What food-related books are you reading? (2004 - 2015)

[Special K]

I just finished Peter Mayle's "Bon Appetit!" I know he isn't everybody's cup o' tea, but I find his writing hilarious.

Next up is Betty Fussel's "My Kitchen Wars."

[suzilightning]

I just finished Peter Mayle's "Bon Appetit!"  I know he isn't everybody's cup o' tea, but I find his writing hilarious. 

Next up is Betty Fussel's "My Kitchen Wars."

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if you liked Mayle's book(thank you it is now on my list to read) try his French lessons: adventures with knife, fork and corkscrew or Acquired tastes.

[Sherry B]

I'm reading Alice Waters & Chez Panisse by Thomas McNamee, a biography of Waters and the restaurant.

Horrible book in every aspect- poorly written, poorly researched, dull and boring, etc... A waste of time to read this book, and a missed oppurtunity for McNamee.

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Agreed. Embarrasing, almost.

[Special K]

I just finished Peter Mayle's "Bon Appetit!"  I know he isn't everybody's cup o' tea, but I find his writing hilarious.  

Next up is Betty Fussel's "My Kitchen Wars."

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if you liked Mayle's book(thank you it is now on my list to read) try his French lessons: adventures with knife, fork and corkscrew or Acquired tastes.

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Thanks - I have 'em all. And instead of the Fussel, next I read "Found Meals of the Lost Generation: Recipes and Anecdotes from 1920s Paris" by Suzanne Rodriguez-Hunter. What a wonderful combination of two of my greatest interests!

Now I'm reading a "snack" paperback - "Murder Most Frothy, A Coffee-House Mystery" by Cleo Coyle. Fun!

Fussel really is next up, though.

[phlox]

I'm reading the Julia Child autobiography about her time in Paris, Marseille, and Germany etc. It's a lovely read.

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My Time in France - I agree; it's fantastic. I read the Fitch biography of Julia a couple of years back, and though it's thorough and well-researched, it comes nowhere near the sheer pleasure of reading this newer book.

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I loved this, too! Those photos of her and her husband they used for holiday cards (especially the Valentine's Day ones) are adorable.

[LoneSavant]

My two favorites, having done my thesis on culinary sociology, are

In the Devil's Garden

and

The Devil's Picnic, by Taras Grescoe

Both are about food/dining in relation to sin, propriety, morality, and law- Garden is more historical, Picnic is more modern/political. Fascinating and fun reading!

[phlox]

Have you read The Devil's Cup? It's by the same author as The Devil's Garden and is excellent. It's sort of a history of coffee with a lot of travel writing and philosophical/historical musing from the author thrown in.

[chezcherie]

just finished gumbo tales by sara roahen. flipped right back to the front and started over. i could smell the gumbo coming off the pages.

[The Naughti Literati]

Got an advance copy of Waiter Rant and CANNOT put it down!!!!

Though the book is not due out until August, you can see plenty of his postings at Waiterrant.net; archives back to 2004.

Once I finish it, I'll go back into my pile and read some more of Secret Ingredients, Trail of Crumbs and Gumbo Tales!

[Synergy]

Got an advance copy of Waiter Rant and CANNOT put it down!!!!

Though the book is not due out until August, you can see plenty of his postings at Waiterrant.net; archives back to 2004.

Once I finish it, I'll go back into my pile and read some more of Secret Ingredients, Trail of Crumbs and Gumbo Tales!

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Thanks for the link. I've spent the last hour reading through the archives.

I'll look out for the book too, he has a great writing style.

[The Naughti Literati]

Got an advance copy of Waiter Rant and CANNOT put it down!!!!

Though the book is not due out until August, you can see plenty of his postings at Waiterrant.net; archives back to 2004.

Once I finish it, I'll go back into my pile and read some more of Secret Ingredients, Trail of Crumbs and Gumbo Tales!

←

Thanks for the link. I've spent the last hour reading through the archives.

I'll look out for the book too, he has a great writing style.

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You're welcome - as soon as I finish the book I'm going to look at some more of the archives myself. I love his writing too. He is so straightforward and hilarious - wait til you see how many comments his posts generate as you see his more recent entries. Gotta see if one of my favorite parts of the book so far is amongst the archives, if not I'll post!

[gfron1]

A Pig in Provence

I'm only in the second chapter but so far this is a fun read. Its about an American family that moved to Provence in the 70s to try and start a goat cheese business. The more I read the more I wish I was old enough and wise enough to buy a Provencal farmhouse back in the 70s when they were cheap and untrendy

[morphone]

I'm reading The Life of Pi, which is sort of about food - or rather the absence of it. It's an amazing read that I recommend to you all.

[JTravel]

A History of the World In 6 Glasses by Tom Standage

I have only made it through Beer and Wine (the rest are Spirits, Coffee, Tea and Coca-Cola) but it has a lot of history from an interesting viewpoint.

[suzilightning]

A History of the World In 6 Glasses by Tom Standage

I have only made it through Beer and Wine (the rest are Spirits, Coffee, Tea and Coca-Cola)  but it has a lot of  history from an interesting viewpoint.

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and don't forget the water.

finished Cornbread Nation 3 and am halfway through #2. I love the ability to pick and choose from the various essays and have found some new favorite writers to follow up on.

oh, and also Sin in the Second City about Minna and Ada Everleigh who ran arguably the classiest brothel in Chicago during the early years of the 20th century.

[kermie]

In preperation for the return of oyster season, I have finaly got around to reading M.F.K Fisher's "Consider the Oyster." 

I also just received my newest cookbook, "Heart and Soul" by Kylie Kwong.  I became enamored with this Aussie chef ever since discovering her show on the Discovery Home channel.  I am looking forward to cooking her red braised brisket, her slow cooked honeycomb tripe and crispy skin duck with blood plum sauce.  Born into one of Australia's oldest Chinese families (she is fifth generation), the book has lots of interesting text about her family and the stories behind her dishes.  The food is a combination of Chinese and contemporary Australian cuisine, along with some French techniques.

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Artichoke - I've done the duck with plum sauce and its great!!! I was really lucky - I got to meet her and her family (surprisingly) at her restaurant in Sydney when we were touring Australia in April. She seems exactly like her show persona. The food was excellent. I even got a signed copy of her book. the chicken liver recipe and the oxtail recipes are amazing.

[kermie]

oh and as far as books go - i'm pretty much the same with loads on the go.

my idea of a perfect weekend is waking up with a coffee/tea and reading cookbooks at the kitchen table while looking out onto the garden.

some Elizabeth David ones, French Provincial and Italian

Seven hundred years of English cooking

magazines

whichever cookbooks strike my fancy

- actually my reading list seems quite short at the mo - I better reread some recommendations and start ordering!

finished 'the last chinese chef' not too long ago - very interesting (a little OTT)

[laddx005]

I am reading.... or struggling through: 1) A Taste of History: 10,000 years of food in Britain

I rather enjoyed this one.

and

2) History of Food: by Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat

This one is very euro-centric and a little bit hard to get through. But still very good.

A few months ago, I checked out from the local library:

An Illustrated History of French Cuisine from Charlemagne to Charles de Gaulle

by Christian Guy, Translated by Elisabeth Abbott

Wow, now this is a little dated, but a great book. It details history, dishes, techniques, has antidotal stories as well as reciepes. The format and layout is a little odd too.

If anyone knows any food history books from the Asian or Indian viewpoint, let us all know.

[Tri2Cook]

I've finally committed to actually and thoroughly reading On Food and Cooking. I've scanned through it. I've read deeply from it on certain subjects. I refer to it often. I've never made the effort to completely read and absorb it from beginning to end. That's what I'm doing now.

[santo_grace]

My birthday gift from a friend, Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food. It was a treat to see it was signed by Ms. Waters herself. It inspired me to make a simple salad of romaine leaves lightly coated in EVOO, a dash of salt and pepper, and a squeeze of lemon.

Just finished Heat by Bill Buford. Liked it, but didn't love it. It started to drag a little for me at the end. It is a good one to pass along to someoone else though.

[laddx005]

I just started reading an old book from the 1920's called, The art of naming dishes on bills of fare by Schumacher, L.

So far it's quite facinating. If you ever have had good friends in the resteraunt buisness or are head chefs, or just like making up your own dishes, it appears to be a great resource. It has english / french translations of food descriptions.

You can get your own copy here.

[Lindacakes]

I was stuck in the airport on the way back from Ohio; I had bought some cookbooks at antique stores and I had nothing to do but read.

I read Time Life Series Foods of the World: Creole and Acadian cover to cover. It kept me riveted for six hours of idleness, but I have to tell you, when you are trapped and hungry and reading about the utmost of lovely Creole sauces and you are stuck in an airport with airport food it is TORTURE. The best I could do was a Wolfgang Puck pizza, which was okay, but it was no shrimp remoulade.

[Miriam Kresh]

I'm currently reading MFK. Fisher's "The Gastronomical Me", and a bit bored with it. Maybe I should have started with another one of her books. But it might get better once her memoir leaves childhood and that crucial awakening of her taste buds upon swallowing her first oyster.

I'm also thinking of ordering this interesting-looking book:

Jewish-Iraqui Cuisine, by Rivka Goldman.

In fact the whole collection of cookbooks at Hippocrene intrigues me and conspires to weigh my credit down even further.

Miriam

Edited September 17, 2008 by Miriam Kresh (log)

[emilyr]

I am just a couple of chapters in to The Sex Life of Food by the nearly improbably named Bunny Crumpacker. I'm liking it so far, some of its topics remind me of eG threads!

[iainpb]

My current read is The Man Who Ate the World- food critic Jay Rayner travels the word in search of the finest meal, next up is "How to cook without recipes" - a book which looks at how certain tastes work together and some general theory. After that i'll probably be buying Italy and Other Stories.