed the last "Keepers" cooking event, there's another one this week, Thursday, March 27. Get all the details here.

It's called "Keepers" because the dishes are good enough to make again and again, but also because the flavorful add-ons, like sauces and dips, can be kept in the refrigerator for use throughout the week. It's about robust flavors and simple, fresh ingredients that take a recipe from good to great. 

The evening was a hit with the men and women in attendance.

"What a wonderful event! (Sandy) did a great job making it entertaining and practical—and delicious," said Stephanie Rische. "It's hard to pick favorites since I loved all of it, but the pesto, sauces, pot pie and brownie cookies were definitely keepers!"

While the evening was very much about food, Koropp also took some time to explain her passion for books and why she and her business partner and friend, Heather Janiak, decided to open Prairie Path Books. From humble beginnings as a traveling bookstore with suitcases full of books, to their current cozy nook within Toms-Price Home Furnishings and an official grand opening in just a couple of months, it's all about passion. 

"My husband asked me, 'Why, with all the electronic options and other ways to get books, do you want to open a bookstore?' Koropp told the group before they began taste testing. "Our position is, all reading is good. I love books. I love being around them. That's totally who I am."

Koropp, who even as a kid spent all of her free time in the library, is a voracious reader, consuming at least three books a week. She is committed to offering the very best recommendations from among an endless sea of literature.

"We offer a filtering of all that's out there," she said.

There is passion in her cooking, as well. And, after a heavy dose of motivation, her guests went home to create their own magic.

"I loved all the recipes," Allie Beyer said on Sunday. "In fact, I've already made the poached chicken and scallion ginger sauce as well as the carrot/apple salad. Both were huge hits. Tonight, I am planning on the farfalle with gorgonzola, ham and peas."

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