Bear with me, I’m about to try to get you to read a nonfiction book about a species of fish. One of my best reading years as an adult occurred a few years back when I was tearing through a lot of non-fiction food books. So when one of the contributors to the site Serious Eats mentioned that “Cod” had a permanent place on his kitchen bookshelf, I made a mental note to pick it up the next time I went to the library. Well, […]
My modern Italian feast experiment
After a year back in town, I finally sorted out my LAPL library card privileges. Much to my surprise, the Highland Park branch has a very extensive cookbook selection. I LOVE Italian food and culture, even minored in Italian at USC. As such, I immediately snagged the Giada’s Kitchen: New Italian Favorites off the shelf. I was never a big fan of her Food Network cooking show, but I do own a very nice skillet from her Target line. :) The book is organized into the following sections: appetizers […]
No Reservations. And no novel structure, but still good.
I have been a Bourdain fan for a while and really enjoyed Kitchen Confidential so when I came across this book for less than $2, and had an upcoming vacation, I snagged it because I thought it would be a good vacay read, and I was validated, though I wouldn’t say the book was a total success. This novel follows the adventures of Bourdain during his first television series of the same name and we travel with him to exotic locales, and even more exotic […]
I Think I Need Some Tums
This is a novel that feels more like a movie script with lots of amazing food descriptions—some mouthwatering and some stomach-turning (depending on how you feel about certain types of French food). There are interesting elements here and the text goes down easily but it ultimately felt a bit unsatisfying to me. Richard Morais’s novel tells the story of Hassan Haji, who travels from the kitchen of his father’s Indian restaurant to a career as an acclaimed French chef. Hassan’s early memories are of his […]