"Cooking for Mr. Latte" by Amanda Hesser

[alacarte]

this is going to seem so out of the blue, but here goes:

Grapevine has it that we'd better shape up and start being nicer to AH because she's leaving the NY Times and moving to Asia, where Mr. Latte has a new job.

Amanda, care to confirm/deny?

[ferdlisky]

Well, I hope she keeps writing, if she does move. I haven't made my way through this whole thread, but I'm one of those people who really like Amanda Hesser's food writing. Some of my favorite articles that have run recently in the NYT food section have been by her. She has an informed but (IMHO) unpretentious view of food, and I really respond to her passion for the subject. I'm not a fan of her reviewing, but I feel that she was just given an assignment that wasn't suitable to her talents. I really miss her features since she has been reviewing!

[Jinmyo]

If it's true, then I think it's a great opportunity for her. Good luck, Amanda.

[Suzanne F]

If it's true, then I think it's a great opportunity for her. Good luck, Amanda.

What Jinmyo said. And even if you're not leaving, good luck in your future pursuits.

[Cusina]

Notes on Cooking for Mr. Latte by Amanda Hesser

c 2003 W. W. Norton & Company

How much do you enjoy Emma by Jane Austen?

A. I loved it, have read and re-read the book. I’ve seen the movie several times and have named my first born Emma even though he might not grow into the name.

B. Nice girl, sweet story, enjoyed it. I love a happy ending.

C. Eh… chick flick/lit, didn’t love it didn’t hate it. I went for the popcorn/read it in high school because I had to.

D. Made me regurgitate profusely, ugh, incredibly annoying. By the end of the story I wanted to throttle Emma and toss Mr. Knightly (and possibly his horse) off the next ivy covered bridge.

E. Emma who?

If you answered c, d or e to the question above, you had better leave Mr. Latte on the library shelf. Ms. Hesser writes her autobiographical cookbook in a fairy tale style. It follows her journey from first date to marriage with a good amount of girlish self doubt and idealism. The writing is a combination of Jane Austen and Bridget Jones Diary. This is not meant to be serious criticism; I just believe that it isn’t what some readers would embrace.

On some levels I can relate to Amanda. She, like me, feels that you are what you eat, but even more so, you are what you COOK. Food is a strong symbol for her, and what others cook for her and vice versa tells her a lot about herself. In this writing, Amanda is journaling a major transition in her life. It is very much a story of self definition. I also liked reading about the relationship she has with her grandmother, who is a very self assured woman and cook. My grandmother was much the same.

I feel badly for poor Mr. New Husband, however, who will now go through his life trying to think of witty responses to “Ohhh, so you’re Mr. Latte.” I also felt the illustrations were awful, not so much for their artistic merit (sort of New Yorker cartoon) but for their subject matter. Each and every one features a doe eyed, size two, urban chic brunette looking befuddled, winsome or smirky. Enough narcissism already, show us the food! There are also times in the book I felt myself getting annoyed with her pretensions. There is a fair amount of name dropping going on in there and the chapter about what she makes for dinner on airplane trips is just, well, silly. It seems ridiculous to be that persnickety. Bringing along bread, cheese and fruit is one thing. Packing along a four course feast that would take you at least an hour or two to prepare is excessive. When most people travel they just don’t have time or energy for that. I like her writing more when she drops all that “young chic New Yorker foodie” stuff and just says what is in her head.

On the positive side, I suspect, unlike some other cookbooks, each recipe in this book was very carefully selected and tested. Ms. Hesser expects these recipes to be with her for a lifetime and they represent a lot of her relationships. They should be good if they hold that kind of personal importance.

The book is readable, if you aren’t too much of a cynic, and the recipes have merit, though I did think that many are written for narrative value rather than instructive clarity. I like the concept of her struggling to define who she is in her role as a wife by studying those around her and the food they prepare. It is a love story, so if you have stomach for those, I’d suggest it as an interesting, light read.

I selected two recipes to try. We were planning to spend a weekend at a resort style condo with a small kitchen (and a great view) so the recipes needed to be made with simple ingredients that travel well and don’t require a whole lot of equipment but still could seem special. This just happened to be our anniversary dinner. Ms. Hesser’s book is divided by menu and by setting, so I thought it was a good way to try them out. Appetizers were simple chopped tomato, basil and smoked mozzarella bruschetta (no recipe). For the main course I chose Rigatoni with White Bolognese on pg. 161 served with broccolini. As this is a heavy meal, and the peaches were beautiful at the market this week, I selected the Peach Tart on pg. 198 for dessert using her suggestion for Crème Fraiche Whipped Cream on pg. 199.

I made the peach tart first, at home. The recipe is a bit strange as it mixes the crust in the pan and pats it in place rather than rolling it out. Not a usual technique and as it turns out, not a recommended one. I found mixing the crust in the pan to be odd and a waste of time. It would have been much more straightforward to make it in the usual manner by rolling it out. Here is a photo of the tart assembly.

Unfortunately, this whole recipe turned into a soupy mess. The tart topping directions were very vague. She suggests “if the fruit is especially juicy add a little more flour”. I did add more flour, but obviously not enough as I had about a cup of excess liquid, and my peaches didn’t seem that juicy to begin with.

We ended up tossing the crust in the garbage and eating stewed peaches with Crème Fraiche Whipped Cream. They were delicious, but not the pretty tart I’d hoped for. I discovered exactly how much effort it takes to whip heavy cream with a fork, as the electric mixer in our kitchenette was missing. Adding the Crème Fraiche was great. I loved the flavor and consistency, which like very light buttercream. This is an idea I intend to use in the future.

While the Peach Tart was definitely disappointing, the Rigatoni with White Bolognese was absolutely brilliant. We loved this dish and it was redemption plus some for the book in my eyes. The sauce uses both ground beef and Italian sausage, incorporates porcini mushrooms, and is reduced three times: first with dry white wine, then with beef broth and finally with a mushroom broth. A bit of cream is stirred in at the end and it is served with parmesan reggiano at the table. It’s very homey looking, as you can see by the picture, but the flavors were complex and rich. I’ll make this one again for certain. It would be a great mid-winter dish.

All in all, this was not a bad book to check out. It was enjoyable light reading. It gave me a little reflection about how food mirrors life and relationships and a few good take away recipes. I won’t mind returning it to the library though. It’s not one I would want to have in my permanent collection.

[Cusina]

woah... those photos look terrible. Sorry, I'll try to enlarge them.

[Carrot Top]

You've put together a well-written and thorough piece about that book, Cusina.

I honestly can not think of a question that I would ask...except perhaps what percentage of the recipes were actually interesting and do-able, to you.

And...were they in any way 'different' than other recipes of the same sort you've seen elsewhere....or were they basically derivative or simple variations...

Interesting how the 'style' of that book, to my mind, stands out over what substance it might enclose.

Did the 'style' make the book appealing to people in general that have bought it and really enjoyed it, do you think? Or finally, was it the substance?

[Jinmyo]

Cusina, your generosity of spirit towards this volume far exceeds that of many, including myself. Sorry about the tart.

edit:

To be clear, I was referring to the peach pie.

Edited September 20, 2004 by Jinmyo (log)

[Cusina]

Good questions carrot top... hmm.

I do think it is her style and the appeal to a young urban crowd that has sold it as a book rather than the actual content. It is a cookbook and a story (of the non-fictional variety), and it succeeds as a combination of those two things. However, it is not a really great example of either, in my estimation at least. I would never, for example, suggest this to a friend who is trying to learn more about cooking or one who is looking for a great biography. It's really just beach reading for the food minded.

The recipes were an ecclectic variety from classic Julia Child Daube du Boeuf to trendy Beet and Ginger Soup with Cucumber. I would say that I'd consider making about 40% of them, which is a fairly high number. Not all of them were simple variations, in fact many were just plain out of my time limit. I can't spend all day baking a tart or making my own lunch. I liked the book for it's variety, though, and the fact that she puts a lot of emphasis on selecting the right dishes and menu parameters for each situation. Daube du Boeuf is marvelous, but not for a summer celebration supper.

[Carrot Top]

Mmm. I'll take a look at it.

Was afraid to before, Cusina...but you obviously have survived it, so I will sally forth and test the waters.

My mind kept wandering....Mr.Latte....Mr. Goodbar....Mr. Latte...I simply could not focus on who it was she was cooking for. Scared me.

But Boeuf en Daube? Comfort food. Surely it is Mr.Latte who enjoys this sort of thing....not Mr. Goodbar.

Uptown New York, you know. Scatters the mind.

[Cusina]

Jinmyo. I know, I almost hate to put this bit out there for fear of getting a "hesserlover" label here in the land of cynics. And I did say at the very beginning that if you can't stomach a little schmaltz, don't even bother picking this up.

After reading other reviews of this book I didn't expect to find value here, but did anyways. The real thing that hit me is that she obviously put a LOT of herself into this piece. I have to admire that, it does take cojones, even though she is a bit egotistical in thinking that her day to day escapades would be fascinating to your average reader and not just her shrink. So many cookbooks are just tossed together by some editor to make a few bucks. This book, while too sweet and fluffy for my personal taste, still had real effort and life in it.

Perhaps part of my reaction is that I'm fairly close, age and genderwise at least, to her target audience. Who knows? And I really didn't give it a glowing review. Honestly, there is that whole bit in there about her gratuitous name dropping. Ugh. That was a serious turn off. Jeffrey Steingarten's name gets dropped enough in this book to give him a concussion.

Carrot Top, you'll have to add in your 2 cents if you read it. Tell me how delusional I am.

[Carrot Top]

Oh I doubt if you are delusional, Cusina. But you are a nice person, and that might make people think you are!

I dunno....it might take me awhile to decide to open this book...and I might need to buy some new outfits first just to feel right about myself as I skim the pages, you know.

I have no problem with that.

Can't wait to see what you'll report on next. Hey, who needs to read when you provide such a good summary!

[CompassRose]

Thanks for the review, Cucina!

I just took this out of the library, and ripped through it in a day -- I didn't think it was so bad. Yes, she's opinionated, and has very firm ideas about the "right" way to do things -- but then again, so does my mother, and my mother isn't nearly so nice about it. (Then again, so do I, in my secret heart.) I did wonder about some of the recipes, but was not moved to try them.

She reminds me a bit of MFK Fisher, really -- no, really. Mary Frances is just as firm about the "right" way to do food, and has just the same curl of the lip for people who aren't "her" kind of people -- I've very often thought MFK would be a right bitch to meet.

Maybe time will mellow Hesser's opinions a bit. She is, after all, very young.

As for elaborate meals on the plane -- that was the chapter that really had me nodding -- yeah, yeah, exactly. I too make very careful and exact things to pack in my cooler for long drives to Ottawa -- think it's a reflection of insecurity really. Doesn't she say she's afraid of airplanes? Me, I am a little afraid of my mother; most of my visits are simply long struggles for dominance on her part, survival on mine -- so for both of us, coming prepared with at least just the right thing we want to eat is a sort of armour of the spirit.

[Suzanne F]

You all are aware, are you not, of the concurrent thread on: Amanda Hesser: where is she now?

And I will dig up some past threads, including one on that very same book.

A Winsome Life

Amanda and Fergus

Amanda Hesser's Cooking for Mr. Latte

Amanda Slaps Sandra Lee

Hesser's new article, a lot of alliteration for a little lady

Edited September 21, 2004 by Suzanne F (log)

[Jinmyo]

Jeffrey Steingarten's name gets dropped enough in this book to give him a concussion.

←

Perhaps you might want to try cooking from his books soon?

She reminds me a bit of MFK Fisher, really -- no, really. Mary Frances is just as firm about the "right" way to do food, and has just the same curl of the lip for people who aren't "her" kind of people -- I've very often thought MFK would be a right bitch to meet.

Maybe time will mellow Hesser's opinions a bit. She is, after all, very young.

←

Egad.

Time and experience such as Fisher had however might give Amanda's opinions a bit more heft.

[SobaAddict70]

Wonder if Tad (Mr. Latte) ever surfs eGullet.

Soba

[Cusina]

Well, Amanda does. I was suprised to get an e-mail from her this morning. She was wondering about the peach tart failure. In the interest of due dilligence I'm planning to make it again for a small dinner we are having on Friday night (for eight, four adults, four children). Hopefully, having learned from my mistakes the last time, it will come out well. I'll let you know how it goes.

You know, that's a pretty darn cool thing. She obviously does care about her reader's experiences with her material. I appreciate that tremendously.

[Carrot Top]

You know, that's a pretty darn cool thing.  She obviously does care about her reader's experiences with her material.  I appreciate that tremendously.

←

Yes, that was a nice thing for her to do. Absolutely in agreement.

[Jinmyo]

Yes, that was a nice thing for her to do. Absolutely in agreement.

←

Oh, there's no question in my mind that Amanda means well and is a pleasant and nice person. I genuinely like her and wish her well. In fact, my high opinion of what she can do is the source of any criticisms I might make and have made in the threads cited by Suzanne.

Well, that and some things are just silly and funny.

It certainly would be nice if more authors took the time and cared as does she.

[Carrot Top]

Oh, there's no question in my mind that Amanda means well and is a pleasant and nice person. I genuinely like her and wish her well. In fact, my high opinion of what she can do is the source of any criticisms I might make and have made in the threads cited by Suzanne.

Well, that and some things are just silly and funny.

It certainly would be nice if more authors took the time and cared as does she.

←

And it would be a better world too, if there were more Jinmyos. But they are difficult to make and hard to find. But much appreciated by those who read them...

[CompassRose]

Time and experience such as Fisher had however might give Amanda's opinions a bit more heft.

←

Hey, waitaminnit... if I remember right, Fisher was not looking back from anything like the peak of her venerable four-score when she told most of her stories (for the first time at any rate)...

[Jinmyo]

Hey, waitaminnit... if I remember right, Fisher was not looking back from anything like the peak of her venerable four-score when she told most of her stories (for the first time at any rate)...

←

Maturity is not a matter of numbers.

Flip open Fisher's first book. Flip open Amanda's second book.

It's not a matter of numbers or years but of how one has lived. It is also not just a matter of circumstances lived through either but of lessons learned; and in fact, the ability tio learn. And then to express.

I'm not just saying Amanda has to get older. Most of us can do that unless the breathing stops sooner. But that her experience can broaden so that when she talks about herself, it could convey something about more than just that. And more than just to people like her. I am nothing like Fisher but I've learned something about myself from reading her.

In any case, comparing Amanda to Fisher is like comparing me to you because we both use words at times. There must be more to it.

And, as yet, there is less of Amanda than can stand up to any comparison with Fisher.

[russ parsons]

if i were amanda, i would take it as high praise that the worst thing anyone could say about me was that i wasn't as good as mfk fisher. (though, personally, i think mfk fisher is horribly overrated--i've used the line before, but she's the anais nin of food. she wrote some very good things, but a lot of very bad things, too)

[hjshorter]

if i were amanda, i would take it as high praise that the worst thing anyone could say about me was that i wasn't as good as mfk fisher. (though, personally, i think mfk fisher is horribly overrated--i've used the line before, but she's the anais nin of food. she wrote some very good things, but a lot of very bad things, too)

←

Wow, thank you for expressing that Russ. I thought I was the only one who thought so.

And thanks Cusina for your review, it was thoughtful and well presented. Since we don't live in NYC Amanda Hesser is not usually on my culinary writing radar, so to speak. I'll look for her book at the library.

[Jinmyo]

Russ, I agree that Fisher's work is very uneven.

Back to Amanda's book and Cusina. Cusina, would you cook anything else from the book?