Favorite books about food

Roadfoodies- (is this the proper term?)

What great books about food have you read (fiction, non-fiction, cookbook, whatever)?

What food book would you take with you from your burning abode?

Looking for reading material.

thanks!

Citizengeek:

As someone who edited cookbooks, worked in a company that dealt with Emeril, Marcela Hazan, Paula Wolfert, and Graham Kerr, to name but a few, go back to the sources for a real summer read:

1. The Physiognomy of Taste by Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

2. The Art of Eating by M.F.K Fisher

3. Chinese Gastronomy by Hsiang Ju Lin & Tsuifeng Lin

These are the real writers and food poets. The rest are but nutmeg on a Brandy Alexander. Stick with the olives in a Martini. Anyone and everyone can write a mere cookbook. But who can tell you what is so special about the art and love of cookery? They do.

fiction: Like Water For Chocolate
The Debt To Pleasure
Cookbooks: Anything by Paula Wolfert
She is amazing. Just reading the text in her cookbooks is a revelation. And the food is just as good.
On a more technical note, any thing by Harold McGee or Shirley Corriher for answers to puzzling food questions.
And then for food essays of a contemporary nature, anything by Calvin Trillin or Jeffrey Steingarten. Very entertaining and often touching.

Well, if my abode was burning, a book would be the last thing I would grab! Luckily my Roadfood book is stored in my SUV! But if I rescued my dog, TV, computer, my home-made pickled bologna, extra shirt or 2, pair of socks, extra boxers, shorts and pants... It probably would be my new Kitchen Aid Mixer! Oh, if I was to grab a book, probably Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser... Found reading it more then intresting!

2 cookbooks: Paul Prudhomme's "Louisiana Kitchen" and Bruce Cost's "Big Bowl: Noodles and Rice".

The former is Prudhomme's original cookbook and includes his best essential Cajun/Creole recipes. The shrimp creole takes about 3 days to make, but it's ethereal (day 1--peel shrimp/make shrimp stock with heads; day 2--make sauce with shrimp stock; day 3--let sauce "mellow" in fridge, then reheat, add shrimp and EAT)

The later is the best book of Asian noodle and rice recipes I've found (I love Shanghai and Hainan food).

Laurie Colwin's Home Cooking and More Home Cooking. I still miss her.

Calvin Trillin's Tummy Trilogy

AMERICAN FRIED
ALICE LET'S EAT
THIRD HELPINGS

Trillin is the original Roadfooder

McGee. Sorry, I guess I want to know more about why than what.

My autographed copy of Square Meals
My Grandmother's copy of Women's Home Companion Cookbook circa 1942
The Interstate Gourmet, Texas and the Southwest, Barbara Rodriguez and Tom Miller

Oh this is such a toughie !

I do love Calvin Trillin, his piece on Italian sausage sandwich eating inspired me to march my friend off to the Feast of St Gennaro when we went to NYC a few years back, great fun

I am ashamed to say I have never read any of the Sterns' books *hangs head * but I enjoy their reviews on this site and if I ever came across any of their books over here I know I would enjoy them

Apart from that : " Food in England " by Dorothy Hartley, published in the 1950's, a mixture of recipes, history and personal anecdote that is permanently fascinating. It definitely would be my food related book I would take to a desert island ! And anything by Elizabeth Luard who is an excellent writer, but particularly " The Rich Tradition ", which is all about European peasant cooking, and her warm, witty anecdotal but well researched style makes for a great read.

Ma Gastronomie by Fernand Point is another classic.

Brillat Savarin's book is called The Physiology of Taste, not Physiognomy just for the record.

You might find this previous thread on food writing interesting.

http://roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=480&whichpage=1

quote:

Originally posted by rumbelly

Ma Gastronomie by Fernand Point is another classic.

Brillat Savarin's book is called The Physiology of Taste, not Physiognomy just for the record.

I stand corrected -- after several Martinis and half a bottle of wine, I was lucky to remember anything!

Have to recommend Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, Cod, The History of Salt, both by Mark Kurlansky. Couldn't evacuate from a hurricane without my Joy of Cooking (I know, how plebian.)

I'll put in my vote for three books:

"Pei Mei's Chinese Cook Book Volume I" - recipes printed in both
Chinese and English; and some of the pictures may not be for the
squeamish

"Leone's Italian Cookbook" - Not just food, but a history of that
time period from 1906-1960 with Caruso, Eisenhower...

"The Graham Kerr Cookbook by the Galloping Gourmet" - Anyone want
to take on the recipes in the "graduate" section, such as "Stuffed
Saddle of Lamb Roxdale?"

the best of all is Calvin Trillings "the belly trilogy",actually 3 books in one....funny,informative and opinionated(what would you expect?)
sample quote "Arthur Bryans is the best restaurant on the planet"...words like that can get a group discussion to last for weeks with the ROADFOOD crowd.

ooooops,SIGNMAN is correct,it's called the "Tummy"trilogy(I haven't had breakfast yet)

I like this topic.

Tony Bourdain's KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL and A COOK'S TOUR are both really good reads, imho.

EAT, DRINK, AND BE KINKY by Mike McGovern contains some interesting recipes (Irish Toast is my favorite), and some very funny passages. It doesn't hurt that I've read most of Kinky Friedman's novels.

Steve Raichlen's BBQ BIBLE is a must have for grill jockeys (expert & otherwise), and the CULINARIA series is just a must have.

Two of my favorites are CHOW: A Cook's Tour of Military food - Paul Dickson and James D. Porterfield's Dining By Rail -The History and Recipes of America's Golden Age of Railroad Cuisine.

I just finished the book On the Town in New York: The Landmark History of Eating, Drinking, and Entertainments from the American Revolution to the Food Revolution. It was interesting reading.

My one food book that I would cry if it was destroyed is called Where to Dine in ’39 and it lists all the NYC restaurants in 1939 with reviews, recipes, etc.

I second Paul Prudhomme's LOUISIANA KITCHEN. The others I would probably grab from the fire would be the classic CHARLESTON RECEITS, a couple of Floyd County, GA cookbooks passed down from my grandma, and an old church cookbook from the '80's. These are the ones I use, and browse, most often.

Back to the Cutting Board.....A hilarious and insightful look into the world of Chefs, public relations and little old Italian Mamas. Oh......did I happen to mention it was written by our very own Grampy?

James Beard's New York Times Cookbook

Bert Greene's Kitchen, A book of Memories and Recipes

Fried Green Tomatoes-Fannie Flagg... What can one say about The Ultimate Barbeque Guide?

quote:

Originally posted by RubyRose

Two of my favorites are CHOW: A Cook's Tour of Military food - Paul Dickson and James D. Porterfield's Dining By Rail -The History and Recipes of America's Golden Age of Railroad Cuisine.

I just finished the book On the Town in New York: The Landmark History of Eating, Drinking, and Entertainments from the American Revolution to the Food Revolution. It was interesting reading.

My one food book that I would cry if it was destroyed is called Where to Dine in ’39 and it lists all the NYC restaurants in 1939 with reviews, recipes, etc.

I think I've found a soulmate!

I've got "Dining By Rail"--saw it in the store and had to have it because I enjoy taking trains. But have you actually made any of the recipes?

Now I have to go out and try to find those others you mentioned.

"Outdoor Cooking with Inside Help" Justin Wilson

quote:

Originally posted by rmcielwain[/i

"Leone's Italian Cookbook" - Not just food, but a history of that
time period from 1906-1960 with Caruso, Eisenhower...

Sorry it's off-topic, but you might enjoy Caruso's first-hand account of the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 (he was in town perfomring at the time)--there's also some music from Carmen which is what he was doing that day: http://www.sfmuseum.net/1906/ew19.html

I'll check it out: have a little knowledge about opera, and
when you mentioned "Carmen", it brought back a memory from sixth
grade when we had to study that as part of our music class.
BTW, Caruso's favourite dish: "a big, steaming plate of Mother's
(Leone's) ravioli, of which he would take a whiff before enjoying"

quote:

Originally posted by Lucky Bishop

Laurie Colwin's Home Cooking and More Home Cooking. I still miss her.

I'm with you. She was the best. I chose Home Cooking or my book club and made food from it for the party. I also love Walikng Across Egypt.

I really enjoy my copy of James Beard's "Beard on Food". It is a collection of his columns and very interesting.

Michael Polan's The Botany Of Desire. It's not exactly about food, but it relates to the subject.

quote:

Originally posted by EdSails

I really enjoy my copy of James Beard's "Beard on Food". It is a collection of his columns and very interesting.

Ed: For the longest time I had a problem with food on beard.

quote:

Originally posted by Grampy

quote:

Originally posted by EdSails

I really enjoy my copy of James Beard's "Beard on Food". It is a collection of his columns and very interesting.

Ed: For the longest time I had a problem with food on beard.

Grampy,
I owe you a martini for that one!