Like many people, both in and out of the food industry, I have been reading Gourmet Magazine for a very long time. As a kid it showed up in the stacks of magazines my family had in their office. And as an adult, especially one who loves food, it has been in my regular reading pile for as long as I can remember. I have not always been a subscriber, choosing to rotate my food publications every year or so...but I never threw any of the ones I did get, away. I still have the November 1991 issue, along with a whole stack of others, arranged by month, so I can check into seasons past at a glance. This year, thanks to the Homer Middle School magazine sales fundraiser, I have (had) a current subscription to Gourmet. When I heard that this November issue would be the last, I realized that we must indeed be living in a new world.
To further inspire my fall menus and help me through these next months of darkness I went book shopping. There are two ways I reconcile this, one is that it's part research for my bakery cookbook project and the second is after I carefully peruse them myself, many become holiday gifts for my friends (It's like two gifts in one!) The books by Ruth Reichl (Garlic and Saphires and Comfort me with apples) are destined for my sister-in-laws birthday box, which actually needs to be mailed, stat! (I love both of these books and have just discovered her blog...I'm sad she's out of job, but glad she is still writing! David Lebovitz's 'The sweet life in Paris' I have been loving and I think I will send this to my daughter in the Netherlands, she will be able relate to his funny observations of European life. 'The Kitchen Diaries' by Nigel Slater is laid out in an interesting way. It's literally a daily diary of his food adventures. (people have suggested we go with a seasonal format for our project, but I don't imagine us pulling it off this well) The photos are beautiful and printed on matte paper, one aspect I would like to consider for the bakery book. The Big Sur Bakery Cookbook by Michelle and Philip Wojtowicz was irresistable to me because of the fact it is about beginning a bakery on a whim and a prayer, a situation we can entirely relate to! I love the puveyor proflies, something I think would be great in our book as well. (This one's going to Sharon...shhh, don't tell!) 'The Fat Duck Cookbook' by Heston Blumenthal is just one of those books I know I will keep and pick up over and over, just for the shear whimsy and creative energy in his cooking and his words. (not to forget the awesome illustrations) and last, but definitely not least is Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller and his impeccable team including Susie Heller and Michael Ruhlman. I have all of their books, the first being 'The French Laundry Cookbook' and I am excited to have all winter to devour this new release.
2 comments:
I vote for organizing your cookbook by seasons. That is how I want my cookbooks, anyway, because that is how we eat. Have a recipe for strawberry tart? I better file it under June, because if I miss the window, I miss it for a whole year! Green beans coming in? I like having six ways to cook green beans all in one spot.
Ali and I are working on a cookbook project, too. We'll share it with you when we finish. You might even recognize some of the recipes.
What a lovely treat to go out and buy such inspiring and beautiful books. I have a couple of books on hold at the library...can't wait for them to come in!
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