Gastronomy Books - Page 20

More Home Cooking: A Writer Returns to the Kitchen

Laurie Colwin

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Great food writing by Laurie Colwin (sigh, how we miss her) 5 out of 5 stars.
15 of 15 people found this review helpful.

Laurie Colwin was a talented writer and had a real feel for the essential qualities of great food. Though not a chef or professional cook, she used her writing skills to delve into the mysteries of what makes good food great. And she did that with some of the funniest, sharpest, best writing since M.F.K. Fisher.

Alas, Laurie died in 1992, much too young, so you have to savor every scrap of writing she left us, in essays for Gourmet Magazine, and these, in her Home Cooking volumes. Colwin wrote some novels as well, but really, her food writing is what I appreciate the most.as

Colwin's writing is opinionated and passionate: she goes into raptures over things most 7 year olds (and quite a few adults) would gag over; succotash, beets, goat's milk yogurt. Yet her sense of what makes food essentially wonderful will have even the most confirmed vegetable-a-phobe at least thinking about trying her succotash recipe or maybe even looking at a raw beetroot with calm impartiality. In case you are certain you will still shun beets and lima beans, at least read her description of how to roast a duck. It's splendid.

Editorial Review:

More Home Cooking, like its predecessor, Home Cooking, is an expression of Laurie Colwin's lifelong passion for cuisine. In this delightful mix of recipes, advice, and anecdotes, she writes about often overlooked food items such as beets, pears, black beans, and chutney. With down-to-earth charm and wit, Colwin also discusses the many pleasures and problems of cooking at home in essays such as "Desserts That Quiver," "Turkey Angst," and "Catering on One Dollar a Head." As informative as it is entertaining, More Home Cooking is a delicious treat for anyone who loves to spend time in the kitchen.

The Cook and the Gardener : A Year of Recipes and Writings for the French Countryside

Amanda Hesser

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Winner of the Best Book on France by a Non-French Writer Award at the Versailles Cookbook Fair; finalist for the Julia Child Award, the Gourmet Magazine Award, and "Best Cookbook of the Year" sponsored by IACP; and nominated in the international category of the KitchenAid Book Awards of the James Beard Foundation Awards. The unique, award-winning cookbook--a collection of seasonal recipes from a traditional French garden. A unique blend of stylish cookbook and earthy garden story, here is a collection of 250 recipes derived from a centuries-old French kitchen garden. The stunning debut of a lively new culinary voice, The Cook and the Gardener chronicles a year in the life of the walled kitchen garden at Chateau du Fey and its taciturn, resourceful, charmingly sly peasant caretaker. Using the fruits and vegetables harvested from Monsieur Milbert's garden, Amanda Hesser creates four seasons of recipes tied ineluctably to the land and the all-but-forgotten practices upheld by Milbert. Hesser's sublimely simple recipes--each with accessible ingredients and clear notes and instructions--also tell a story. They are a month-by-month record of the ingredients available to her, so that this cookbook also serves as an almanac for cooks. Special "Basics" sections at the opening of each season lay the culinary groundwork for the recipes that follow. Tips on how to buy, store, and prepare particular vegetables, fruits, and herbs are presented in margin notes to recipes. By bringing the kitchen closer to the garden, The Cook and the Gardener gives home cooks a new understanding of the produce they have on hand, whether from the supermarket, the farmer's market, or their own gardens. At the same time, it captures the quirky customs and wily wisdom of a vanishing way of life in provincial France.

1,001 Foods To Die For

Andrews McMeel Publishing, Madison Books

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The Ultimate Food Bible 5 out of 5 stars.
15 of 15 people found this review helpful.

I browse at cookbooks in bookstores as a hobby. I am the proud owner of some titles among the bestsellers' list of Amazon's food, cooking, and wine category but I have never encountered something like this before. I received an email from Amazon offering me to pre-order this item a few months ago. I am so glad that I had stuck it out since its release has been postponed again and again. When the book arrived, I didn't know what to expect besides its cover. I was amazed. This hefty book is the compendium of all delicious foods from all over the world. As I flipped through the pages, it felt like I was touring the world and experiencing the different exotic food each country has to offer. Majority of the foods are foreign sounding. However, there are some as basic as crab cakes, lemon chicken, short ribs, angel food cake, baked cheesecake, lentil soup, etc. The list is broken down into these food groups:
appetizers and small food
soups and salads
noodles and rice
fish and seafood
poultry and game
meats
beans, cheese, and vegetables
desserts
bread, cookies, and patries
beverages
I don't own the other book entitled "1001 Foods You Must Eat Before You Die", so I am curious if they contain more or less the same things. I am very satisfied with this one I have though and I intend to use it as a check list. I will try to taste as many of these foods as I can in my lifetime.

Now, a more critical perspective. I would like to have bigger and more number of photographs... but I suppose the book will be thicker than its 960 pages if that is the case.Hmmm! There are a few foods enlisted that don't have photographs to support them but overall, the book is fine for a visual person like me. It's hard to believe that this is the work of one single person. It's an encyclopedia for an adventurous foodie like me. Imagine how exciting it'll be to have some fantastic food for the first time in one's life and to be informed of its history. Each food has its story of how it came to be.

Editorial Review:

Every epicure seeks the very best-of-the-best foods the world has to offer, from extra-virgin olive oil and artisanal cheeses to rich, dark chocolate. 1,001 Foods To Die For is an essential list for food lovers, featuring luscious photographs and descriptions of must-eat foods from soup to nuts and from all over the world. This food bible includes everything from simple classics like foie gras and aged aceto balsamico to more exotic fare such as blowfish sushi or gratin Dauphinois. The book's contributors include more than eighty renowned culinary professionals--chefs, writers, critics, and historians--share their expert opinions on the delicious dishes and cuisines that must be experienced at least once in a lifetime. With lots of informational sidebars, and recipes for some of the featured dishes, 1,001 Foods To Die For is the ultimate culinary catalog for foodies everywhere.

Secrets of the Red Lantern: Stories and Vietnamese Recipes from the Heart

Pauline Nguyen, Luke Nguyen

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

"In my family, food is our language. Food enables us to communicate the things we find so hard to say." --Pauline Nguyen

Overflowing with sumptuous but simply prepared dishes that have been passed down through generations of the Nguyen family, Secrets of the Red Lantern is part Vietnamese cookbook and part family memoir.

More than 275 traditional Vietnamese recipes are presented alongside a visual narrative of food and family photographs that follows the family's escape from war-torn Vietnam to the successful founding of the Red Lantern restaurant.

At the heart of each recipe is the power of food to elevate and transform. From a recipe of cari de that sparks a memory to the distinctly bitter melon soup that says, "I'm sorry," Secrets of the Red Lantern shares the rich culinary heritage of the Nguyen family and their personal story of reconciliation and success.

Recipes like Bun Rieu (Crab and Tomato Soup with Vermicelli Noodles), Goi Du Du (Green Papaya Salad with Prawns and Pork), and Che Khoai Mon (Black Sticky Rice with Taro), unlock the family's secrets and see the family persevere through homesickness, heartache, and the upheavals of change to finally experience growth and celebration. The result is a beautiful journey through Vietnamese history, culture, and tradition.

Hog and Hominy: Soul Food from Africa to America (Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History)

Fredrick Douglass Opie

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Frederick Opie's culinary history is an insightful portrait of the social and religious relationship between people of African descent and their cuisine. Beginning with the Atlantic slave trade and concluding with the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s, Opie composes a global history of African American foodways and the concept of soul itself, revealing soul food to be an amalgamation of West and Central African social and cultural influences as well as the adaptations blacks made to the conditions of slavery and freedom in the Americas.

Soul is the style of rural folk culture, embodying the essence of suffering, endurance, and survival. Soul food comprises dishes made from simple, inexpensive ingredients that remind black folk of their rural roots. Sampling from travel accounts, periodicals, government reports on food and diet, and interviews with more than thirty people born before 1945, Opie reconstructs an interrelated history of Moorish influence on the Iberian Peninsula, the African slave trade, slavery in the Americas, the emergence of Jim Crow, the Great migration, the Great Depression, and the Civil Rights and Black Power movements. His grassroots approach reveals the global origins of soul food, the forces that shaped its development, and the distinctive cultural collaborations that occurred among Africans, Asians, Europeans, and Americans throughout history.

Hog and Hominy traces the class- and race-inflected attitudes toward black folk's food in the African diaspora as it evolved in Brazil, the Caribbean, the American South, and such northern cities as Chicago and New York, mapping the complex cultural identity of African Americans as it developed through eating habits over hundreds of years.

For the Royal Table: Dining at the Palace

Kathryn Jones

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Editorial Review:

A lavishly illustrated behind-the-scenes look at three hundred and fifty years of royal banquets, from Charles II to the present day.

The Seduction Cookbook: Culinary Creations For Lovers

Diane Brown

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Whether you're planning for the slow seduction of a three-course meal or an imaginative way to lead up to the real main course, here are dozens of delicious recipes and creative tips for that perfect night in - and the morning after.

In The Seduction Cookbook, author Diane Brown offers much more than romantic recipe secrets. She teaches how to heighten passion through appetizing anticipation, and shares tempting techniques for preparing and serving her creations. Inside you'll find appetizers that will induce a little "fork-play" such as Chile Lime Shrimp; Rocket Salad with Black Mission Figs; and Ahi Tuna Ceviche with Advocado. Erotic entrees include Scallops with Asparagus and Ginger Beurre Blance and Sausages in Red Wine. And if you make it to dessert, try replacing low-carb with "low-garb" by enjoying the sweet sensation of Strawberries Stuffed with Mascarpone Cheese and Dark Chocolate or Poached Pears in Cardamom Syrup, among many others.

Diane Brown also features menus for special occasions, dishes you can make together and intimate serving suggestions. So relax, slip into something a little more comfortable. With these simple recipes The Seduction Cookbookwill surely satisfy in more ways than one.

This hardcover has been redesigned, repackaged, and includes "seduction tips" for each recipe not available in the paperback.

With a Measure of Grace: The Story and Recipes of a Small Town Restaurant

Blake Spalding, Jennifer Castle, Lavinia Spalding

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A must for your kitchen and your library 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.

Reader Beware! If you open this book to look for a recipe, make sure you have the rest of the day to spend reading. It will draw you in like your favorite Novel and soon you will be cooking in Hell's Backbone Grill. It should be first on your gift list for anyone you know who cooks, reads or eats.

Boulder is to towns as HBG is to restaurants as this book is to cookbooks. 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful.

This book does contain recipes, and they are very good. But it is much more than a cookbook. It is a meditation on food as a manifestation of place, of values, of mindful living... I cannot read this book without glimpsing the transformative power of right intention. It is really the story of how two remakable people built a community out of little more than their vision and their commitment to rightness. It documents grace through the story of a rural restaurant, and achieves a sort of modest scriptural value in the process, humble but beautiful, and worth reading.

I recommend this book highly. Read it with a chocolate-chile cream pot in hand.

beautiful book, delicious local food 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

i first heard about hell's backbone from the mighty foods blog. since i was in the process of planning a trip to the southwest, i knew i had to visit this restaurant. it is in such a beautiful place; boulder utah, in the grand staircase escalante national monument. the restaurant is truly special, with a wonderful ambiance and of course lovingly prepared, delicious, local, seasonal food. of course i took home a copy of the book and have been enjoying it every since. you will not be disappointed! if you ever get the chance, visit hell's backbone and experience the lovely food and environment first hand.

The Measure of Her Powers: An M.F.K. Fisher Reader

M.F.K. Fisher

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A good introduction to the Joys of M.F.K. Fisher 5 out of 5 stars.
25 of 25 people found this review helpful.

This book of autobiographical essays is the best introduction to the writings of M.F.K. Fisher that I know of. I've read a lot of her books, and this remains a favorite. She gives us glimpses into the archaic and loving rituals of French cuisine, as practiced by the Burgundians, the strangeness of being a teenage girl in a cloister-like California boarding school in the 20's, and being the young, newly-married wife of a poetry scholar in Strasbourg.

The ironic thing about Fisher is that her husband was the literary scholar (Al Fisher wrote a monumental epic poem that vanished upon publication.) Her writing, however, is some of the best American prose; honest, perceptive, introspective and biting. Her work endures and provides more than just a viewpoint on cooking; it is a wonderful glimpse into pre-World War 2 Europe and America.

Editorial Review:

Spanning six decades and more than twenty books by our most famous epicure, The Measure of Her Powers reveals the sharp wit and affectionate humor of Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher.

Gathering journals, letters, translations, and selections from her many books, The Measure of Her Powers showcases Fisher's versatility, providing new readers and loyal fans alike with a sampler from her wide-ranging body of work.

M.F.K. Fisher is a perennial literary favorite. Her evolution from an uncertain young woman to a feisty elder with opinions about everything continues to fascinate readers who understand the complexities of life's hungers.

Slow Food Revolution: A New Culture for Eating and Living

Carlo Petrini, Gigi Padovani

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Founded in Italy in 1986 by charismatic Italian gourmand Carlo Petrini, Slow Food has grown into a phenomenally successful movement against the uniformity and compromised quality of fast food and supermarket chains. With nearly 85,000 members in 45 countries around the world, Slow Food has developed from a small, grassroots group into the most influential gastronomic movement in the world. Known as the "WWF of endangered food and wine," Slow Food not only focuses on a slower, more natural and organic lifestyle that complements nature, but also works to preserve dying culinary traditions, conserve natural biodiversity, and protect fading agricultural practices threatened in this age of mass consumerism. The book takes the reader on a gastronomic journey through the practices and traditions of the world's ethnic cuisines, from the artisanal cheeses of Italy to the oysters of Cape May and the native American turkey. It includes testimonies from Slow Food representatives—such as Alice Waters of Chez Panisse—illustrating exactly what they are doing—and what still needs to be done—to preserve them.