Book Review: Books That Cook: The Making of a Literary Meal Edited by Jennifer Cognard-Black and Melissa A. Goldthwaite

Books That Cook: The Making of a Literary Meal Edited by Jennifer Cognard-Black and Melissa A. Goldthwaite

Published by: New York University Press

Published on: August 1, 2014

Page Count: 384

Genre: Nonfiction, food (what else?)

My Reading Format: ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley

Available Formats: Kindle ebook and hardcover

My Review: 

Books That Cook is set up like a cooking anthology: a collection of writings bound by one theme, food, and specifically, American food. The book is grouped by sections, and each section is titled the way one would work his or her way through a meal: invocation; starters; bread, polenta, and pasta; eggs; main dishes; side dishes; and desserts. Then, within each section a writer has included a personal anecdote that is focused around food and in most cases a recipe follows.    

I like the idea of the book. I am interested in food memories and the stories about family and friends sitting around a table together to enjoy a particular dish. When I think of my maternal grandmother’s delicious cakes, it makes me think of all the family dinners and birthday celebrations we had that ended with a slice of caramel cake or pound cake (made from scratch of course) on our plates. When I think of my paternal grandmother, I think of how she’d put mint springs from her yard in our iced tea glasses and that there was often gelatin or tomato aspic as part of a meal. At those big meals there were always a lot of good conversation and a lot of laughs. 

I liked that even though I’m not a food studies scholar, I recognized many of the names of people who had contributed a chapter. I found, though, that I didn’t care for all of the works, particularly by the people I don’t know. Some stories and poems were jarring and it was difficult sometimes to find the food that I thought I was supposed to be reading about. It didn’t always take center stage in each chapter. There were some writers that I was unsure had the credibility to write about food when I couldn’t quite connect the dots between their prose and a food memory. Some chapters didn’t have a recipe included, which would have given some structure and consistency to the work. 

Some of the chapters I thought were very well done and fun to read. For instance, Chapter 21 “American Liver Mush” by Ravi Shankar was a recipe that wasn’t for food but listed ingredients such as “3 cowboys from PRCA rodeos,” “8 Lynyrd Skynyrd fans, packed into 1 minivan” and “1 demographic pie chart from a meeting of Board of Trustees” with add-ins like “an election year, hurricane season” and a clothesline. It was funny and enjoyable to read but I was still left feeling unsure about how it really related to the rest of the collection. In Chapter 26 “The Poet in the Kitchen and The Poem of Chicken Breast with Fettuccine,” no recipe is included but a poem at the end of the chapter makes it feel wrapped up and finished. 

Overall, I like the concept for this book but the structure of the book fell short for me. While I liked all the different voices and perspectives on food, the book lacked cohesiveness. The string that tied each chapter to the next wasn’t strong enough for me. I wanted consistency for each chapter, something like an introduction to the author of that chapter (a short bio establishing their credentials, however formal or informal, for writing about their specific food topic), the writer’s personal connection to the food about which they are writing and then the recipe that corresponds to their story. At one point as I read this book, I made a note in my Kindle file that the whole book is like a vegetable stew: everything is just thrown in, and I like the taste of some of it but not all. 

Two and a half out of five stars

If you liked this book, you’ll like A History of Food in 100 Recipes by William Sitwell, Being Dead is No Excuse: The Official Southern Ladies' Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral by Gayden Metcalfe and Suck Your Stomach In and Put Some Color On!: What Southern Mamas Tell Their Daughters that the Rest of Y'all Should Know Too by Shellie Rushing Tomlinson.

Book Review: A History of Food in 100 Recipes by William Sitwell

A History of Food in 100 Recipes by William Sitwell

Published by: Little, Brown and Company

Published on: June 18, 2013

Page Count: 360

Genre: Cookbook, history

My Reading Format: Advanced reading copy in e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley

Available Formats: Hardcover, Kindle book

 

My Review: 

William Sitwell, food writer and television personality in Great Britain bid on several 19th century cookbooks at an auction in 2010 and won them. While reading through them later, the idea for this book was born. What he discovered was that even centuries ago, those who wrote down recipes became authorities on food, and therefore, in some cases, also culture and hospitality, either in his or her own circle of friends or to a larger audience. Things haven't changed much over the years. With more research, Sitwell chose 100 recipes written down by cooks that we may already be familiar with or have never heard of. Either way, those recipes, in some way, shaped the food culture of its time. (He makes the disclaimer early that a recipe from centuries past may not be cookable by someone in a modern kitchen today, but that some of his chosen recipes would be.) Starting with ancient Egyptian bread, the recipe for which was painted on the wall of a tomb in 11 BC, Sitwell takes us through food history, all the way to modern-day recipes by cooks that are a regular part of our lives through their books or television shows today.

Though the 100 recipes are from a wide range of countries and cultures, Sitwell's cultural references are heavily British assuming in places that his readers will know exactly what he's talking about. I didn't always. However, that didn't take much away from my enjoyment of the book. 

I enjoyed reading about recipes I'd never heard of and never realized what a major impact some of them had in their time. Some of those were very interesting, such as John Evelyn who was the first person to advocate for salads and create a dressing for them in the 1600s and Mary Eales, who invented ice cream in 1718. As an American, the buttered apple pie recipe from Amelia Simmons' American Cookery in 1796 was an important one, as was Eliza Leslie's cupcake recipe from her 1834 book Miss Leslie's Behaviour Book: A Guide and Manual for Ladies. Also included were other fun things like the evolution of the cocktail party in the mid-20th century, the start of Gourmet magazine and epicurious.com, and today's TV food personalities like Emeril, Mario Batali and Jamie Oliver, and food personalities we'll never forget (i.e. Julia Child).   

If you're interested in food culture and its history, both ancient and modern, you'll like A History of Food in 100 Recipes. 

Four out of five stars

If you think you'll like this book, I also recommend Eating by Jason Epstein.

Food Reading and Writing

Meals can be memorable. Years later, one can remember what was eaten at a special meal. For me, I love that my family eats North Carolina barbecue, slaw, potato salad and hush puppies for Christmas Eve dinner. I'll always remember my paternal grandfather's obsession with dessert (so I come by it naturally) and how he once ate three HUGE pieces of my maternal grandmother's strawberry cake after a very large meal. I can't look at a red velvet cake without remembering that that's the flavor my husband wanted for our wedding cake. I remember that when my grandmother died, all the neighbors brought over muffins. When my great-grandmother died, it was fried chicken. Life happens around a dining room table.

Jason Epstein recalls what he's eaten and cooked over the years in his memoir, Eating. In each chapter he recalls a meal shared with someone, the conversation that happened, what they ate and then gives recipes to recreate that meal. Though not all of the recipes he included appeal to my taste, I can very much relate to the fact that we associate certain dishes with the people who have shared them with us.

Food and drink are meant to be shared with friends and family. Two recent articles I've written center on this theme. Recipe developer Alison Lewis has a sandwich cookbook just out called 400 Best Sandwich Recipes: From Classics and Burgers to Wraps and Condiments, and her story appears in Julep, a new online Southern magazine. For Georgia Connector, I wrote an article about the home brewing scene in Athens, Georgia, where it's a pretty big deal to brew your own beer and have your friends over to try it.

All this talk about food, friends and family makes me want to throw a dinner party to try out new recipes!

The Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook

For Southerners, food is a pretty big deal. Let's hope there's never a birthday party in my family without my grandmother's caramel cake, no Thanksgiving without a turkey smoked on the grill by my dad or sweet potato casserole with pecans on top, or Easter dinner without a ham. I love to cook, and when I get a new cookbook I just can't wait to go through it and flag all the recipes I'd like to cook one day. I ordered The Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook with a Christmas gift card, and it's just arrived. I can't wait to read it from cover to cover and dream about all the things I want to make!