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"In more than a decade of living in The Grove, Virginia Tech's presidential residence, I have admired and enjoyed the artistic creations of Chef Michael 'Mike' Arrington, our executive chef, and, on occasion, Chef Josef R. Schelch, who has now retired from the university. As a result of these experiences, I am inclined to add cooking to my concept of the arts," writes President Charles W. Steger in the foreword to "The Grove: Recipes and History of Virginia Tech's Presidential Residence," edited and written by Clara B. Cox (M.A. English '84).
Published by the Virginia Tech Foundation in August, the book is a way to raise money for the Employees' Spouse and Dependent Scholarship Program endowment.
Cox, the former director of publications for University Relations, retired in 2010, after more than 33 years of service to the university. Her research skills are well-known; she authored an online update of the university's history and historical data book and was the longtime writer of Virginia Tech Magazine's In Retrospect section, which profiled individuals whose names grace buildings across campus.
Blending a taste of history with a selection of recipes from the presidential residence, the book features recipes for appetizers, salads, breads, cereals, soups, sauces, entrées, vegetables, fruit dishes, and desserts prepared at The Grove; a history of the residence, built in 1902; recipes dating back to the 1940s from Tech's first ladies; and menus for events during the Burruss, Newman, McComas, Torgersen, and Steger administrations.
Additionally, short biographies of chefs Mike and Josef and the 10 presidents who lived in the Southern Colonial Revival-style house accompany information on selecting food, using salt blocks in cooking, historic campus recipes, definitions of words used in the recipes, and an index. Photographs of dishes prepared from the recipes and historic photographs highlight the text.
The book is available at the University Bookstore and at Volume Two Bookstore.
Fall 2012
BOOK NOTES
Tiffany Trent (English '95, M.A. '97), communications coordinator, Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, "The Unnaturalists," young-adult fantasy, Simon & Schuster.
Dwayne A. Bennett (marketing '87), "The Seven Winning Ways to College Success," academic and career advice, RATHSI Publishing LLC.
George A. Bowers Sr. (agricultural education '86), "Blessings: A Collection of Modern Parables," religion, self-published.
Dorothy B. Durband (Ph.D. housing, interior design, and residential management '00) co-editor, "Student Financial Literacy: Campus-Based Program Development," higher education, Springer.
Tom Finton (communication '77), "The Folks Back Home Won't Believe This: Memoirs of a Concerned Officer ROTC to Vietnam," memoir, military, CreateSpace.
Krista Gallagher (human nutrition, foods, and exercise '03) and Kris Schoels, "A Taste of Virginia Tech," cookbook, Mascot Books.
Lawton Grinter (M.S. forestry '02), "I Hike: Mostly True Stories from 10,000 Miles of Hiking," memoir, Grand Mesa Press.
Michael P. Maxwell (finance '90), "Inside the Minds: Strategies for Consumer Bankruptcy Trustees," finance, Aspatore Books.
Mike Michalowicz (finance '93), "The Pumpkin Plan: A Simple Strategy to Grow a Remarkable Business in Any Field," business strategy, Penguin Group.
Wendy Ostroff (M.S. psychology '98, Ph.D. '00), "Understanding How Young Children Learn: Bringing the Science of Child Development to the Classroom," education, psychology, ASCD.
Christal Presley (English '99, M.Ed. '00), "Thirty Days with My Father," memoir, PTSD and veterans, Health Communications Inc.
David M. Smith (finance '83, Ph.D. '89), co-editor, "Institutional Money Management: An Inside Look at Strategies, Players, and Practices," finance, John Wiley & Sons.
Paul Sybert (electrical engineering '65), "The Kindness of Strangers: Treasures of the Heart," memoir, religion, recovery, iUniverse.
Thomas T. Wiatt (civil engineering technology '80), "The Promised Land," travel, memoir, PublishAmerica.
Steve Rasnic Tem (English education '73), "Deadfall Hotel," horror, Solaris.
L.A. Lyons (English '07), "The Connection," young-adult paranormal, Charles Town Publishing.
