Why have I been reading so long without knowing there was a subgenre of books called “cooking memoirs”??? Perhaps it was because I didn’t care all that much until my son became a sous chef and then his friend and former coworker became a contestant on the current season of the Emmy-nominated reality TV program, Top Chef, so we began watching it. And, of course, rooting for Brian. I grew up in a small town of parents from the Midwest. Meat and potatoes were their game and meat and potatoes were what sustained our family and my family when I was a young wife and mother. It wasn’t until I acquired the cookbooks of Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins (The Silver Palate and The New Basics) That I began to eat a little differently.
It wasn’t until I met John that I was introduced to more nouveau cuisine in restaurants; I had never been able to afford food like this before. We went to all the nice restaurants in the Seattle area, Portland, and many in Palm Springs, Las Vegas, Southern California, Scottsdale, Arizona and even Hawaii on our trips. But still a lot of the terminology and recipes remained unfamiliar to me.
But I digress. Back to Reichl’s memoir. I hard heard about his genre first when it was mentioned in one of my online book groups. Then I happened to download a wonderful interview with the author done by the CBC onto my iPod. I couldn’t wait to read more of her work. I immediately ordered Tender at the Bone from Paperback Swap but while waiting for it to arrive (and it still hasn’t) ordered it from my local library. I was immediately taken in by the story of this woman who rose to fame by being a restaurant critic for the New York Times and then editor of Gourmet magazine whose mother cooked such horrible meals that she once poisoned the entire guest list of an engagement party. This woman who while a young dissident in Berkeley in the early 70s made meals made primarily of ingredients garnered from Dumpster diving. How in the world did she get to where she is now? I had to know more.
How could one woman have so many colorful characters come into her life? How could she have so many food adventures? An amazing book. I absolutely couldn’t put it down.
Reichl’s candor makes the reader feel like they are almost a voyeur in her life. I love this woman’s writing!!! Where has she been all my life???? I want to know what in the world happens between her and Doug and did she ever remain friends with Serafina? Will we ever find out what happened to Mrs. Peavey? Inquiring minds want to know!!!! I was lucky to have her second memoir, Comfort Me With Apples, Growing Up at the Table here from the library as well and immediately picked it up. Hopefully I will get some of the answers in this second book. Her third, Garlic and Sapphires, is on order.
It wasn’t until I met John that I was introduced to more nouveau cuisine in restaurants; I had never been able to afford food like this before. We went to all the nice restaurants in the Seattle area, Portland, and many in Palm Springs, Las Vegas, Southern California, Scottsdale, Arizona and even Hawaii on our trips. But still a lot of the terminology and recipes remained unfamiliar to me.
But I digress. Back to Reichl’s memoir. I hard heard about his genre first when it was mentioned in one of my online book groups. Then I happened to download a wonderful interview with the author done by the CBC onto my iPod. I couldn’t wait to read more of her work. I immediately ordered Tender at the Bone from Paperback Swap but while waiting for it to arrive (and it still hasn’t) ordered it from my local library. I was immediately taken in by the story of this woman who rose to fame by being a restaurant critic for the New York Times and then editor of Gourmet magazine whose mother cooked such horrible meals that she once poisoned the entire guest list of an engagement party. This woman who while a young dissident in Berkeley in the early 70s made meals made primarily of ingredients garnered from Dumpster diving. How in the world did she get to where she is now? I had to know more.
How could one woman have so many colorful characters come into her life? How could she have so many food adventures? An amazing book. I absolutely couldn’t put it down.
Reichl’s candor makes the reader feel like they are almost a voyeur in her life. I love this woman’s writing!!! Where has she been all my life???? I want to know what in the world happens between her and Doug and did she ever remain friends with Serafina? Will we ever find out what happened to Mrs. Peavey? Inquiring minds want to know!!!! I was lucky to have her second memoir, Comfort Me With Apples, Growing Up at the Table here from the library as well and immediately picked it up. Hopefully I will get some of the answers in this second book. Her third, Garlic and Sapphires, is on order.
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