In this gift-giving period of the year, finding the right present to match the recipient is always a challenge. When it comes to books, some titles sound seductively appetizing, and others makes us question whether we are up to the task. Look at theses two extremes: Eating by Jason Epstein recounts his life as a diner, cook, and critic. That works.
On the other end of the scale, you have a masterwork from the 1800s that promises to teach you a trick or two about the whole category of food: The Physiology of Taste, Or Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy, by Brillat Savarin, (translated by food master, M.F.K. Fisher). That’s a true title mouthful; two different recipients for sure!
In between those extremes there are some wonderful food books for great present-giving.
For those mourning the loss of their favorite food magazine, then the new Gourmet cookbook should keep them busy for a while (Gourmet Today: More than a 1000 New Recipes for the Contemporary Kitchen, by Ruth Reichl). If they are Food Network fans, then Rachael Ray, the darling of the Network has the solution: Her Top 10 list of 30-minute meals. (Rachael Ray’s Top 10: More than 300 Recipes to Cook Every Day). OK, maybe not everyday!
If you are thinking about the local food movement, then you can start with a book credited for beginning much of the dialogue: Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma. The more problematic discussion in graphic prose is the recent book by the vegetarian Jonathan Safran Foer, Eating Animals. (Not quite Upton Sinclair’s take (The Jungle), but squeamishly close, especially for a meat-eater!). The moral dilemma of our chosen foods sits restlessly in our decision-making.
If you’ve always dreamed of sharing your food expertise then Frank Bruni, former restaurant critic of the New York Times, has a book (Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-Time Eater) that puts life and food into perspective. If you’d rather read a book by a woman who is responsible for an almost endless list of famous cookbook authors, then cookbook editor Judith Jones has the answer. Her new book provides a solution to a new life stage question: The Pleasures of Cooking for One.
If it’s cake you fancy, there’s a book (Rose’s Heavenly Cakes by Rose Levy Beranbaum) for that indulgence. The same for any aspect of a food, an ingredient, or a cooking style: There’s a book for that!
What delicious choices!
