Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I go for the easy stuff. Leftovers, (Chinese is especially good!) whatever chips/cookies/crackers are around... Things that don't need prep. I'm too lazy to put ice cream in a bowl late at night!

Laurie Colwin - Home Coojing / More Home Cooking / Gourmet Articles
A. J. Liebling
Delight's & Predjudices - James Beard
My Life in France - Julia Child
The Tenth Muse - Judith Jones
Alice B/ Toklas Cookbook
Elizabeth David - MFK Fisher - JohnThorne - Steingarten
How fortunate we are that these writers, and many others, shared their thoughts with us

Anything by Bourdain including A Cook's Tour, No Reservations, Kitchen Confidential and The Nasty Bits

Steingarten's The Man Who Ate Everything

My Life in France by Julia Child, which spawned my appreciation of Julie and Julia by Julie Powell

and Fork It Over by Alan Richman

I'm do apologize for bumping up an old topic, I just wanted to extend a heartfelt thanks. This thread inspired me to hit Barnes and Noble and Half Price Books to seek out food related books that weren't just packed with informative recipes, but wisdom and wit as well.

What I found was a goldmine: How to Cook a Wolf, The Man Who Ate Everything, Tender at the Bone, Clementine in the Kitchen, and The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating.

I'm now on cloud 9 as I giddily face the decision of where to start. A big thanks to Serious Eats and the SE community!

MFK Fisher a hundred times over.

Also Laurie Colwin (what a loss), and almost all the others. Mr. Meatloaf is a big AJ Liebling fan. Slater is an excellent writer, and I liked reading Nigella long before I saw her photo or heard her voice. I've had the pleasure of Danny Meyer, Bud Trillin and Tony Bourdain in person, so I admit to some prejudice on them. Steingarten's character I can't comment on, but I do appreciate his work, especially his discussion on learning to eat things one dislikes, which I think some people can gain from.

And so many more. I think I learned to eat from books before I sat at an adventurous table.

@bessfour - Yeah, I really didn't enjoy her book. It was more about how fabulous she was, and less about food/food-writing.

last night it was a pomegranate and a sliver of brie.

Oreo cookies

I have had oolong tea once, in cold canned form. It was made by the same people who make my favorite cold canned unsweetened green tea so I thought I would love it but I could not even finish the can! It was TERRIBLE. I'll have to give the hot version a try before I pass any official judgment but boy did that canned oolong tea leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Hillary
Chew on That

I love clams. Today at a very reputable fish house in Key Largo I ordered Mussels. I thought they were mealy in texture, no ocean flavor & quite frankly odd. Is mealy in texture normal? I have also heard of Prince Edward Mussels & seen them on a menu at Bone Fish Grill,, I suspect I should have tried those first.

That was really great! The title caught my attention because when I was younger, I didn't like eggs at all and we had Eggs Benedict every Christmas morning. My dad would leave the egg off mine and call it, "Eggs Benedict Arnold".

Pablo Neruda's Elementary Odes is filled with food images. My favorite phrase is:

The sedulous cabbage
arranges its petticoats

Funny you should mention carrots and poetry, Eliz.
Carrots
Have merits.
(Carried on a picket sign outside McDonald's in a rural area with no good restaurants, farmers' markets or food critcs.)

I know a poem about carrots that was written by the daughter of the poet Morton Seif. I think the name of it is Battuto.

carrot tops are silly things
freed of bugs they flick and spring
ticklish leaved spiky sworded
feathery light green juice extorted

gullets gape neverending
hungry-mouthed not pretending
carrot celery onion steam
for churlish destind tummy's dream

Goes to show that poets are not made with DNA.
....................................................
Pat Conroy's book "The Prince of Tides" is also filled with descriptions of food that border on and hit the poetic. The descriptions of food run through the book - the language sings.

Avocado + ripe mango (best with red onions, tomatoes and roasted pasilla chile)

Dill Pickles + onions and tomatoes (as in, Italian sub, chili burger, NY deli food, etc.)

Paris + warm baguette, cold butter and wine (serrano ham optional)

Greens + beans, field peas or lentils

Agree with...
Brie/Camembert + pears or apples
PB + honey