November 16, 2021
By: Dwayne Page
For 34 years she owned and operated Sundance Restaurant & Catering, one of the most popular dining places in town but since she retired and closed the business three years ago, Karen Carpenter has been working on her first ever cookbook called “The Best of Sundance” which is expected to be available by December 1.
Karen has scheduled three local book signings next month. The first will be at F.Z. Webb and Sons Pharmacy, Gifts & Soda Foundation on Friday, December 3 from 11:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. She will also host a signing at Justin Potter Library on Tuesday, December 7 from 3-6 p.m. and at the County Complex on Thursday, December 9 from 4-8 p.m.
The cost of the cookbook is $20.
Carpenter said while she is excited about the new cookbook she is equally thrilled about the opportunity to visit with old friends and customers again during the book signings.
“I miss all the people from when I was in business. I still see them in Walmart and other places but they were like my family”.
Although its been a work in progress for quite a while, Karen said her dream of producing a cookbook has been a labor of love
“I have worked on it for a long time but I have had some help. Karen Caplinger has worked side by side with me and I could not have done it without her. We had to overcome some hurdles with things like finding a publisher but we finally worked that out,” said Carpenter.
“The Best of Sundance” includes a few stories and helpful hints but its largely filled with Karen’s famous recipes that made her restaurant entrees so popular.
“The book contains mainly my original recipes. I didn’t want to put a lot of stuff in there that they could go to any other cookbook or go online and get,” said Carpenter.
“A lot of people have asked me about my house dressing, the honey onion Sundance dressing, blue cheese dressing, honey mustard dressing, thousand island dressing and barbeque sauce. Those recipes are all in the book,” she said.
“We sold inordinate amounts of chicken and dressing at the restaurant so my dressing recipe is in there. I had a smoker so I smoked ribs, pork chops, and chicken breasts. The hickory smoked chicken breasts were one of the all time favorites and I used the chicken breast to make the Karen salad which was also one of my top sellers. On weekends we sold prime ribs, coconut shrimp, and seafood salads which were also big favorites. We had something different every day and a special menu on weekends. It was a pretty extensive menu for a small restaurant,” said Carpenter.
Of course the cookbook would not be complete without Karen’s delectable dessert recipes.
“One of the best sellers over the years has been my Jewish brownies. That recipe is in there. My chocolate and coconut pies were very popular and of course the mousse cakes including the chocolate, tropical, and strawberry along with my cheesecakes,” Carpenter continued.
Karen said her love for cooking came at an early age.
“I learned from my mother. She was a wonderful cook. Later I was a cook on a ship. My husband was the captain and I was the cook and first mate. He called me the admiral. That’s where I developed the Sundance dressing. The honey onion,” she said.
Karen opened Sundance in 1984 at the old Town and Country Shopping Center (what is now the county complex) but she relocated to downtown three years later.
“When I opened Sundance it was mostly a health food store. We sold vitamins and herbs with a little bit of food but as time went on the demand for the food grew and the vitamins went away. I later decided to be open on Friday and Saturday nights and it just grew and grew. I was having recipes and foods that were different from other restaurants in town and people loved it. I loved it too because I love cooking for people who like to eat,” said Carpenter.