anyone read these books?
I'm thinking about getting one or both of these cookbooks but my cookbook shelf is getting excessively full and want to be a little more discriminating. Wondering if anyone has "Well-preserved" by Eugenia Bone or "Fat" by Jennifer McLagan? Heard nice things about both but what do you think?
Also on the back-burner to buy is "The Taste of Country Cooking" by Edna Lewis...too many books I want...any on your shelf that you think is a must have? One you'd by before any of the one's I've mentioned?
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6 Comments:
2 years ago I embarked on the chef reality series with Kitchen Confidential by Bourdain and Heat by Bill Buford books and I read some more Bourdains after that. The best part of Buford's book was him talking about Gina DePalma.
I am all done with that genre. I think the comical and philosophical nature of a chef is overplayed. Does anyone care how your podiatrist feels about feet, probably not. Sometimes I need the mystery that surrounds the persona of a person I admire. What I really wanted was more recipes and techique. Having said that I am on a Ruhlman kick.
He mixes a little philosophy in with practical magic and that I like a lot.
JerzeeTomato at 9:07PM on 06/22/09
I've got Fat. I've made a few recipes from it, and the Brown Butter Ice Cream was particularly good. And not something that's in every other dessert cookbook on the planet.
I don't have the other. It looks interesting, but I've got a number of other books on the subject, and there's only so much food that I'm going to want to preserve. However, you might want to check out Pickle It, Jam It, Cure It. I'm not going to say it's my favorite, but it does have a wide range of recipes for days when you need a project to embark on. And it's not just pickles and preserves, it includes marshmallows, bacon, and all sorts of stuff. The downside is that it doesn't go really in-depth on any particular topic, but it gives you a lot of different things to try.
I've just gotten over a major love affair with Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads. The weather has gotten hotter here, so I won't be baking quite as much.
dbcurrie at 9:16PM on 06/22/09
Edna Lewis's "Taste of Country Cooking," is I think, the most beautifully written American cookbook ever published. I discovered it via one of Laurie Colwin's essays in "Home Cooking." Also, all the recipes I've tried are great. I only cook from it maybe a dozen times a year... they all feed at least four, and I live alone.
Because I have the Martin Picard's "Au Pied Du Cochon," two Fergus Henderson cookbooks, Jane Grigson's book on charcuterie, most of Julia Child, Elizabeth David and Richard Olney's works, I didn't think I need Jennifer McLagan's "Fat," but I've looked through it, and agree with her ideas.
Ortolan at 11:03AM on 06/23/09
Edna Lewis is a must-have!
eleeb at 12:27PM on 06/23/09
You know what I'd recommend? Check to see if your local library has these books and take them home for a week. And see if you'll actually use them. That way, you'll know for sure :)
orchidgirl at 9:44AM on 06/24/09
I 2nd orchidgirl....please utilize your local library!
bobcatsteph3 at 11:07AM on 06/24/09