“Brain food, soul food, comfort food” is the subtitle for the first-ever GPS cookbook, Food for Thought. The recipes that seek to deliver on that promise come from a year-long, school-wide collaboration among alumnae, faculty and staff, students, parents, and other friends of GPS. The cookbook goes on sale Wednesday, April 30 during the GPS May Day celebration, but a copy was presented early to Headmaster Randy Tucker by members of the cookbook committee. The committee, led by senior Meredith MacLean, whittled down the submissions, tested recipes, and prepared samples to serve at GPS events and in the GPS cafeteria, during which students cast votes on the dishes served. Committee members also worked with art department faculty to design the cookbook’s cover (an illustration by AP Art teacher Mary Carrithers) and to collect images to illustrate interior pages. The five hundred recipes found within the cookbook’s pages come from as near as East Brainerd and Signal Mountain and as far as Indonesia and Kenya. Several are from the collections of beloved former GPS cooks “Miss Gertrude” Oehmig and Dene Donald.
The result of the committee’s hard work is a culinary treasury to be cherished by cooks of all ages and abilities. Among the recipes sure to make your mouth water and your taste buds sing are Ooey Gooey Chocolate Oat Cookies, Easy Spinach Artichoke Dip, Shrimp Jambalaya, Melt-in-Your-Mouth Brown Butter Pancakes, Lemony Hot Chicken Salad, Cranberry Orange Scones, Brie Basil Summer Pasta, Almond-Lemon Macaroons, and Brown Sugar and Pecan-Crusted Salmon.