Book Review: "Food for Thought: Essays and Ruminations" by Alton Brown

“To me, food is best when it’s not fussed over. Cook it as simply as you can, make it taste as good as you can without overcomplicating matters, serve it on a fairly simple, tasteful plate (if it’s chipped, even better), toss on a bit of parsley, and let it go. Do not fuss. Do not wipe down the edge of the plate. Do not position the stack of fries just so. Do not manipulate the Brussels sprout leaves with tweezers. We are humans, and wonderfully, imperfectly so. If it turns out that fussing is simply part of your DNA, do your imperfect best to not let it show, as it scares the rest of us.“

If there’s a chef who writes a book (not a cookbook), chances are I will read it. I’m fascinated by the paths that people followed into the culinary world, especially those who have some longevity, given people’s constantly changing tastes.

I used to be addicted to Food Network. On the weekends in particular, I’d watch a ton of cooking shows. And as much as I loved new recipes and techniques, I also loved understanding the science behind cooking, which is what drew me to Alton Brown and his show Good Eats.

Brown is a quirky personality but he is an absolute fount of culinary knowledge. His show not only taught ways to cook better but also helped viewers understand where their problems might lie. His humor was always on full display.

This book isn’t quite a memoir; it’s more a collection of essays, the majority of which center around food and how it became part of his life. From his early days of consuming every type of sugared cereal to reflections on his perfect martini, Brown provides insightful, fun, and thought-provoking commentary. He also talks plenty about Good Eats and his participation on Iron Chef America.

I thought this was a great book, as it was right up my alley. Even if you’re not familiar with Brown, if you’re a fan of food and cooking, there will definitely be something in here to enjoy!

Book Review: "What I Ate in One Year (and related thoughts)" by Stanley Tucci

“Sharing food is one of the purest human acts.”

If you had told me a few years ago that I would absolutely love a book in which someone essentially listed what they ate over the course of a year, I would’ve thought you were crazy. But then again, if it wasn’t Stanley Tucci telling me about his meals, it might not have been the experience this book was.

I fell in love with Tucci’s earlier book, Taste, and also really enjoyed his show, Searching for Italy. There’s just something so appealing about his love of good food, sharing it with family and friends, and mastering the preparation of it, not to mention recognizing the errors he or others made.

A diary of sorts, Tucci recorded what he ate in 2023, sometimes sharing specifics—location, his dining companions, what he thought of the food—and sometimes just being general. At times he’ll talk about why he liked or didn’t like a particular dish; other times he’ll share a memorable anecdote. (Even some recipes!) He and his wife Felicity both love to cook and entertain, and they do a great deal of it in the book.

You won’t want to read this on an empty stomach, especially if you’re a fan of Italian food. Tucci’s literary voice is so clear and direct—he doesn’t beat around the bush when he has something negative to say. Boy, I’d love to grab a meal with him or just talk food!!

“Part of the beauty of a certain dish or a meal is that it is ephemeral. It can be repeated but it will never be the same. Like the performance of a play. The lines and staging will be the same, but the result will always be a little different.”

Book Review: "Bite by Bite" by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

As you might have figured out from previous posts, I love food. I went to culinary school a number of years ago and worked as a personal chef for a while. I’m a bit of a foodie (although not to the extreme), and definitely love reading food writing and books where cooking factors into the plot.

All of this to say, when I saw Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s new book, Bite by Bite, sitting on a bookstore shelf, I picked it up immediately. In this book of short essays, she looks at how food can be linked to memories and how our senses can be awakened and enhanced by the foods we encounter.

“For what is home if not the first place where you learn what does and does not nourish you? The first place you learn to sit still and slow down when someone offers you a bite to eat?”

In this beautifully illustrated book, Nezhukumatathil touches on foods both familiar (e.g., apples, butter, maple syrup) and more “exotic” (e.g., rambutan, jackfruit, mangosteen). She talks about her introduction to these flavors and the memories they convey. She discusses how these foods and tastes intersect with her heritage and she also shares her hopeful perspectives and memories raising her children.

“I wanted to be there when my boys first grab the berries from my hand and nibble on them with such abandonment, such a love and hunger and thirst that their mouths end up looking like those goofy bloody bunny pictures.”

This is such a lovely book, one you can open and read from any point. It would make a terrific gift for almost anyone—and Nezhukumatathil has given us quite a gift as well.

Book Review: "Plenty: A Memoir of Food and Family" by Hannah Howard

In Plenty: A Memoir of Food and Family, a food writer pays tribute to the women in the food industry who served as role models or mentors, juxtaposed with key events in her life.

As I’ve said before, I’m totally obsessed with food and cooking (and eating, of course), so when I see a memoir by a chef or food writer (or eater, lol), I, well, devour it. I enjoyed Hannah Howard’s last book, Feast, so I was really excited for this one.

The food industry has always been male-dominated, so Howard thought it was important to highlight the women she has met through her career—chefs, cooking teachers, restaurant/cafe owners, cheese makers, food purveyors, buyers, etc. But while each anecdote is important, Howard also shares her own struggles amidst these profiles.

She discusses what it’s like to be a woman in the food industry who has struggled with an eating disorder, and spends a significant amount of the book addressing the challenges she and her husband faced with having a child. It’s a powerful look at how even when you work in a fascinating field that people may envy, you still can face real problems.

Howard imbues her work with a great deal of emotion, and those who have struggled with fertility and/or eating disorders may find some of the book triggering. I would have liked more food-related content (I have a one-track mind), but this was an interesting read!!

Book Review: "Taste: My Life Through Food" by Stanley Tucci

Taste: My Life Through Food is part memoir, part love letter to food and eating and cooking.

My name is Larry and I love food. I mean, seriously. I love to read about it, I love to cook it, and I seriously love to eat it. Most of the memoirs I’ve read have been written by chefs or have been about people’s love of food, so when I saw Stanley Tucci (one of my favorite actors) had written this book, I jumped on it like I would a buffet. (Hey, #fatboysgottafat.)

In this book, Tucci shared memories of growing up in an Italian family that shared an immense love of food, and how his preferences were much more expansive than those of his peers, yet he still craved the junk foods of his youth.

He shares memories of some of the best (and worst) meals he’s ever had, memories of discovering new restaurants while filming or traveling or vacationing. He also discusses the shared love of food with both his late first wife and his current wife and their children, and one of his greatest fears when battling his own cancer diagnosis. (Plus, recipes. I’m in heaven.)

So often I could picture Tucci with his sly wit and slightly curmudgeonly manner telling me these stories. (He loves poking fun at Meryl Streep, too.) Taste really was just an all-around fantastic reading experience that made me so hungry, and I, well, devoured it in no time.

If you’ve never seen his movie Big Night, and you like movies about food, check it out!

Book Review: "Cheat Day" by Liv Stratman

Liv Stratman's upcoming debut novel, Cheat Day, is a thought-provoking, humorous look at the search for satisfaction.

Kit always feels as if her life is in flux. Her marriage to David, her college boyfriend, is stable, but she never feels like she has much control beyond that. She works at her sister’s bakery but as good as she is at her job, she keeps quitting and coming back.

The one way she attempts to take control of her life is through the temporary embrace of different diets. The latest one she has chosen is the 75-day Radiant Regimen, an intense cleanse that Kit is determined to follow to the letter, as she hopes that clean eating will bring clarity to the rest of her life. David participates as well in an effort to support her.

But the hunger she feels translates to more than her eating habits. She finds herself attracted to Matt, a carpenter doing renovations for the bakery. They quickly fall into a passionate affair even though Kit knows it won’t last. To cover her guilt over the affair, she becomes more and more obsessed with the Radiant Regimen, to the detriment of everyone.

What does Kit really want? What will satisfy her in the end, food-wise, relationship-wise, job-wise, and life-wise? Is having a “typical” life settling or is it worth throwing everything away to find better?

Cheat Day is at times humorous and at times serious, but it’s an interesting look at a woman unsure of what she wants. I don’t know that I particularly loved the characters or the way they behaved, but this was definitely entertaining and thought-provoking.

Scribner provided me with a complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!

Cheat Day publishes 5/25.

Book Review: "Milk Fed" by Melissa Broder

Thought-provoking and intense, Melissa Broder's new novel, Milk Fed, is a story of one woman’s obsession with her eating habits, as well as a look at sexuality, religion, and relationships.

Rachel has always been fanatical about what she eats. She loves food, but from a young age, her mother ingrained in her a fear of gaining weight and looking fat. Every day is spent longing for delicious delicacies, but she has a regimented meal and exercise plan that she follows obsessively.

When her therapist suggests a 90-day communication “detox” from her mother to help Rachel confront her eating issues, Rachel meets Miriam, a young, zaftig, Orthodox Jewish woman. Miriam’s apparent confidence with her body and her unabashed love of food and eating utterly appeals to Rachel, and it’s not long before she starts eating that way, too.

But old habits die hard, and Rachel finds herself torn between the obsessions deeply ingrained in her psyche and the renewed love for eating she has found with Miriam. She also finds herself completely infatuated with Miriam, both sexually and religiously, and she can’t get enough of her.

Broder is a bold writer, one who goes for broke with every word. Like her previous book, The Pisces, Broder creates intense sex scenes that are graphic, and she also is frank about biological functions and other things. But at the same time, there’s an underlying sensitivity in dealing with the issues Rachel faces, and how she needs help.

As someone who has struggled with my weight since childhood, this book hit me hard in certain ways. I recognize the obsessions, the need to subsist on a wholly unrealistic number of calories, the pressures from family about what I ate and how I looked. (I actually had a great-uncle who used to grab my stomach whenever he'd see me, as if to tell me I was fat. So amusing.) For those who have struggled with eating disorders or food-related issues or anxieties, this book may be a real trigger for you.

Broder is tremendously talented and her books always give you something to think about. Milk Fed is certainly no exception.

Dart Frogg Communications and Scribner Books gave me a complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!!