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The Gastronomical Me

M. F. K. Fisher

The Gastronomical Me M. F. K. Fisher Amazon Price: $10.20
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A great book for readers of all backgrounds! 5 out of 5 stars.
29 of 29 people found this review helpful.

Do the former critics not read Tolstoy because he was a Count? I was born into a working class neighborhood in New York, and this is one of my favorite books. Being a gourmand is an enlightened point of view, a matter of personal taste. In my opinion this is Ms. Fisher's very best book. The writing, and the personality, are exquisite. Especially in the chapter about her Father and a childhood journey, and the discovery of her crush on a fellow boarding school student (female) and her love of oysters, at the same time! Am I the only one who feels that I've shared all of those wonderful meals with her when I put down this book? Great to pack along when you are traveling, even if you've read it before!

Editorial Review:

In 1929, a newly married M.F.K. Fisher said goodbye to a milquetoast American culinary upbringing and sailed with her husband to Dijon, where she tasted real French cooking for the first time. The Gastronomical Me is a chronicle of her passionate embrace of a whole new way of eating, drinking, and celebrating the senses. As she recounts memorable meals shared with an assortment of eccentric and fascinating characters, set against a backdrop of mounting pre-war tensions, we witness the formation not only of her taste but of her character and her prodigious talent.

The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection (Modern Library Paperbacks)

Robert Farrar Capon

The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection (Modern Library Paperbacks) Robert Farrar Capon Amazon Price: $10.17
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Full-throttle joy of living 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This is one of the most exceptional books I've read. Bold, funny, grumpy, and wise, it is a beautifully-written cookbook and dazzling radiance of commentary.

To read this fine book is like sitting on a stool in Capon's kitchen, listening to this old-school master talk (as he slow-cooks) on subjects as diverse as onions, knives, wine, love, dinner parties, and baking soda ("the Most Extraordinary Ordinary Thing in the World").

The thing I most appreciate about this book is its unapologetic, hurricane-force, declaration of JOY with life and life's Creator. "Supper of the Lamb" is almost operatic in its celebration of God, real foods, the earth, and wine. The book is a zero-tolerance zone for synthetic foods, ideas or people.

BE WARNED: "Supper of the Lamb" was first published 37 years ago. The language flow is so beautifully full that it's a little like eating lamb after decades of consuming malted milk balls and pork rinds.



Editorial Review:

From a passionate and talented chef who also happens to be an Episcopalian priest comes this surprising and thought-provoking treatise on everything from prayer to poetry to puff pastry. In The Supper of the Lamb, Capon talks about festal and ferial cooking, emerging as an inspirational voice extolling the benefits and wonders of old-fashioned home cooking in a world of fast food and prepackaged cuisine. This edition includes the original recipes and a new Introduction by Deborah Madison, the founder of Greens Restaurant in San Francisco and author of several cookbooks.

The Physiology of Taste (Penguin Classics)

Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

The Physiology of Taste (Penguin Classics) Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin Amazon Price: $12.00
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The standard English edition of a landmark eccentric classic 5 out of 5 stars.
19 of 23 people found this review helpful.

The standard edition of this work in the US, and a lively one. Jean-Anthelme de Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826) is known for this book and for pithy maxims like "Adam and Eve sold themselves for an apple. What would they have done for a truffled fowl?" (That of course in the days when the truffles that most people heard of were real ones, not chocolate candies that look like them; and also when the real ones were much more plentiful and less expensive.) Memorable are the wonderful anecdotes of the kindly old priest and his "austere" meatless menu ("The Curé's Omelet," with "theoretical notes" afterwards) and of Brillat's scheme at a country inn to enhance a humble dish. This wide-ranging book established its author as an original and knowledgeable voice in French food writing, to be compared with Carême and Grimod de la Reynière.

Brillat-Savarin, among other roles, was the basis of Marcell Rouff's _The Passionate Epicure,_ a fictional book gently combining food and sex (naturally, as a friend of mine remarked, since it's French), which was widely read in English when the translation appeared in 1962. Marcella Hazan and (I believe) Julia Child cited it in their cookbooks. In his preface to the 1962 Rouff, Lawrence Durrell (himself a fashionable author at that time) explained that many in the Brillat-Savarin family "died at the dinner table, fork in hand" and that Brillat's sister Pierrette, two months before her hundredth birthday, spoke at table what are to food fanatics easily the most famous last words ever: "Vite! Apportez-moi le dessert -- je sens que je vais passer!"

Fisher's translation and notes are a lively part of this edition of Brillat-Savarin (happily reprinted recently). Some booksellers offer newer editions by different English translators; I don't know why. This semi-scholarly translation and editing, executed in France during the post-war period described in her autobiographical _Two Towns in Provence,_ was the work that established Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher among US gastronomic writers. Her later status as Official Food Celebrity encouraged journalists to cite her automatically (whether they had read her work or not), but at least this time, publicity and merit coincide.

Editorial Review:

Brillat-Savarin's unique, exuberant collection of dishes, experiences, reflections, history and philosophy raised gastronomy to an art form. First published in France in 1825, this remarkable book reflected a new era in French cuisine: the advent of the restaurant, which gave the bourgeoisie the opportunity to select their dishes with precision and anticipation. Yet the author also gives his views on taste, diet and maintaining a healthy weight, on digestion, sleep, dreams and being a gourmand. Witty, shrewd and anecdotal, "The Physiology of Taste" not only contains some remarkable recipes, it is an elegant argument for the pleasures of good food and a hearty appetite.

Food And Culture: A Reader

Counihan Carole

Food And Culture: A Reader Counihan Carole Amazon Price: $49.45
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Interesting collection. 5 out of 5 stars.
22 of 23 people found this review helpful.

Food and culture are examined in 28 essays by noted anthropologists and other social scientists in this uneven but valuable survey.
Reading some of the academese is like treading molasses, but the collection is redeemed by such gems as Brumberg's examination of the Victorian roots of anorexia nervosa, Sobo's study of the social meanings of obesity in Jamaica, and Harris' "The Abominable Pig". Other writers explore such issues as breast-feeding, "industrial food", and hunger.
Very interesting and worthwhile for those interested in the deeper meanings of food and eating.

(The numerical rating above is an ineradicable feature of this page. This reviewer does nor employ numerical ratings.)

Editorial Review:

Food and Culture: A Reader, is a solidly established classroom and reference text for scholars and students across the humanities and social sciences. It has been assigned in courses in anthropology, cultural studies, folklore, food studies, history, literature, philosophy, sociology, archeology, American studies, and more. Food and Culture remains significant because it demonstrates the centrality of cultural anthropology to the study of food. It is unique in providing an interdisciplinary collection of classic and cutting-edge articles in the field of food and culture studies that combine theory with ethnographic and historical data.

Plenty: Eating Locally on the 100-Mile Diet

Alisa Smith, J.B. Mackinnon

Plenty: Eating Locally on the 100-Mile Diet Alisa Smith, J.B. Mackinnon Amazon Price: $11.16
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The remarkable, amusing and inspiring adventures of a Canadian couple who make a year-long attempt to eat foods grown and produced within a 100-mile radius of their apartment.

When Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon learned that the average ingredient in a North American meal travels 1,500 miles from farm to plate, they decided to launch a simple experiment to reconnect with the people and places that produced what they ate. For one year, they would only consume food that came from within a 100-mile radius of their Vancouver apartment. The 100-Mile Diet was born.

The couple’s discoveries sometimes shook their resolve. It would be a year without sugar, Cheerios, olive oil, rice, Pizza Pops, beer, and much, much more. Yet local eating has turned out to be a life lesson in pleasures that are always close at hand. They met the revolutionary farmers and modern-day hunter-gatherers who are changing the way we think about food. They got personal with issues ranging from global economics to biodiversity. They called on the wisdom of grandmothers, and immersed themselves in the seasons. They discovered a host of new flavours, from gooseberry wine to sunchokes to turnip sandwiches, foods that they never would have guessed were on their doorstep.

The 100-Mile Diet struck a deeper chord than anyone could have predicted, attracting media and grassroots interest that spanned the globe. The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating tells the full story, from the insights to the kitchen disasters, as the authors transform from megamart shoppers to self-sufficient urban pioneers. The 100-Mile Diet is a pathway home for anybody, anywhere.

Call me naive, but I never knew that flour would be struck from our 100-Mile Diet. Wheat products are just so ubiquitous, “the staff of life,” that I had hazily imagined the stuff must be grown everywhere. But of course: I had never seen a field of wheat anywhere close to Vancouver, and my mental images of late-afternoon light falling on golden fields of grain were all from my childhood on the Canadian prairies. What I was able to find was Anita’s Organic Grain & Flour Mill, about 60 miles up the Fraser River valley. I called, and learned that Anita’s nearest grain suppliers were at least 800 miles away by road. She sounded sorry for me. Would it be a year until I tasted a pie?
—From The 100-Mile Diet


From the Hardcover edition.

Insatiable: Tales from a Life of Delicious Excess

Gael Greene

Insatiable: Tales from a Life of Delicious Excess Gael Greene Amazon Price: $11.89
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

FLIES IN THIS SOUP 1 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

THERE IS GOOD SCHMUTZ AND BAD SCHMUTZ. THIS BOOK IS EITHER FICTIONAL, OR BAD SCHMUTZ. THERE ARE GLARING ERRORS TO BOOT. CONTRARY TO THE AUTHOR'S HUGE MISTAKE, THE WIDOW OF THE FAMOUS RESTAURATEUR HENRI SOULE WAS UNSUCCESSFUL IN ALL OF HER LAWSUITS TO GET PART OF HIS ESTATE. AND WHY WOULD THE AUTHOR INCESSANTLY REFER TO SOULE'S LIFE PARTNER, MRS SPALTER, AS HIS "MISTRESS", OVER AND OVER? THIS ELDERLY COUPLE SHARED THEIR LIFE AND WORK 24 HOURS A DAY EVERY YEAR. ONE REFERENCE WAS BAD ENOUGH, WHY HAMMER IT OVER AND OVER?

AND THE WORD IS NOT "MATERIZED", IT IS "MADERIZED", THAT IS, WINE THAT IS OXIDIZED DUE HEAT AND TURNED CARMEL COLORED. EVERYONE WHO DRINKS OR READS ABOUT WINES KNOWS THAT.

THE CONCENSUS OF ALL REVIEWS TO DATE ALL ECHO THE SAME BASIC SUMMARY, THIS IS SCHMUTZY WITHOUT BEING FUN.

Editorial Review:

With her passion for fine food and, above all, her appetite for love and life, Gael Greene traces her rise from a Velveeta cocoon in the Midwest to powerful critic of New York magazine. Love and food, foreplay and fork play, haute cuisine and social history--all become inextricably linked as the author lifts the lid on her most provocative subject yet--herself. Along the way there are tales of her saucy erotic adventures and intimate portraits of the culinary icons of our time--Julia Child, André Soltner, James Beard, among others--and revealing dissections of New York's legendary "in" spots, including Elaine's, Le Bernardin, Le Cirque, Odeon, and Balthazar.

Heart of the Home: Notes From a Vineyard Kitchen

Susan Branch

Heart of the Home: Notes From a Vineyard Kitchen Susan Branch Amazon Price: $17.15
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Simply Wonderful! 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

This is my favorite Susan Branch cookbook. I have made many of the dishes, with some of my favorites being the stuffed artichokes, gazpacho ( both of which are perfect for a light summer dinner), banana cream pie (Dad loved it for father's day), blueberry pie, apple crisp (on a cool fall evening), the cucumber-dill dressing (refreshing and wonderful for summer), home-made mayonnaise, chocolate cream puffs(made for a tea...looked elegant and was so easy to make), and the stuffed french bread (easy and fun to take to a potluck). I lean toward the dessert sections and appetizers the most, but all of the recipes are delicious. I love her notes about the dishes and little quotes and drawings throughout the book. This one is definitely a keeper and would be a great gift also. I now own all of her books and this is by far the one that I use the most.
Treat yourself....or someone you know...you'll be glad you did.

Editorial Review:

With an emphasis on simple preparation and fresh foods, Susan Branch has created the perfect combination of illustration and prose and a celebration of food sure to become a classic of homespun delights. Watercolor illustrations.

The Raw and the Cooked: Adventures of a Roving Gourmand

Jim Harrison

The Raw and the Cooked: Adventures of a Roving Gourmand Jim Harrison Amazon Price: $11.05
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Jim Harrison is one of this country's most beloved writers, a muscular, brilliantly economic stylist with a salty wisdom. For more than twenty years, he has also been writing some of the best essays on food around, now collected in a volume that caused the Santa Fe New Mexican to exclaim: "To read this book is to come away convinced that Harrison is a flat-out genius -- one who devours life with intensity, living it roughly and full-scale, then distills his experiences into passionate, opinionated prose. Food, in this context, is more than food: It is a metaphor for life." From his legendary Smart and Esquire columns, to present-day pieces including a correspondence with French gourmet Gerard Oberle, fabulous pieces on food in France and America for Men's Journal, and a paean to the humble meatball, The Raw and the Cooked is a nine-course meal that will satisfy every appetite. "Our 'poet laureate of appetite' [Harrison] may be, but the collected essays here reflect much more." -- John Gamino, The Dallas Morning News "[A] culinary combo plate of Hunter S. Thompson, Ernest Hemingway, Julian Schnabel, and Sam Peckinpah...." -- Jane and Michael Stern, The New York Times Book Review "Jim Harrison is the Henry Miller of food writing. His passion is infectious." -- Jeffrey Trachtenberg, The Wall Street Journal

Southern Belly: The Ultimate Food Lover's Companion to the South

John T. Edge

Southern Belly: The Ultimate Food Lover's Companion to the South John T. Edge Amazon Price: $10.17
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Good food 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Fun book - I hope to take a trip sometime soon and visit some of the places mentioned in the book

Great book but check your copy -- mine was missing pages! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Great book but check your copy, mine was missing pages 179-210.... Mississippi, the best part! ;-)

Editorial Review:

John T. Edge, "the Faulkner of Southern food" (the Miami Herald), reveals a South hidden in plain sight, where restaurants boast family pedigrees and serve supremely local specialties found nowhere else. From backdoor home kitchens to cinder-block cafés, he introduces you to cooks who have been standing tall by the stove since Eisenhower was in office. While revealing the stories behind their food, he shines a bright light on places that have become Southern institutions.

In this fully updated and expanded edition, with recipes throughout, Edge travels from chicken shack to fish camp, from barbecue stand to pie shed. Pop this handy paperback in the glove box to take along on your next road trip. And even if you never get in the car, you'll enjoy the most savory history that the South has to offer.

Monet's Table: The Cooking Journals of Claude Monet

Claire Joyes

Monet's Table: The Cooking Journals of Claude Monet Claire Joyes Amazon Price: $27.01
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

One of the most influential painters of modern times, Claude Monet lived for half his life in the famous house at Giverny. It was after moving here in 1883 with his future second wife, Alice Hoschedé, and their eight children that Monet's work finally achieved recognition. His growing success meant that he was able to indulge his passion for comfort and good living.

Family meals, special celebrations, luncheons with friends, picnics: all reflected the Monets' love of good food. Just as the inspiration for many of Monet's paintings was drawn from his beloved gardens and the surrounding Normandy landscape, so the meals served at Giverny were based upon superb ingredients from the kitchen-garden (a work of art in itself), the farmyard, and the French countryside.

A moody, reserved, and very private man whose daily routine revolved totally around his painting, Monet nevertheless enjoyed entertaining his friends, many of whom were leading figures of the time. As well as his fellow Impressionists -- in particular Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley, Degas and Cézanne -- other regular guests included Rodin, Whistler, Maupassant, Valéry, and one of Monet's closest friends, the statesman Clemenceau.

They came to dine in almost ritual form, first visiting Monet's studio and the greenhouses, then having lunch at 11:30 (the time the family always dined, to enable Monet to make the most of the afternoon light). Tea would later be served under the lime trees or near the pond. Guests were never invited to dinner; because Monet went to bed very early in order to rise at dawn. All the guests were familiar with Monet's rigid timetable.

The recipes collected in his cooking journals include dishes Monet had encountered in his travels or had come across in restaurants he frequented in Paris as well as recipes from friends, such as Cézanne's bouillabaisse and Millet's petits pains.

For this book, the author Claire Joyes, wife of Madame Monet's great-grandson, has spent years selecting the Monets' favorite recipes and writing a wonderfully evocative introductory text. All of the recipes have been artfully prepared and brought back to life in Monet's own kitchen by master chef Joël Robuchon.

Illustrated with sumptuous reproductions of Monet's paintings, spectacular original four-color photographs of Giverny, selected shots of finished dishes, and facsimile pages from the notebooks themselves, this book provides a fascinating and unique insight into the turn-of-the-century lifestyle of one of the world's most celebrated Impressionist painters.


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