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Delectable morsels for foodies
REVIEWS BY LISA WADDLE If there's anyone in your life who loves to cook or eat, your gift giving just got easier. Three newly released books go far beyond traditional cookbooks, and are sure to appeal to those who love to stir things up in the kitchen, or those who enjoy reading of others' culinary adventures.
What makes this memoir worth reading is that it offers a peek into a life far different than most, and lived with gusto. Reynolds was raised on Manhattan's Upper East Side, a privileged child who decided to become an actor. His career path was far from straight, and included working on Eugene McCarthy's 1972 presidential campaign, writing a book on location during the filming of Apocalypse Now and producing "The Dick Cavett Show." Reynolds has lived on both coasts, traveled extensively, divorced and remarried (to scene designer Heidi Ettinger) and has two sons and three stepsons. It's appropriate that this rich life is filled with rich dishes like Fontainebleau Lobster and Cinderella Truffles.
By Jonathan Reynolds Random House, $25.95 352 pages ISBN 1400062748
Recipes for success
Each essay in How I Learned to Cook opens with a short bio of a chef, hardly necessary in most cases (Anthony Bourdain, Mario Batali, Marcella Hazan), essential in others (Raymond Blanc, Chris Bianco). Each chef takes a slightly different tack, telling about childhood experiences in the kitchen, early inspirations and mentors, twists of fate or epiphanies that came later in life. All the essays are less than 10 pages long and hold a reader's attention with their sheer diversity. This is not just a book for culinary school students or aspiring professionals—the inspiration in these chefs' tales works for the weekend cook as well. Despite the breadth of experiences recounted—from cooking under the master French chef Paul Bocuse (Daniel Boulud) to deep-frying at the snack bar of the local swim club (Tom Colicchio)—cooks of every ability level will recognize the one constant throughout: passion for good food.
By Kimberly Witherspoon and Peter Meehan Bloomsbury, $24.95 304 pages ISBN 1596912472
Thoughts on food
The charm of Life Is Meals is the Salters' quirky selection and arrangement of facts. Although some entries offer a historical food fact (the menu on the Titanic on the night it went down), others are random observations (what makes a good waiter) or tips on throwing a dinner party, which fruits go with which cheeses (June 27) or the evolution of the fork (January 13). Difficult to put down, this is a book to keep by the bedside and give to every foodie on your list.
By James Salter Knopf, $27.50 464 pages ISBN 0307264963
Lisa Waddle is a pastry baker and food writer in Nashville.
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The latest entry in the memoir-cum-recipes category is truly a mouthful. In Wrestling with Gravy: A Life, with Food playwright and New York Times food columnist Jonathan Reynolds recounts the delights and drama of his remarkable life through meals he's made and ingested. In each chapter, Reynolds offers a recipe or two to go with the narrative of his life. The wonderful thing is that these recipes—which are all over the map as far as cuisine and complexity—are directly relevant to whatever tale he's telling, and not just tacked on as an afterthought. For example, there's the Tournedos Rossini Reynolds that was served onboard the S.S. France during his college graduation cruise. Then there's the Monterey County Jail Oatmeal, which Reynolds experienced in his 20s after trespassing at Kim Novak's house.
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Unlike the days when the European apprentice system was the only way to become an established chef, today there is no one route to the kitchen. Nowhere is that better illustrated than in How I Learned to Cook: Culinary Educations of the World's Greatest Chefs, a collection of essays by 40 acclaimed chefs. Edited by Kimberly Witherspoon and Peter Meehan, the book is a satisfying follow-up to Don't Try This at Home, their collection of culinary catastrophe stories. While the first book was heavy on entertainment, this one delivers more in the practical wisdom department.
As entertaining as it is informative, Life Is Meals: A Food Lover's Book of Days is beautifully illustrated and full of much more than recipes or food lore (although it includes both). Written by PEN/Faulkner Award-winner James Salter and his playwright wife Kay Salter, the book has a short entry for each day of the year and is packed with fascinating tidbits.