Book picks similar to
Chop Suey, USA: The Story of Chinese Food in America by Yong Chen
history
non-fiction
food
nonfiction
Miriam's Kitchen
Elizabeth Ehrlich - 1997
She identified with Jewish cultural attitudes, but not with the institutions; she had fond memories of her Jewish grandmothers, but she found their religious practices irrelevant to her life. It wasn't until she entered the kitchen--and world--of her mother-in-law, Miriam, a Holocaust survivor, that Ehrlich began to understand the importance of preserving the traditions of the past. As Ehrlich looks on, Miriam methodically and lovingly prepares countless kosher meals while relating the often painful stories of her life in Poland and her immigration to America. These stories trigger a kind of religious awakening in Ehrlich, who--as she moves tentatively toward reclaiming the heritage she rejected as a young woman--gains a new appreciation of life?s possibilities, choices, and limitations.
The Potlikker Papers: A Food History of the Modern South
John T. Edge - 2017
Beginning with the pivotal role of cooks in the Civil Rights movement, noted authority John T. Edge narrates the South's journey from racist backwater to a hotbed of American immigration. In so doing, he traces how the food of the poorest Southerners has become the signature trend of modern American haute cuisine. This is a people's history of the modern South told through the lens of food.Food was a battleground in the Civil Rights movement. Access to food and ownership of culinary tradition was a central part of the long march to racial equality. THE POTLIKKER PAPERS begins in 1955 as black cooks and maids fed and supported the Montgomery Bus Boycott and it concludes in 2015 as a Newer South came to be, enriched by the arrival of immigrants from Lebanon to Vietnam to all points in between.Along the way, THE POTLIKKER PAPERS tracks many different evolutions of Southern identity --first in the 1970s, from the back-to-the-land movement that began in the Tennessee hills to the rise of fast and convenience foods modeled on Southern staples. Edge narrates the gentrification that gained traction in North Carolina and Louisiana restaurants of the 1980s and the artisanal renaissance that reconnected farmers and cooks in the 1990s and in the 00s. He profiles some of the most extraordinary and fascinating figures in Southern food, including Fannie Lou Hamer, Colonel Sanders, Edna Lewis, Paul Prudhomme, Craig Claiborne, Sean Brock, and many others.Like many great provincial dishes around the world, potlikker is a salvage food. During the antebellum era, masters ate the greens from the pot and set aside the left-over potlikker broth for their slaves, unaware that the broth, not the greens, was nutrient-rich. After slavery, potlikker sustained the working poor, black and white. In the rapidly gentrifying South of today, potlikker has taken on new meanings as chefs have reclaimed the dish.Over the last two generations, wrenching changes have transformed the South. THE POTLIKKER PAPERS tells the story of that change--and reveals how Southern food has become a shared culinary language for the nation.Music Copyright (c) 2012, Lee Bains III
Cook Korean!: A Comic Book with Recipes
Robin Ha - 2016
Fun to look at and easy to use, this unique combination of cookbook and graphic novel is the ideal introduction to cooking Korean cuisine at home. Robin Ha’s colorful and humorous one-to three-page comics fully illustrate the steps and ingredients needed to bring more than sixty traditional (and some not-so-traditional) dishes to life.In these playful but exact recipes, you’ll learn how to create everything from easy kimchi (mak kimchi) and soy garlic beef over rice (bulgogi dupbap) to seaweed rice rolls (gimbap) and beyond. Friendly and inviting, Cook Korean! is perfect for beginners and seasoned cooks alike.Each chapter includes personal anecdotes and cultural insights from Ha, providing an intimate entry point for those looking to try their hand at this cuisine.
Le répertoire de la cuisine
Louis Saulnier - 1960
The Repertoire, as it is commonly known, is a shorthand guide to the cuisine of the master. This edition includes a special insert with introductory remarks from distinguished chef Jacques Pepin; the late George Lang, renowned food consultant; as well as Saulnier himself. Concise and incredibly comprehensive, it is the final word on the recipes, terminology, and techniques that make up classic French cookingYou won't find big glossy photos; meticulous lists of ingredients and instructions; or details about measurements, temperature and the like here. The Repertoire is a handy, highly portable, quick reference for those who are already well versed in the classic techniques.Here, professional chefs, restaurateurs, hotel proprietors, heads of wait staff, and anyone else who is passionate and knowledgeable about fine dining will find a definitive catalog of French culinary terms along with more than 6000 recipes, each briefly listed on just a few detailed lines. Inside, twelve convenient sections cover: Fundamental elements of cookeryGarnishes and SaucesHors d'oeuvreSoupsEggsFishEntrees--meat supplies such as livers, kidneys, and heartsEntrees--meat, game, and poultrySaladsVegetables and PastasSweetsSavouriesIt is certain to be a cherished volume for new chefs and a fitting replacement for anyone who has lovingly worn out their old edition.EXCERPTSAmong the innumerable books on cookery, a few are directed to the experts and the greatest number to the nonprofessional. As a source of reference, Le Repertoire de La Cuisine, is precious to both. For serious students of cookery, it's a handy guide that is extremely complete, reliable, and easy to understand.-- Jaques Pepin, Le Repertoire de La CuisineA priest in Nigeria will have very little in common with another priest from Guam, except their common faith in God and in the Bible. I venture to say the Repertoire has been and will continue to be the common bible for the cognoscenti of cooking. -- George Lang, Le Repertoire de La Cuisine
Fed, White, and Blue: Finding America with My Fork
Simon Majumdar - 2015
As he says, “I’m well rested, not particularly poor, and the only time I ever encounter ‘huddled masses’ is in line at Costco.” But immigrate he did, and thanks to a Homeland Security agent who asked if he planned to make it official, the journey chronicled in Fed, White, and Blue was born. In it, Simon sets off on a trek across the United States to find out what it really means to become an American, using what he knows best: food.Simon stops in Plymouth, Massachusetts, to learn about what the pilgrims ate (and that playing Wampanoag football with large men is to be avoided); a Shabbat dinner in Kansas; Wisconsin to make cheese (and get sprayed with hot whey); and LA to cook at a Filipino restaurant in the hope of making his in-laws proud. Simon attacks with gusto the food cultures that make up America—brewing beer, farming, working at a food bank, and even finding himself at a tailgate. Full of heart, humor, history, and of course, food, Fed, White, and Blue is a warm, funny, and inspiring portrait of becoming American.
Ten Restaurants That Changed America
Paul Freedman - 2016
Whether charting the rise of our love affair with Chinese food through San Francisco’s fabled The Mandarin, evoking the richness of Italian food through Mamma Leone’s, or chronicling the rise and fall of French haute cuisine through Henri Soulé’s Le Pavillon, food historian Paul Freedman uses each restaurant to tell a wider story of race and class, immigration and assimilation. Freedman also treats us to a scintillating history of the then-revolutionary Schrafft’s, a chain of convivial lunch spots that catered to women, and that bygone favorite, Howard Johnson’s, which pioneered midcentury, on-the-road dining, only to be swept aside by McDonald's. Lavishly designed with more than 100 photographs and images, including original menus, Ten Restaurants That Changed America is a significant and highly entertaining social history.
Brunetti's Cookbook
Donna Leon - 2009
Her books are infused with the sights and sounds, the arts, the culture, the family connections and loyalties, and the crime and corruption of a private world beyond the reach of the millions of tourists who visit the city each year. Perhaps most of all, Leon’s novels are known for their mouth-watering descriptions of food. Multicourse lunches and dinners at home with his wife, Paola, and his children, delectable snacks grabbed at a bar with a glass of wine or two, or a working meal at an unassuming neighborhood trattoria in the course of an investigation have all delighted Commissario Brunetti, as well as Leon’s countless fans. And then there’s the coffee, the pastries, the wine, and the grappa.In Brunetti’s Cookbook, Donna Leon’s best friend and favorite cook, Roberta Pianaro, brings to life those fabulous Venetian meals: orrechiette with asparagus; ravioli with squash, butter, and sage; artichokes stuffed with prosciutto; baked branzino; and pork stew with porcini and polenta —these are just a few of the nearly one hundred recipes for antipasti, pasta, fish, seafood, meat, and dessert in Brunetti’s Cookbook, ready for you to prepare and savor at home. The traditional Italian recipes are joined by excerpts from the critically acclaimed novels, four-color illustrations, and original essays by Donna Leon on food and life in Venice. Charming, insightful, and full of personality, they are the perfect addition to this delightful book.
The Physiology of Taste: Or, Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin - 1825
Brillat-Savarin (1783-1833) made famous the aphorism, "Tell me what you eat, and I'll tell you who you are." He believed that food defines a nation.
Duck, Duck, Goose: Recipes and Techniques for Cooking Ducks and Geese, both Wild and Domesticated
Hank Shaw - 2013
Many cooks—and even hunters—have a fear of cooking fowl. Duck, Duck, Goose shows you how to cook duck and goose like a pro: perfectly crisp skin crackling with each bite, succulent confit, impeccable prosciutto, and more. Hank Shaw, an award-winning food writer, hunter, and cook on the forefront of the marsh-to-table revolution, provides all you need to know about obtaining, cleaning, and cooking these flavorful birds. Duck, Duck, Goose includes detailed guides on species and breeds, selecting a duck in the market, and plucking and hanging a wild bird. Shaw’s delicious and doable recipes include basics such as Grilled Duck Breast and Slow-Roasted Duck; international favorites like Duck Pho, Sichuan Fragrant Duck, Mexican Duck with Green Mole, and Cassoulet; and celebration-worthy fare such as Perfect Roast Goose. It also features an array of duck and goose confit and charcuterie, from fresh sausages to dry-cured salami. The most comprehensive guide to preparing and cooking both domestic and wild ducks and geese, Duck, Duck, Goose will be a treasured companion for anyone who wants to free themselves from the tyranny of chicken and enjoy perfectly cooked waterfowl.
At My Grandmother's Knee: Recipes & Memories Handed Down By Women of the South
Faye Porter - 2011
If her roots are in the South, your grandmother's recipe box probably includes a dish or two you've longed to recreate.How about her legendary chicken and dumplings or the loaves of zucchini bread she always baked from her garden's summertime bounty? Does your mouth water when you think back on her Sunday pot roasts or the hash brown casserole she always made on Thanksgiving morning? You remember the strawberry pudding cake she whipped up for special birthday dinners? The meals you enjoyed at your grandmother's table may very well have been your first exposure to the notion of Southern hospitality and the idea that we really can show our love through food.Faye Porter's "At My Grandmother's Knee" celebrates grandma's cooking and the stories from the grandchildren whose own memories are sure to spark a few of your own. Throughout this collection, you'll sit at the tables of dozens of Southern grandmas and sample recipes that have made them famous with their family for decades. Don't be surprised if you see a few of your own family favorites along the way.
What to Eat
Marion Nestle - 2006
Praised as "radiant with maxims to live by" in The New York Times Book Review and "accessible, reliable and comprehensive" in The Washington Post, What to Eat is an indispensable resource, packed with important information and useful advice from the acclaimed nutritionist who "has become to the food industry what . . . Ralph Nader [was] to the automobile industry" (St. Louis Post-Dispatch).How we choose which foods to eat is growing more complicated by the day, and the straightforward, practical approach of What to Eat has been praised as welcome relief. As Nestle takes us through each supermarket section—produce, dairy, meat, fish—she explains the issues, cutting through foodie jargon and complicated nutrition labels, and debunking the misleading health claims made by big food companies. With Nestle as our guide, we are shown how to make wise food choices—and are inspired to eat sensibly and nutritiously.Now in paperback, What to Eat is already a classic—"the perfect guidebook to help navigate through the confusion of which foods are good for us" (USA Today).
Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
Marcella Hazan - 1992
Designed as a basic manual for cooks of all levels of expertise—from beginners to accomplished professionals—it offers both an accessible and comprehensive guide to techniques and ingredients and a collection of the most delicious recipes from the Italian repertoire. As home cooks who have used Marcella’s classic books for years (and whose copies are now splattered and worn) know, there is no one more gifted at teaching us just what we need to know about the taste and texture of a dish and how to achieve it, and there is no one more passionate and inspiring about authentic Italian food.
Best Food Writing
Holly Hughes - 2009
This anthology features both established food writers and rising stars cooking up everything from erudite culinary history to food-inspired memoirs. By turns opinionated, evocative, sensuous, and just plain funny, it's a tasty sampler to dip into time and again.As in previous editions, Best Food Writing 2009 will include top-notch writers like Colman Andrews, Anthony Bourdain, Frank Bruni, Bill Buford, Madhur Jaffrey, Ruth Reichl, Raymond Sokolov, Calvin Trillin, Alice Waters, and many others.
Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat
Bee Wilson - 2012
It can also mean the humbler tools of everyday cooking and eating: a wooden spoon and a skillet, chopsticks and forks.Since prehistory, humans have braved sharp knives, fire, and grindstones to transform raw ingredients into something delicious - or at least edible. Tools shape what we eat, but they have also transformed how we consume, and how we think about, our food. Technology in the kitchen does not just mean the Pacojets and sous-vide of the modernist kitchen. It can also mean the humbler tools of everyday cooking and eating: a wooden spoon and a skillet, chopsticks and forks. In Consider the Fork, award-winning food writer Bee Wilson provides a wonderful and witty tour of the evolution of cooking around the world, revealing the hidden history of everyday objects we often take for granted. Knives - perhaps our most important gastronomic tool - predate the discovery of fire, whereas the fork endured centuries of ridicule before gaining widespread acceptance; pots and pans have been around for millennia, while plates are a relatively recent invention. Many once-new technologies have become essential elements of any well-stocked kitchen - mortars and pestles, serrated knives, stainless steel pots, refrigerators. Others have proved only passing fancies, or were supplanted by better technologies; one would be hard pressed now to find a water-powered egg whisk, a magnet-operated spit roaster, a cider owl, or a turnspit dog. Although many tools have disappeared from the modern kitchen, they have left us with traditions, tastes, and even physical characteristics that we would never have possessed otherwise. Blending history, science, and anthropology, Wilson reveals how our culinary tools and tricks came to be, and how their influence has shaped modern food culture. The story of how we have tamed fire and ice and wielded whisks, spoons, and graters, all for the sake of putting food in our mouths, Consider the Fork is truly a book to savor.
Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant: Confessions of Cooking for One and Dining Alone
Jenni Ferrari-Adler - 2007
If, sooner or later, we all face the prospect of eating alone, then Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant provides the perfect set of instructions. In this unique collection, twenty-six writers and foodies invite readers into their kitchens to reflect on the secret meals they make for themselves when no one else is looking: the indulgent truffled egg sandwich, the comforting bowl of black beans, the bracing anchovy fillet on buttered toast. From Italy to New York to Cape Cod to Thailand, from M. F. K. Fisher to Steve Almond to Nora Ephron, the experiences collected in this book are as diverse, moving, hilarious, and uplifting as the meals they describe. Haruki Murakami finds solace in spaghetti. Ephron mends a broken heart with mashed potatoes in bed. Ann Patchett trades the gourmet food she cooks for others for endless snacks involving saltines. Marcella Hazan, responsible for bringing sophisticated Italian cuisine into American homes, craves a simple grilled ham-and-cheese sandwich. Courtney Eldridge, divorced from a fancy chef, reconnects with the salsa she learned to cook from her cash-strapped mother. Rosa Jurjevics reflects on the influence of her mother, Laurie Colwin, as she stocks her home with salty treats. Almost all of the essays include recipes, making this book the perfect companion for a happy, lonely-or just hungry-evening home alone. Part solace, part celebration, part handbook, Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant offers a wealth of company, inspiration, and humor-and, finally, recipes that require no division or subtraction.