Book picks similar to
A Welcoming Life: An M.F.K. Fisher Scrapbook by M.F.K. Fisher


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Taste: The Story of Britain Through Its Cooking


Kate Colquhoun - 2007
    It encompasses royal feasts and street food, the skinning of eels and the making of strawberry jelly, mixing tales of culinary stars with those of the invisible hordes cooking in kitchens across the land. Beginning before Roman times, the book journeys through the ingredients, equipment, kitchens, feasts, fads, and famines of the British. It covers the piquancy of Norman cuisine, the influx of undreamed-of spices and new foods from the East and the New World, the Tudor pumpkin pie that journeyed with the founding fathers to become America's national dish, the austerity of rationing during World War II, and the birth of convenience foods and take-away, right up to the age of Nigella Lawson, Heston Blumenthal, and Jamie Oliver. The first trade book to tell the story of British cooking-which is, of course, the history that led up to American colonial cooking as well-Taste shows that kitchens are not only places of steam, oil, and sweat, but of politics, invention, cultural exchange, commerce, conflict, and play.

Larousse Gastronomique: The World's Greatest Culinary Encyclopedia


Larousse - 1976
    In one volume, it presents the history of foods, eating, and restaurants; cooking terms; techniques from elementary to advanced; a review of basic ingredients with advice on recognizing, buying, storing, and using them; biographies of important culinary figures; and recommendations for cooking nearly everything.The new edition, the first since 1988, expands the book’s scope from classic continental cuisine to include the contemporary global table, appealing to a whole new audience of internationally conscious cooks. Larousse Gastronomique is still the last word on béchamel and béarnaise, Brillat-Savarin and Bordeaux, but now it is also the go-to source on biryani and bok choy, bruschetta and Bhutan rice.Larousse Gastronomique is rich with classic and classic-to-be recipes, new ingredients, new terms and techniques, as well as explanations of current food legislation, labeling, and technology. User-friendly design elements create a whole new Larousse for a new generation of food lovers.

Poet of the Appetites: The Lives and Loves of M.F.K. Fisher


Joan Reardon - 2004
    Fisher forever changed the way Americans understood not only the art of eating but the art of living. Whether considering the oyster or describing how to cook a wolf, she addressed the universal needs "for protection, food, love." Readers were instantly drawn into her circle of husbands and lovers, artists and artisans; they felt they knew Fisher herself, whether they encountered her as a child with a fried-egg sandwich in her pocket, a young bride awakening to the glories of French food, or a seductress proffering the first peas of the season. Oldest child, wife, mother, mistress, self-made career woman, trail-blazing writer--Fisher served up each role with panache. But like many master stylists, she was also a master mythologizer. Her portraits and scenarios were often unrecognizable to those on whom they were based, and her own emotions and experiences remained cloaked in ambiguity. To retell her story as it really happened is an important enterprise, and Joan Reardon has made the most of her access to Fisher, her family and friends, and her private papers. This multifaceted portrayal of the woman John Updike christened the "poet of the appetites" is no less memorable than the personae Fisher crafted for herself.

Becoming a Chef


Andrew Dornenburg - 1995
    It features the career advice of the biggest, most respected names in the culinary industry, such as Thomas Keller, Claudia Fleming, Marcel Desaulniers, Caprial Pence, Marcus Samuelsson, Craig Shelton, Gale Gand, Rick Tramonto, and more. With their trademark style, the authors give insightful details on the demographics, employment, education, and personal details of today's star chefs.

Honey from a Weed: Fasting and Feasting in Tuscany, Catalonia, the Cyclades and Apulia


Patience Gray - 1986
    Within a few months of its first appearance in 1986 it was hailed as a modern classic. Fiona MacCarthy wrote in The Times that, ‘the book is a large and grandiose life history, a passionate narrative of extremes of experience.’ Jeremy Round called Patience Gray ‘the high priestess of cooking’, whose book ‘pushes the form of the cookery book as far as it can go.’ Angela Carter remarked that ‘it was less a cookery book that a summing-up of the genre of the late-modern British cookery book.’ The work has attracted a cult following in the United States, where passages have been read out at great length on the radio; and it has been anthologized by Paul Levy in The Penguin Book of Food and Drink. It was given a special award by the André Simon Book Prize committee in 1987.

My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals / Portraits, Interviews, and Recipes


Melanie Dunea - 2007
    Includes recipes. Chefs have been playing the "My Last Supper" game among themselves for decades, if not centuries, but it had always been kept within the profession-until now. Melanie Dunea came up with the ingenious idea to ask fifty of the world's famous chefs to let her in on this insider's game and tell her what their final meals would be. My Last Supper showcases their fascinating answers alongside stunning Vanity Fair-style portraits. Their responses are surprising, refreshing, and as distinct from each other as the chefs themselves. The portraits-gorgeous, intimate, and playful-are informed by their answers and reveal the passions and personalities of the most respected names in the business. Lastly, one recipe from each landmark meal is included in the back of the book. With My Last Supper, Dunea found a way into the typically harried, hidden minds of the people who have turned preparing food into an art. Who wouldn't want to know where Alain Ducasse would like his last supper to be? And who would prepare Daniel Boulud's final meal? What would Anthony Bourdain's guest list look like? As the clock ticked, what album would Gordon Ramsay be listening to? And just what would Mario Batali eat for the last time? Featuring: Ferran Adrià, José Andrés, Dan Barber, Lidia Bastianich, Mario Batali, Rick Bayless, Michelle Bernstein, Daniel Boulud, Anthony Bourdain, Scott Conant, Gary Danko, Hélène Darroze, Alain Ducasse, Wylie Dufresne, Suzanne Goin, Gabrielle Hamilton, Fergus Henderson, Thomas Keller, Giorgio Locatelli, Masa Kobayashi, Nobu, Jamie Oliver, Jacques Pépin, Gordon Ramsay, Michel Richard, Eric Ripert, Marcus Samuelsson, Charlie Trotter, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and more...

Front of the House: Restaurant Manners, Misbehaviors & Secrets


Jeff Benjamin - 2015
    Sagacious and observant, he beckons us behind the scenes for an insider's look at reserving a table, what your server thinks of you, what it takes to get ejected from a fine restaurant and a host of other revelations.

Help Yourself: A Guide to Gut Health for People Who Love Delicious Food


Lindsay Maitland Hunt - 2020
      It turns out that gut health is the root of all health: A happy equilibrium in the body’s unique community of microbes promotes good health throughout the body, including a stronger immune system, better sleep, and lower stress.   Despite eating healthfully, author and recipe developer Lindsay Maitland Hunt was plagued by symptoms such as depression, fatigue, incessant itching, and joint pain—until a gut-friendly way of eating helped bring her back to a state of balance. In fact, she felt better than ever before. Out of Lindsay’s journey from sickness to health, and her extensive research, comes this practical and nourishing guide, with irresistibly delicious recipes that make you feel good too.   Dishes emphasize plant-based ingredients like vegetables, nuts and seeds, beans and legumes, and whole grains, along with eggs, fish, and some meat and dairy, if you like. Lindsay also walks you through integrating fermented foods into your daily life and reducing added sugar and processed foods. It’s an approach you can tailor to your own lifestyle, whether you’re vegan, gluten free, or just love to eat! Recipes cover any time you eat, from quick weeknight dinners to party-worthy treats, including:  Seeded Almond Flour Waffles with Raspberry-Flax SmashGarlicky Shrimp and Quinoa “Grits”Special-Occasion Short Ribs with Olive Oil and Kefir Mashed PotatoesParsley, Kale, and Pumpkin Seed PestoBrussels Sprouts and Peanut Butter Curry BowlPeanut Butter–Banana “Nice” CreamPlus go-to essentials (roasted vegetables, simply cooked leafy greens, sprouted grains, and more) for building meals off the cuff  Beyond the recipes, Lindsay explains what you need to know about your gut microbiota and offers smart strategies and solutions to help you navigate real life, like a new food pyramid for gut health and tips for tracking (and rewarding) healthy-living habits.  Help Yourself isn’t a fad diet, a detox, or a cleanse. It’s a common-sense approach to food, backed by science. If you’ve been living with symptoms such as allergies, chronic pain, inflammation, bloating or weight gain, exhaustion or poor sleep, acne, irritability, if you’ve been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease—or if you just want to feel your best in your body—this book offers a pathway to wellness via the gut.

Why We Cook : Women on Food, Identity, and Connection


Lindsay Gardner - 2021
    In it, artist Lindsay Gardner brings together stories, essays, kitchen profiles, interviews, and more, featuring 112 women restaurateurs, food producers, activists, writers, professional chefs, and home cooks—all of whom are dedicated not only to their craft but to changing the world of food.There are profiles on changemakers, like Cristina Martinez, a chef who emigrated from Mexico and who brings her Philadelphia community together through food while using her platform to champion immigrants’ rights; and Leah Penniman, who describes a day in her life on Soul Fire Farm, which she co-founded to combat racism in the food system. Evocative reflections on food and memory, like Rachel Khong's ode to her mother's love of fruit. And narrative recipes, like restaurateur Nicole Ponseca's Bibingka.With her rich visual storytelling gifts—the book is filled with beautiful watercolour illustrations and portraits—Gardner not only captures a sense of what is unique about each of the women, bringing them to life but adds layers of nuance and insight to their words and their work. Together, their voices reveal the power of food to uplift and nourish, reveal complex questions, and effect change, and offer us all the opportunity to learn about each other and about ourselves.

Women in the Kitchen: Twelve Essential Cookbook Writers Who Defined the Way We Eat, from 1661 to Today


Anne Willan - 2020
    Beginning with the first published cookbook by Hannah Woolley in 1661, up to Alice Waters today, these women, and books, created the canon of the American table. Focusing on the figures behind the recipes, Women in the Kitchen traces the development of American home cooking from the first, early colonial days to transformative cookbooks by Fannie Farmer, Irma Rombauer, Julia Child, Edna Lewis, and Marcella Hazan. Willan offers a short biography of each influential woman, including her background, and a description of the seminal books she authored. These women inspired one another, and in part owe their places in cooking history to those who came before them. Featuring fifty original recipes, as well as updated versions Willan has tested and modernized for the contemporary kitchen, this engaging narrative seamlessly moves through history to help readers understand how female cookbook authors have shaped American cooking today.

Whatchagot Stew: A Memoir of an Idaho Childhood, with Recipes and Commentaries


Patrick F. McManus - 1989
    "Read the memoir first . . . (or) you might select one of my mother's recipes and foolishly believe that because the recipe is included in a cookbook, it must be something to eat".--Pat McManus.

The Food of France


Waverley Root - 1958
    Here is France for the traveler, the chef, and the connoisseur of fine prose. Maps and b & w line drawings throughout.

The Gospel of Food: Everything You Think You Know About Food Is Wrong


Barry Glassner - 2007
    We worship at the temples of celebrity chefs. We raise our children to believe that certain foods are good and others are bad. We believe that if we eat the right foods, we will live longer, and if we eat in the right places, we will raise our social status. Yet what we believe to be true about food is, in fact, quite contradictory. Offering part exposé, part social com-mentary, sociologist Barry Glassner talks to chefs, food chemists, nutritionists, and restaurant critics about the way we eat. Helping us recognize the myths, half-truths, and guilt trips they promulgate, The Gospel of Food liberates us for greater joy at the table.

Leave Me Alone with the Recipes: The Life, Art, and Cookbook of Cipe Pineles


Cipé PinelesMaira Kalman - 2017
    P.”) Pineles, the first female art director at Condé Nast, whose impact lives on in the work of Maira Kalman, Julia Rothman, and many others. Completed in 1945, it was a keepsake of her connection to her childhood’s Eastern European food--she called it Leave Me Alone with the Recipes. For Wendy and Sarah, it was a talisman of a woman they had not known was their idol: a strong, independent spirit whose rich archive--of drawings, recipes, diaries, and letters to family and friends--led them into a dazzling history of mid-century design, art, food, New York City society, and culture.They teamed up with Maria Popova of Brain Pickings and Debbie Millman of Design Matters, along with contributors Mimi Sheraton, Steven Heller, Paula Scher, and Maira Kalman, to present Cipe Pineles’s life and work as it should be presented--in glorious color. With Pineles’s illustrated cookbook and a section of updated recipes as its centerpiece, this gorgeous volume will delight foodies and design devotees alike.

The Complete Low-Carb Cookbook


George Stella - 2014
    All 130 recipes are made without any wheat or added sugar, making them gluten-free, and great for diabetics as well.