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Book ReviewsHome Cooking |
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Book: Home Cooking
Written by: Laurie Colwin Anna Shapiro |
Publisher: Perennial
Average Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5
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Fun to read even if you don't cook!
Rating:
4 / 5
I'd rather dine out than in, and I hate to cook, but I like Laurie Colwin's style of writing, so I bought this book. Even Ms. Colwin admitted that she bought cookbooks just to read them, but I'm sure she tried some of the recipes as well. She described, by name, several cookbooks she had on hand, most or all out of print, and it made me wish I could read them as well. To show how cleverly she turned a phrase, I was inspired to cook something and did! I tried a recipe for bread that, when she wrote it, had me almost tasting it. Alas, said bread did not turn out as hoped. I had someone else (an experienced cook) try it as well, and it was somewhat disappointing. No big deal. I'd rather read than cook, anyway.
Heartwarming Culinary Essays. Great Read for Foodies
Rating:
5 / 5
'Home Cooking' by Laurie Colwin is the kind of book that really makes you wish you could become friends with the author. Unfortunately, the author is no longer with us, so there is a lot more than the usual barrier between celebrity and mere mortal between reader and writer.
The chapters in the book are essays composed of both culinary and autobiographical material, although the book is not a memoir a la Ruth Reichl's two books. It is also not culinary criticism or exposition in the style of John Thorne. It is most similar to the kind of essays written by Elizabeth David, one of the author's heroes, and M.F.K. Fisher.
The author has the advantage of most good writers in that she has lived in interesting circumstances providing fuel for her writing. One premise for much of her culinary advice is based on the fact that for several years, she lived in a very small Greenwich Village apartment with no oven, two hot plates, no sink and a tiny refrigerator, with literally enough room to hold no more than three people at a time. Amazingly, the author was able to actually entertain in this tiny space, using the bathtub and commode as a means of washing up the dishes.
Much of the culinary advice is quirky and some is actually a bit dated, as it predates the microplane and the cheap plastic mandoline. I suspect the author may have changed some of her opinions if these tools had been available. Colwin's advice about knives is also a little dated, as she swears by carbon steel blades rather than modern stainless steel. Since there is no evidence that she sharpened her own knives, I suspect a modern Santoku knife may have changed her opinion. Even so, the essays are a testament to cooking with only the bare minimum of equipment and space.
It is not surprising that Ms. Colwin's recipes never made the 'Best of' series, as they are quirky rather than true gourmet fare. While another of Ms. Colwin's heroes is Edna Lewis, the very influential writer on Southern cooking, Ms. Colwin's recipe for Southern Fried Chicken does not follow Ms. Lewis' lead on a number of things such as an overnight buttermilk marinade. He does, however, keep to the gospel of pan frying rather than deep-frying.
Ms. Colwin's writing provides much more food for the soul than it does food for the gut. Reading this book makes one wish that Karen Duffey would have channeled her not inconsiderable talent for the simple in her book 'A Slob in the Kitchen' into a style more like Ms. Colwin's very entertaining twists on culinary matters.
Highly recommended reading for foodies.
good, but....
Rating:
4 / 5
It think the author scores points for writing this book because of her fame AFTER her death.
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