Best of
Food-Writing

2006

Memories of Philippine Kitchens


Amy Besa - 2006
    This work brings the Philippine Islands to life through the stories behind the dishes and their traditional cooking techniques.

The Devil in the Kitchen: Sex, Pain, Madness and the Making of a Great Chef


Marco Pierre White - 2006
    In the UK, White's brilliant cooking and high-wattage antics have made him a legend: the first British chef (and the youngest chef anywhere) to win three Michelin stars, a chain-smoking, pot-throwing, multiply married culinary genius whose fierce devotion to food and restaurants has been the only constant in a life of tabloid-ready turmoil. In The Devil in the Kitchen, he tells the story of his life in food, spanning his apprenticeship with Albert and Michel Roux, his wild years in the bacchanal of 1980s Chelsea, his ferocious pursuit of the highest Michelin rating, and his "retirement career" as a hugely successful restaurateur. With cameos from the likes of Michael Caine, Madonna, and Damien Hirst, The Devil in the Kitchen leaves no dish unserved, relating the backroom antics, the blood feuds, and the passion for great food that have driven London's greatest restaurants for decades.

Second Helpings of Roast Chicken


Simon Hopkinson - 2006
    There is a section on apples with a perfect apple tart recipe, a section on curry recipes with Constance Spry's original Coronation chicken salad dressing and a section on duck, with recipes for Braised duck with peas and classic Roast duck and apple sauce. There are also recipes for Pear and ginger sponge, 'a good' Waldorf salad, Armenian lamb pilaf, Baked whole plaice with lemon butter sauce and what is, quite simply, the best Bloody Mary.Roast Chicken and Other Stories was voted the most useful cookbook of all time by Waitrose Food Illustrated and also won the Andre Simon and Glenfiddich awards. Second Helpings of Roast Chicken will provide new inspiration the many fans of Simon Hopkinson's sensible, practical, creative approach to cooking and love of good food, prepared to please rather than simply impress.

The Triumph of the Fungi: A Rotten History


Nicholas P. Money - 2006
    Today, coffee, cacao, and rubber are threatened by fungi throughout the tropics. Indeed, fungi have carved their way through the ages, attacking every plant that we cultivate, constantly exploiting new hosts. In The Triumph of the Fungi, Nicholas Money offers an intimate picture of these pernicious microbes, the scientists who have sought to control them, and the people directly impacted by the loss of forest trees and cash crops. Even with the development of fungicides and other scientific breakthroughs, fungi continue to be unstoppable - this is the story of their triumph.

Building Houses Out of Chicken Legs: Black Women, Food, and Power


Psyche A. Williams-Forson - 2006
    It has provided food and a source of income for their families, shaped a distinctive culture, and helped women define and exert themselves in racist and hostile environments. Psyche A. Williams-Forson examines the complexity of black women's legacies using food as a form of cultural work. While acknowledging the negative interpretations of black culture associated with chicken imagery, Williams-Forson focuses her analysis on the ways black women have forged their own self-definitions and relationships to the "gospel bird."Exploring material ranging from personal interviews to the comedy of Chris Rock, from commercial advertisements to the art of Kara Walker, and from cookbooks to literature, Williams-Forson considers how black women arrive at degrees of self-definition and self-reliance using certain foods. She demonstrates how they defy conventional representations of blackness in relationship to these foods and exercise influence through food preparation and distribution. Understanding these phenomena clarifies how present interpretations of blacks and chicken are rooted in a past that is fraught with both racism and agency. The traditions and practices of feminism, Williams-Forson argues, are inherent in the foods women prepare and serve.

One Hundred & One Beautiful Small Towns in France


Simonetta Greggio - 2006
    Gorgeously illustrated as well as informative, One Hundred and One Beautiful Small Towns of France is a journey through the French countryside, a place where the pace slows, locals engage strangers in conversation, and every town has a unique story to tell. Travel between the hilltop towns of the Central Massif and the Pyrenees to rockbound coastal fishing villages in Normandy and Brittany. Breathtaking full-color photographs create the perfect atmosphere as you discover these unexplored places, and descriptive sidebars offer invaluable information on local curiosities to indulge, unique artisanal products to buy, and age-old culinary specialties to sample. A detailed appendix is the perfect source on where to shop, sightsee, and dine—avec plaisir! Whether you are an armchair traveler or a Francophile planning another trip, this volume is the guide to the hidden treasures of France that proves once and for all that the heart of this popular travel destination lies in the countryside far from the grandeur and pomp of Paris.

Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany


Bill Buford - 2006
    Heat is the chronicle—sharp, funny, wonderfully exuberant—of his time spent as Batali’s “slave” and of his far-flung apprenticeships with culinary masters in Italy.In a fast-paced, candid narrative, Buford describes the frenetic experience of working in Babbo’s kitchen: the trials and errors (and more errors), humiliations and hopes, disappointments and triumphs as he worked his way up the ladder from slave to cook. He talks about his relationships with his kitchen colleagues and with the larger-than-life, hard-living Batali, whose story he learns as their friendship grows through (and sometimes despite) kitchen encounters and after-work all-nighters. Buford takes us to the restaurant in a remote Appennine village where Batali first apprenticed in Italy and where Buford learns the intricacies of handmade pasta . . . the hill town in Chianti where he is tutored in the art of butchery by Italy’s most famous butcher, a man who insists that his meat is an expression of the Italian soul . . . to London, where he is instructed in the preparation of game by Marco Pierre White, one of England’s most celebrated (or perhaps notorious) chefs. And throughout, we follow the thread of Buford’s fascinating reflections on food as a bearer of culture, on the history and development of a few special dishes (Is the shape of tortellini really based on a woman’s navel? And just what is a short rib?), and on the what and why of the foods we eat today.Heat is a marvelous hybrid: a richly evocative memoir of Buford’s kitchen adventure, the story of Batali’s amazing rise to culinary (and extra-culinary) fame, a dazzling behind-the-scenes look at the workings of a famous restaurant, and an illuminating exploration of why food matters. It is a book to delight in—and to savor.

The Governor-General’s Kitchen: Philippine Culinary Vignettes and Period Recipes, 1521–1935


Felice Prudente Sta. Maria - 2006
    This book contains the circumnavigators’ first picnic in the Philippines, efforts to stem hunger in a pioneering Spanish colony, carabao-horn spoons to maintain quiet during meals of nuns loyal to a vow of silence, banquets and balls of the well-heeled and the noble, devil’s ice, Christ’s food, seditious plottings at the King’s bakery in Intramuros, the mythical pygmy Dinahon who introduced the kalan and the palayok, the early lumpia, the origins of carinderia, and much more.

A Tale of 12 Kitchens: Family Cooking in Four Countries


Jake Tilson - 2006
     It might be a monk singing an awe-inspiring rendition of "Ave Maria" in a family-run restaurant in Cortona, Italy, or a master pancake flipper at a breakfast haven in New York City. Or a recipe for the divine gnocchi-like spinach dumplings served in Tuscany. With eighty recipes that are far-ranging and delicious, you'll learn to make black beans the Dominican way, couscous in the Tunisian fashion, and burritos flavored with Mexican beer and a chipotle chile. And as you cook your way through his book, you'll fall in love with Jake's artistic family and their obsession with cooking and eating. Great characters all and, like many of us, as likely to spend their vacations wandering food markets as museums, then returning home with overweight luggage crammed full of local foods. Anyone who thinks twice about tossing out a food can with a great label, who treasures stubs and receipts from travel for the experiences they evoke, or who feels nostalgic for kitchens of the past, will find a kindred soul in these pages. And if you're someone without an urge to collect, or who'd just as soon stay and cook closer to home, you will be every bit as delighted with this dazzling collection of recipes. Tilson presents his recipes in a remarkably original way. Subtly embedded in his wonderful descriptions, in tales told in his very engaging prose, is the reminder that cooking, sharing and eating meals with family and friends is of utmost importance in our lives.

The Food and Cooking of Malaysia & Singapore, Indonesia & the Philippines: Over 340 Recipes Shown Step by Step in 1400 Beautiful Photographs


Ghillie Basan - 2006
    80 classic recipes offer an authentic taste of South-east Asia for the Western kitchen.

Culinary Pleasures: Cook Books and the Transformation of British Cuisine


Nicola Humble - 2006
    From collared calf's head with buttered nettles to egg and avocado pate to fish and porcini pie; from soggy carrots to asparagus al dente, this book has it all.Punctuated throughout with recipes reflective of the period and evocative images, Culinary Pleasures is a complete delight for foodies everywhere and constitutes a fascinating record of Britain's changing cultural attitudes.

The Spice Story of India


Vikas Khanna - 2006
    -The New School Vikas Khanna presents a menu that fuses Indian spice with extraordinary imagination and technique. The Spice Story proves that he is a master of his cuisine. -David Waltuck Chanterelle, New York His dedication and passion make him a winner. -Henry Meer City Hall, New York We are proud to have Vikas Khanna in America. -Drew Nieporent Myriad Restaurant Group The Spice Story of India is a book unveiling the deepest flavors of India. -Andrew Chapman August, New York The best blend of modern and traditional Indian cooking. -Tandoori Magazine London Even Vikas Khanna's handwritten recipes are used as a reference at CIA. -Delores Custer Instructor, Culinary Institute of America In any part of the world, I am always craving for Vikas's food. -Aimee Mullins International star The best blend of charm, energy, and talent . . . The Spice Story of India proves it. -Gary A. Goldberg Culinary Arts, New York A heightened sense of taste - The New York Times

Autumn In Piemonte: Food And Travels In Italy's Northwest


Manuela Darling-Gansser - 2006
    Located between France, Switzerland, and the eastern portion of Italy, the area is home to some of the world's best produce. Secrets of the agriculturally rich Po Valley and tales of the spectacular capital of Torino are coupled with anecdotes about friends, family, and the importance of preparing and sharing good, quality food. Vivid color photographs further illustrate the splendor of the region.

Tiny Treats: Fun Foods to Make and Eat


Julia A. Monroe - 2006
    Creative recipes for tasty treats such as tiny pies, cakes and croissants are easy to make with easy-to-follow instructions and more than 100 colorful, step-by-step photographs. The plastic cover helps keep pages clean while cooking in the kitchen. Includes tips on how to display and serve treats, or give them as gifts.