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Entries from Talk tagged with 'books'
Good airplane reading material?
I will be taking 4 1/2 hour flight next week and need to get a new book to read. I am looking for something good but a relatively easy read ( I have a hard time really concentrating on a plane which is why it's usually the only time I read Cosmo and other "trashy" magazines!). I enjoyed Heat by Bill Buford and have considered getting Kitchen Confidential. I also considered another cookbook since I can read one like a novel...read The Bread Baker's Apprentice start to finish in two sittings, but they are a bit bulky for a plane. Thanks for any recommendations!
Suggestions for good (sort of difficult) baking cookbooks?
I am a pretty advanced baker - meringue buttercreams don't scare me and tempering chocolate is easy.
I have Elizabeth Falkner's Demolition Desserts, which I'm dying to get into (although I don't have an ice cream maker so I can't make a lot of the things in there).
I just got Gale Gand's Butter Flour Sugar Eggs - it was on my Amazon.com wishlist and a friend got it for me - but, after looking through it, it's really easy (I've made lots of things that she has in there entirely on my own - ex, blueberry hazelnut frangipane tarts) and am going to exchange it for something a little more difficult and inspiring.
SO. What should I get that is sort of hard (not as hard as Demolition Desserts) and will push me a little bit? Also, I need some good standards - what should I get? (I have a ton of other books to exchange so I don't even need to spend money on new books!)
Also, should I get Elisa Strauss' Confetti Cakes?
What the World Eats
I do think that this book might be the quintessential coffee-table book for Thanksgiving.
Here's a sampling. . Interesting stuff.
What do you think of Michael Ruhlman's new book?
It's called "The Elements of Cooking". It's kind of a primer for the basics of home cooking. He's doing a booksigning this weekend at Borders in Cleveland Heights.
Christmas List: Cookbooks/Food Lit
I'm putting together my Christmas wish list on Amazon to share with my family. Besides a food cooking tools (new muffin pans, a 9" springform cake pan) I'm planning on adding a lot of cookbooks and food literature. On the list so far -
The Tenth Muse - Judith Jones
The Amateur Gourmet - Adam Roberts
Art of Simple Food - Alice Waters
The Lee Bros Southern Cookbook - Lee Brothers
Jamie's Dinners - Jamie Oliver
This list will keep growing but I'm curious what would be on your list.
What is your favorite book about baking bread?
I want to do more bread baking at home and I'm looking for a good book to get me started. What is your favorite?
"Alone in The Kitchen....
...with an Eggplant" written by Jenni Ferrari-Adler is a must read! A collection of essays by celebrated writers, foodies, & others on the subjects of cooking for one & dining alone I have only read the first 50 pages but it very entertaining! Confession time, what are your home-alone foods---when no one is looking?
Question of the Day: Overrated Food Books
What's the most overrated food book you've read recently?
Bill Buford's "Heat"
The impossible has happened; I read a foodie book. And it was great.
I probably ought to let a smarter, more food-like person actually review the cooking stuff in "Heat." My perspective? I love this guy.
Thursday, Ed had mentioned something to me about being at a book release party with a bunch of his foodie freaks, some about a New Yorker editor and Mario Batali. I ignored him. (Other than my affection for Ed and his writing, the foodie world doesn't particularly interest me. Eating does.) Then, checking out Charlie Rose again after his absence, at about 11:30 I stumbled upon him interviewing someone I'd didn't recognize. Bald, white haired, about my age, this character was animated, enthusiastic, inspired, and talking about Mario. Telling his story of going on the line in the Babbo kitchen to write a profile, and quitting his job, staying on and off for three years, with a number of side trips to Italy, to study with the people who taught Mario.
Bill got my attention. Not only had he been the fiction editor at the New Yorker, but the editor of Granta (a great literary fiction periodical), and he was obviously a writer himself. He was so charismatic I couldn't help myself, I watched the whole thing.
Like I said, one of you will have a better take on the book. But, I will say, I almost wish Bill Buford was my friend. (I say "almost" because I haven't had such great luck in translating TV charisma into real life experience.) And his writing, his storytelling, his admiration of Mario, all come through and might make you wish you'd quit your job too and become a cook.
