So sorry to be gone so long, I finally sank without a trace beneath the onslaught of holidays, basement flooding, appliance death and minor plumbing disaster. I expect Agatha Christie would have sailed through writing page after page, in her hip waders, a pencil between her teeth and one behind each ear. Ah well. (One can't really argue it was great lit, but how in the world was that woman so prolific?!)
I have been reading a cookbook or two (or several) over the past year and just finished one that I especially liked so I figured an nice book post wouldn’t be out of order. So, to start with the most recent that really inspired me:
The Art of Eating In - http://theartofeatingin.com/
Cathy Erway writes passionately about food and the dilemma all working people have—the pull of take-out food convenience weighed against any reasonably good cooks certainty that they can often cook better and less expensive meals. I loved her sense of adventure, I loved having a peek into a single 20-something New Yorker’s life and the recipes look really good.
You can probably see a pattern at this point. I don’t like sterile cookbooks. I want as much of a sense of the person writing as I would get if I met them and got to talking about life and food. Molly Wizenberg writes about food and memory in a way that reminds me of a young M.F.K. Fisher. Ms Fisher once said ““When I write of hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it, and warmth and the love of it and it is all one.” Molly’s book intertwines food and family and love just beautifully.
On a completely different note, David Chang’s Momofuku http://www.amazon.com/Momofuku-David-Chang/dp/030745195X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1295115353&sr=1-1 gives a sense of one of the largest personalities in the food world today. Easily the most profane cookbook I’ve ever read, and a greatly entertaining read. Amazing recipes and ideas, although the amount of pork fat he strews round is not for the faint of heart. We’ve tried a few recipes and they are uniformly spectacular and unlike anything else you’ve ever eaten.
Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros http://www.amazon.com/Apples-Jam-Colorful-Tessa-Kiros/dp/0740769715/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1295115473&sr=1-1 is the sort of cookbook I am just learning to like, it has a tremendous focus on the beautiful and wanders over into the sentimental for a lot of the commentary. The recipes, most unusually, are organized by color. The index is adequate enough to make up for any confusion for the more traditionally minded searcher and the recipes are friendly homey food that is heavily influenced by Tessa’s European roots and travels.
All of these were pretty easily available at the local library, and it is really a delight to curl up with a cookbook in bed on a rainy winter evening and plan meals. I would love to hear of anything you’ve read lately that has made you happy and/or inspired.
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