More Home Cooking: A Writer Returns to the Kitchen

More Home Cooking: A Writer Returns to the Kitchen
Average customer rating:

Wonderful cook book, but don't try the recipes!

great follow up to her fist book; "home cooking"

Literary Comfort Food. Highly Nutritious for the Soul

In the Kitchen with Laurie

Great food writing by Laurie Colwin (sigh, how we miss her)

More Home Cooking: A Writer Returns to the Kitchen
Laurie Colwin
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Essays | Gastronomy | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0060955317
Release Date: 2000-05-02

Amazon.com

Prior to her untimely death, Laurie Colwin's insightful novels developed something of a cult following, as did her good-humored food columns for Gourmet Magazine. This book, like its predecessor Home Cooking, is a result of her lifelong passion for wonderful food, often things one wouldn't immediately think of: beets, pears, black beans, chutney. More than a cookbook, it's like a conversation with a longtime neighbor--one who can reminisce all day about the great meals she's cooked and eaten; one who sees cooking as a wonderful adventure complete with a pot of Curried Broccoli Soup at the end of the rainbow. It's for reading in bed as well as in the kitchen.

Book Description

More Home Cooking, like its predecessor, Home Cooking, is an expression of Laurie Colwin's lifelong passion for cuisine. In this delightful mix of recipes, advice, and anecdotes, she writes about often overlooked food items such as beets, pears, black beans, and chutney. With down-to-earth charm and wit, Colwin also discusses the many pleasures and problems of cooking at home in essays such as "Desserts That Quiver," "Turkey Angst," and "Catering on One Dollar a Head." As informative as it is entertaining, More Home Cooking is a delicious treat for anyone who loves to spend time in the kitchen.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful cook book, but don't try the recipes!.......2007-01-29

I heartily agree with those previous reviewers who enjoyed curling up with "More Home Cooking" (and its prequel, "Home Cooking"). However, I have one major and one minor quibble with the book.

I am more than ready to blame the minor quibble on an overzealous editor and not on Laurie Colwin. Either way, someone decided that all food terminology that could possibly be construed as non-English should be italicized. It's surprising how distracting this is. It's one thing to see a reference to "crème brulée," (this review form does not accept italics, so I'm putting the words in quotes instead) but quite another to see constant references to "kielbasa," "pita" bread, and, surprisingly, "salsa."

The second problem can, considering that this is a cookbook, only be considered major. That is the fact that every recipe I've tried, with the exception of one, has been a total failure. Colwin was obviously an intuitive cook who never made anything the same way twice, and assumed that her readers would just know how much of what kind of spice to put in the soup and how long to cook the beans. Consider, for instance, this typical recipe, offered in all seriousness, for "Cold Yogurt Soup": "The easiest soup in the world to make...No-fat yogurt, defatted chicken stock, skinned cucumbers, a pinch of cumin, and the juice of half a lemon. There are endless variations on this theme: the addition of cooked grated beets, a teaspoon of curry, a small clove of garlic. The blender does all the work for you. The soup is put in the fridge and forgotten until dinnertime, when it is garnished with chopped parsley, chopped dill, scallions, chives, or all of them."

That's it. It's hard to imagine anyone following these proportionless instructions and coming up with something edible, unless they are also the kind of instinctive cook who doesn't really need any recipes anyway.

So, I've made up my mind that from now on, I'll just read Laurie Colwin's mouthwatering descriptions and accept the fact that I'll never actually taste these dishes. For that purpose, I highly recommend her books.

(Oh, the one exception: the wonderful Nantucket Cranberry Pie comes out perfectly every time).

great follow up to her fist book; "home cooking".......2006-09-03

another unique and interesting cookbook that is hidden inside a great read. I read this after her first book, Home Cooking, and I felt they complimented each other very well. As in the first book; the recipies are traditional but not really used anymore, sadly enough...easy enough to make, and practical in my opinion. A very very good book to curl up with.

Literary Comfort Food. Highly Nutritious for the Soul.......2004-07-25

'More 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 and I believe this volume was published posthumously, so there is a lot more than the usual barrier between celebrity and mere mortal between reader and writer.

Like the first volume, 'Home Cooking', 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 M.F.K. Fisher and Elizabeth David, one of the author's heroes.

In one of her essays, Ms. Colwin puts her finger on a reason for the popularity of cookbooks and cooking shows in the face of what some people claim to be the disappearance of home cooking. Reading about cooking is simply very comforting and reassuring. I find that I may not learn a whole lot from a particular Ina Garten or Paula Deen or Sara Moulton show on the Food Network, but it is certainly reassuring to watch, if even for the fourteenth time, how Ina cooks salmon so she can have it at two different meals with her guests being none the wiser regarding the doubling up on the effort.

Ms. Colwin gained this insight by reading Elizabeth David's 'Italian Food' while under the influence of a particularly acute hangover. And, her admiration of David's style is well demonstrated in the way Ms. Colwin writes recipes. There is none of the formal list of ingredients at the top with neatly laid out prep instructions so one can do their mise en place in true French brigade fashion. This is straight from Elizabeth David's spare recipe writing style done at a time when home cooks knew a lot more about cooking than they do today, or that at least is the patter among the Cassandras of modern culinary journalism.

Fortunately, Ms. Colwin's writing is less about cooking technique than it is about how we do and should think about cooking and food. It is to culinary journalism much like the editorial pages are to political journalism.

Like all very good culinary journalism such as that done by Anthony Bourdain and Michael Ruhlman, this is stuff you can read and reread on rainy March afternoons. It is doubly good in that Ms. Colwin is speaking from a quarter she knows well, the slightly atypical American housewife.

Very highly recommended culinary reading. Recipes are more for inspiration than real life cooking, unless you just love to deconstruct Elizabeth David recipes.

In the Kitchen with Laurie.......2004-06-24

It's been many years since I've actually indulged my love for cooking. My food preparation had long been limited to two choices: (1)add Lawry's seasoning salt and bake/fry/broil, and (2)fast food. Recently, I became reacquanited with my inner chef and became obsessed with cookbooks and books about food. I came across More Home Cooking during one of my recent trips to the local bookstore. I was intrigued by the tag, "A Writer Returns to the Kitchen." (I love good writing and I love good food.) The chapter titles sounded promising: Why I Love Cookbooks; The Case of the Mysterious Flatbread; How to Cook Like an American; Turkey Angst...Plus, the book had recipes! This was clearly a writer who had more than a passing interest in food; this was a true believer. So, what of this book? It's simply wonderful. It's not a book you rush through all at once, but rather one you can carry with you and savor in those brief windows of time throughout your day: during lunch break, while waiting in a line, in the car wash...Colwin's writing is so well-done it seems effortless and comes across as a conversation with an articulate friend who loves to talk about food. She's opinionated, good-humored, and honest in her essays about the merits of certain foods, the drawbacks of others, advice about food and living, and events from her own daily life. From her chapter entitled, In Search of Latvian Bread, regarding her attempt to replicate this bread: "The results were, to my mind, mixed. An Estonian came for supper and said it tasted exactly like the bread he had had in Moscow. I was not sure that this was a compliment. A dancer friend, also at dinner, tasted it and said he liked the other bread (miche from the greenmarket) better. My husband said that it was wonderful, but that I should have added rye flour. The Estonian said this bread would keep forever. I was not sure that this was a compliment." It's these little moments about her curiosity about food, her willingness to experiment, and her genuine fondness for food and the people it nourishes that make this book one you'll read through once and then pick up every now and again, just to enjoy a chapter or two once more. Incidentally, it wasn't until I was nearly finished with this book that I read the "About the Author" paragraph on the back cover. That's when I learned that Laurie Colwin had died in 1992; I felt a flicker of sadness. I would certainly have looked forward to future "conversations" with this engaging writer.

Great food writing by Laurie Colwin (sigh, how we miss her).......2001-07-25

Laurie Colwin was a talented writer and had a real feel for the essential qualities of great food. Though not a chef or professional cook, she used her writing skills to delve into the mysteries of what makes good food great. And she did that with some of the funniest, sharpest, best writing since M.F.K. Fisher.

Alas, Laurie died in 1992, much too young, so you have to savor every scrap of writing she left us, in essays for Gourmet Magazine, and these, in her Home Cooking volumes. Colwin wrote some novels as well, but really, her food writing is what I appreciate the most.as

Colwin's writing is opinionated and passionate: she goes into raptures over things most 7 year olds (and quite a few adults) would gag over; succotash, beets, goat's milk yogurt. Yet her sense of what makes food essentially wonderful will have even the most confirmed vegetable-a-phobe at least thinking about trying her succotash recipe or maybe even looking at a raw beetroot with calm impartiality. In case you are certain you will still shun beets and lima beans, at least read her description of how to roast a duck. It's splendid.

A Return to Sunday Dinner
Average customer rating:

Fabulous cookbook

My favorite cookbook

Mom loved this one....

Great Dinners for Beginners

Wonderful & Inspirational Book

A Return to Sunday Dinner
Russell Cronkhite
Manufacturer: Multnomah Gifts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Regional & International | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1590520912
Release Date: 2003-07-31

Book Description

Sunday dinner is more than just a meal - it's a time for food, fellowship, and the creation of long-lasting memories! Americans will be inspired to rekindle the tradition of hospitality among family and friends with this mouthwatering culinary collection, designed for any cook with basic kitchen resources. Russell Cronkhite, former executive chef of the Blair House - the presidential guest house - has served three U.S. presidents and nearly every major world leader. A Return to Sunday Dinner includes twenty complete menus (with over 100 recipes) that highlight regional influences on cookery and explore the rich spiritual heritage of the American family.

The oval table in our dining room

was the gathering place for hopes and dreams,

the listening place for prayers and petitions,

and the loving place for joy and laughter.

But on Sunday it was something moreâ

it was a special place for family and friends.

Sunday was an important day for us;

it was a day when everythingâ

from the clothes we wore

to the spoons we usedâwas distinctive.

After church I would help with Sunday dinner,

first by smoothing a beautiful white cloth over the oval table.

The delicate china and ornate silver service were laid out.

Then Tante Anna would emerge from the kitchen,

wiping her hands, and ring a little bell.

âCome to dinner, everyone.â

Corrie ten Boom

Customer Reviews:

Fabulous cookbook.......2007-06-20

My mother-in-law used this book to try to start a Sunday dinner tradition. We had one wonderful summer of homemade food and family around the table. Sadly, she passed away last year and the cookbook was passed to me. I have not been able to gather everyone for Sunday dinner (yet!), but look forward to reviving the tradition. I've already tried several of the recipes and they are absolutely fantastic. At first glance many of the recipes seem labor-intensive and intimidating, but some really aren't. The macaroni and cheese recipe is my new favorite. And, I just made the black-bottom banana cream pie for my husband's birthday and it was to die for (make the day before serving for best results)!

My favorite cookbook.......2006-11-17

I love this cookbook! I received it as a gift shortly after its publication, and the more I use it, the more I like it. When company is coming, I pull out this book first, and I always get rave reviews on the dishes I prepare from the book. The recipes are easy to follow, and I love the preparation timetable given with each chapter. I also like the themes for each menu, especially the menus for certain times of the year (such as the Sunday after Thanksgiving) or various regions of the country.

Mom loved this one...........2006-05-12

My mother for the past 3 years or so, has been putting on these elaborate Sunday dinners after church. She pulls out all the stops and leaves no detail undone. The perfect dinnerware, themes, etc.. And let me tell you, the food is out of this world. She's a southern woman and can she ever cook!

I saw this book when I was looking for recipe books for my mother, as she is always looking for new ways to razzle-dazzle us. When I saw the name of the book, I was curious and needed to read a review or two and look at the description. SOLD!! I had it delivered to her and she loves it. I got a chance to look it over once or twice and it has the most wonderful stories and recipes in it. It's a heart-warming family book. Something you'd almost deem worthy of "heirloom" status.

If you love, family, food and cooking, look no further. This is the cook book for you!

Great Dinners for Beginners.......2004-04-29

By Bill Marsano. Well! Not so many years ago the "futurists" whose job it is to see what the next few years will bring boldly predicted that Americans would soon eat fully half of their meals outside the home. I laughed; I scoffed; I failed to see the light. Here it is 20 years or so later and the futurists were right. We breakfast at McDonald's and IHOP; we lunch there too; and we eat dinner at "family restaurants" like Sizzler, Outback, Ponderosa and the Olive Garden. Of course when I say 'we' I don't include me, and that's not because I'm a snob who thinks the Rusty Scupper, Mario's Pasta Garden and the like are beneath him (although I wouldn't eat at any of them on a bet). It's just that I just don't like restaurants in general, even the tony and expensive ones. I like to eat at home with friends and family, and I wish more people did. They'd eat better and save a bundle besides.

A fellow who wishes likewise is Russell Cronkhite, who spent 12 years as executive chef of Blair House, the official guest quarters provided to international dignitaries visiting Washington, D.C. When Cronkhite says that what he cooked for important foreign guests was, essentially, "Sunday dinner," he means it in the traditional over-the-river-and-through-the-woods-to-grandmother's-house-we-go, Leave It to Beaver manner. In other words, the sort of dinner that too many of us don't bother with any more.

That's what Cronkhite gives us here, hoping we'll be brave enough to tackle something grand instead of ordering take-out again. The 20 or so complete menus presented run from the ceremonial to the casual to the celebratory, and although they include the occasional nod to the international or the up to date, they're basically all-American standards: roast beef and pan gravy, peppercorn steak, pork (sage-rubbed roast, or chops smothered or stuffed), glazed baked ham, butterflied lamb, chicken and dumplings. You get the picture--this is what the team 'meat and potatoes' was made for, and I doubt any diner will leave Cronkhite's table unsatisfied. Some won't be able to leave at all.

There are handsome and honey photos galore and lots of foodish quotations from notable writers and diners: Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson, Louis May Alcott and Washington Irving (there are also some quotations that oughtn't to have been quoted at all, but they're made up for by useful do-ahead tips).

It should be noted that this book is aimed at beginners, and the recipes proceed in a very basic, step-by-step manner. No way can anyone go wrong with this book, but cooks of some experience are likely to find that approach irritating, because it's so slow and cautious.So give this to the ambitious beginner--someone who's not afraid to tackle a fairly big project so long as she is assured of complete and reliable guidance. Or he, for that matter. Either way, there's a high probability of success.--Bill Marsano, an award-wining writer on wine, food and travel, cooks often for his family.

Wonderful & Inspirational Book.......2003-12-19

This is a wonderful cookbook in addition to being an inspiration for all families and cooks. My favorite hobby is cooking for my family and friends, and Sunday dinners have long been a tradition going back to my own Grandmother's table when I was a child. It was over her table that I got to know her and my grandfather and share time and fellowship with my aunts, uncles, and cousins. Without those times together I wonder if we would be as close as we are today.
This book however, is absolutely beautiful. It offers an endless array of menu ideas and wonderful, delicious recipes to satisfy any taste. I think the layout is perfectly done -- each menu is preluded with stories of the food selection and the meaning that Sunday dinner has had for people in their lives. The book is highly inspirational in this respect, taking us back to a simpler time, that doesn't have to remain in the past.
Some of the recipes are labor intensive -- which I don't mind because I enjoy cooking -- however I can understand that it might be a burden for the time-sensitive cook. I don't see anything wrong with substitutions made from time to time for added convenience (like ready made rolls instead of handmade, for example). But the recipes that I have tried are delicious and reminiscent of foods that my grandmother used to make when we would be over for Sunday dinner.
This book contains dozens of "traditions" for the entire year, which I feel will inspire many cooks and leave loving memories for their family and friends for decades to come.

Average customer rating:

It's still a "chef's" book, but not inaccessibly so. Best for seafood.
excellent coffee table book, yet practical
Cooking and Cooksbooks as Art
A look inside the head of a very good chef..
Wow!

A Return to Cooking
Eric Ripert , and Michael Ruhlman
Manufacturer: Artisan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1579651879

Amazon.com

Eric Ripert, chef and part owner of New York's Le Bernadin, discovered that as his chef star rose he drifted far, far away from cooking. A Return to Cooking is his response to this sorry predicament, the result of a self-imposed challenge: to gather together disparate souls--a painter (Valentino Cortazar), a writer (Michael Ruhlman, author of The Making of a Chef and The Soul of a Chef), photographers (Shimon and Tammar Rothstein), and a personal assistant (Andrea Glick, who would write and test the spontaneously created recipes)--and simply cook.

The settings (and fresh food ingredients) are spectacular. Sag Harbor in summer. Puerto Rico in winter. California's Napa Valley in spring. Vermont in fall. Rent a house, shop for food, and make the meals happen. For anyone who has ever wanted to understand how a great cook looks at ingredients and settles on a plan, A Return to Cooking is it. In Puerto Rico the reader is treated to Caramelized Pineapple Crepes with Crème Frâiche; Shrimp with Fresh Coconut Milk, Calabaza, and Avocado; and Seared Tuna with Escabeche of Pear Tomatoes.

What Ripert does with food, the Rothsteins do with photos, Cortazar does with paints, and Ruhlman does with words. The stimulating recipes rise out of a young lifetime of experience. This is a big, lush book (330 pages, 150 recipes, nearly 400 color photos and illustrations) dense with information, technique, and flavor. For anyone who has wandered far from the kitchen and the pleasures inherent in cooking, A Return to Cooking will bring you right back home. --Schuyler Ingle

Book Description

Life holds a fundamental irony for four-star chef Eric Ripert--the more successful he becomes, the further he is taken from the love that made him a success in the first place. As his days get consumed with business decisions and staffing issues, the question arises--"But when do I get to cook?"

A Return to Cooking is Ripert's personal quest for the answer: a journey in four different seasons to four different locales to "cook the landscape" and "cook from the guts," using local seasonal ingredients in home kitchens and experiencing the joys--and occasional disappointments--of this spontaneous, creative act.

From California to Puerto Rico, Vermont to Long Island, Ripert was joined by Colombian artist Valentino Cortazar and photographers Tammar and Shimon Rothstein, who captured his journey in their artistry. Dozens of essays on subjects such as handling raw fish, the power of vinaigrette, the virtues of Tabasco, shallots, and lemon confit enhance this eminently practical book's richly flavorful recipes.

Customer Reviews:

It's still a "chef's" book, but not inaccessibly so. Best for seafood........2006-10-23

This may be Ripert's return to the kitchen (ie., this is arguably not "restaurant" food), but it's still demanding of money, time, and skill (probably in that order). I say money and time first because he uses top-notch and/or esoteric ingredients, which will require some investment and shopping (eg: live pibales: I never heard of them anywhere else before or since. Even the book says they are very difficult to find: Ripert special orders them from a supplier for $65 a pound. No substitution is mentioned, and the description of them is too limited to make a guess at an acceptable sub. Perhaps there simply is none...). But that's to be expected from any top-tier chef's book, so it's certainly no reason to knock this down.

I'll leave it as established that the recipes are delicious and mouth-watering, etc., and intend to focus this review on who might consider this cookbook and whether or not I'd recommend it.

Admittedly, I spent more time gazing longingly at this book than cooking from it. But, when I have cooked from it, I have always learned something about technique or ingredients, and for that, I rate this book 5 starts. The expense and general highly-demanding nature are irrelevant to rating, as I see it, because you can tell what you're getting into when you consider any book with this many artists and this size of pages involved.

Like any chef's book, you have to be willing to take what you can use: if you can't commit yourself to preparing all the elaborate components of a dish, try making the sauce, or using the cooking method. I've learned a lot of new sauces here, and I look to this almost every time I have a piece of fish in the fridge.

To me, the most interesting part of his grand project is how he brings his background to bear on the different cuisines and traditions of the location (my favorite chapter is in Puerto Rice). The flavor combinations alone are eye-opening, and satisfyingly so.

The artwork, photography, and other writings are, well, there, and how much you like them is up to your own taste. In that respect, you can approximate the book by its cover. I really like the paintings, and how they look like woodcuts, but sometimes the personalities can teeter on the precious or smug side (Though who can blame them: take a year off to paint/cook/eat and travel? I'd feel pretty special too.). I actually do not think I would want to have been part of this particular entourage.

I would most strongly recommend this to anyone who wanted to expand his/her repertoire of fish and seafood recipes: you will find ideas here that are not duplicated elsewhere, and seafood is why Ripert is famous.

If fish/seafood are not strong points of interest, but you are generally a good, well-budgeted and well-supplied cook, you'll probably enjoy this, but I wouldn't say it's an essential addition to your working library.

If you don't cook fish or seafood, I would buy something else.

Also, if you don't live near good, extensively stocked grocery stores (especially fish markets and butcher's who can supply you with things like veal cheeks), I don't think this would have much value as a usable cookbook. Unlike game or foie gras, fish doesn't seem like a strong mail-order candidate. Once you deduct recipes requiring specialty items, you're left with things ike "Figs Wrapped in Bacon" (and not in some ingenious Thomas Keller way; it's quite straightforward).

Obviously, if you're a novice cook, or looking for fast/simple/cheap recipes, you're probably not even viewing this item. In case you are, I recommend you immediately look elsewhere and avoid this book entirely.

Nonetheless, even if you're eating through a feeding tube, or never intend to cook a single thing in your life, but you really like looking at pictures of food, or reading about how people feel about food, you'll probably love this. As an attractive coffee table/daydream cookbook, it's one of the best.

excellent coffee table book, yet practical.......2004-03-26

The book is beautiful: layout, photography, the food itself. As others have noted, the recipes are very good for a home cook: impressive, but not so complex as to deter a dedicated cook.

Why 4 and not 5 stars? Because I think Ruhlman is merely an average writer. He spends too much time cozying up to M. Ripert. In browsing the book, I found several grammar errors (minor irritance, but in a book of this quality, I find disappointing). Ruhlman is no Reichl or Grimes -- but I think he tries to be. I think Ruhlman picks fascinating topics (I enjoyed Soul of a Chef immensely); it's just that, for me, his writing is a distraction from the content.

Cooking and Cooksbooks as Art.......2004-01-10

what can I say, this is simply the most beautiful
cookbook that I have ever come accross. What pictures
and paintings.

A real work of art and love. Almost to beautiful to want
to cook out of it and risk to splatter food on it.

Haven't tried any of the recipies yet, but can't wait and
will update this review as soon as I have tried a few of them.
But most of them look really surprisingly simple and
soooo delicious and very often surprising!!!!

A definite must have for any cooking lover

A look inside the head of a very good chef.........2003-11-21

This combination cookbook, art book, and memoir is the story of a major celebrity chef's retreat from restaurant cooking to spend four weeks of culinary invention with a supporting cast of one culinary journalist (Michael Ruhlman), one painter (Valintino Cortazar), two photographers (Shimon and Tamar Rothstein), and a sous chef / recipe scribe Andrea Glick, all in a rather pricy package.

For the $50 list, one gets about 156 recipes, 15 of which are for condiments and ingredient preparations such as a vinaigrette and confit of lemon. Included in the price is the text by Ripert and Ruhlman which can be read in less than 4 hours, very good photographs of some, but not all of the dishes and photos of Rippert staring at and fondling ingredients, and about 100 paintings by Cortazar.

The most valuable aspect of this book is what it reveals about how Rippert reached his level of excellence in the culinary arts, and how he works to maintain that level. Rippert appears to follow the same path as Bobby Flay, Emril Lagasse, Tony Bourdain, and, if you can believe it, Alton Brown, where these people were mediocre at school and other vocations until they discovered cooking, which, along with some very important mentors, they came alive with the passion needed for excellence in the culinary arts. Rippert's primary mentor was the great French chef Joel Robuchon, who demanded a level of excellence and discipline which only a handful of chefs can accomplish. The insights of this sort you simply don't get on the Food Network. Wolfgang Puck will give you his secret for a poached beef, but not for the way he thinks when he creates and tests recipes.

The recipes are much more a part of this narrative of revelation than they are a worthy source of material for the food hobbyist, much less for the everyday cook. The recipes are not organized by ingredient, taste, or course. Some are simple, but many are very involved and use uncommon ingredients such as the always elusive Kaffir lime leaves and expensive ingredients such as foie gras and truffles. Each recipe give an estimated prep time and cooking time. This is an excellent reature and probably should be included in every worthy recipe book, but I suspect the prep times are a bit ambitious for the average home cook, even for an enthusiastic hobbyist who is not under any time pressure. Twenty-five (25) minutes is not a lot of time to perform some type of preparation on eleven (11) different ingredients unless you are Eric Rippert. One symptom of the impracticality of this cuisine is that an important ingredient for several dishes is lemon confit, which requires THREE MONTHS to prepare. And, it is not an ingredient you will commonly find even at the local megamart. True to Rippert's history and the cuisine of his restaurant, Le Bernardin, the majority of the more interesting recipes are for seafood and I think he includes several important techniques for dealing with them. You will want to prepare more than a few of these recipes, but I think the bottom line is that the recipes are much more valuable as a part of the narrative than they are a part of a cookbook.

The photographs are very good; however, they are basically eye candy, except for the few glimpses of the attractive Ms. Glick, The paintings are pleasant. Somewhat more interesting eye candy than the photographs. The text in Mr. Ruhlman's voice is primarily background scenery, about as useful as the non-food photographs. Ruhlman has serious credentials in culinary writing, so I suspect he made a serious contribution to the words Eric Rippert's voice. The text in Mr. Rippert's voice is the main game. The only real dissonance I found in his discourse was when he shows his disinterest in pastry, claiming it was `too scientific' requiring far too many measurements. The great irony of this statement is that Eric Rippert's methods represent the scientific method at it's best, constantly tasting and adjusting based on his experiences with intermediate steps.

The overall package is attractive, with one glaring sour note. The font of the text is FAR TOO SMALL. This is a major annoyance, something which would have never gotten out the door at Knopf or Harper Collins. The book has much value for serious foodies with very good eyesight. The recipes are very good and well worth the investment, if you can get the book at a discount.

Wow!.......2003-05-17

What a great book!! While I'm not the quickest in the kitchen, the suggested prep and cook times were dead on (for me anyway). And the results......STUNNING! The cucumber and lamb salad is not only quick and easy...it is freakin' delicious. It was a hit at my last dinner party.

The other great thing about this book is that it contains no impossible to find ingredients. Being in Las Vegas, gourmet food stores don't exist. I can find the ingredients easily. An important issue for me aat least.

Amazon.com

"Watching from his throne, the Emperor laughed with evil glee. 'Good! Your hate has made you powerful. Now, fulfill your destiny and take your father's place at my side!'" Luke, of course, refuses and good triumphs over evil in Return of the Jedi. The final installment of the original trilogy--flawed, perhaps, by the Ewoks (what was Lucas thinking?)--is beautifully presented in this charming book. Images from the film provide inspiration for Brandon McKinney's crisp illustrations, which complement John Whitman's adaptation of the original screenplay. This book is a perfect little gift for Star Wars fans of all ages. --C.B. Delaney

Amazon.com Audiobook Review

Fifteen years after the dramatic success of National Public Radio's adaptation of Star Wars, the production team re-formed to create Return of the Jedi: The Original Radio Drama. Though the running time is scaled down to three hours, listeners are still treated to an expanded story line and new scenes. Another fine cast is assembled, with radio series veterans Perry King and Ann Sachs as Han Solo and Leia Organa, and newcomer Joshua Fardon as an excellent Luke Skywalker. While Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) is the only actor from the film, Ed Begley Jr. contributes a gravely voiced Boba Fett, John Lithgow adds a rather somber Yoda, and Edward Asner, hopefully not being typecast, makes a believable Jabba the Hutt--though only an expert would be able to tell if his Huttese pronunciation is correct. The characters of this radio production inhabit a stereo soundscape created by careful blending of sound effects and John Williams's music from the original films. As with the two previous productions--Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, Jedi is a treat for the ears--and the mind's eye. Any Star Wars fan will enjoy this production, even though it does mean imagining rather than seeing Anakin with his mask and helmet off or Luke defeating the Rancor. Besides, the Ewoks are much less annoying when you can't see them. (Running time: 3 hours, 3 cassettes) --C.B. Delaney

Book Description

Fifteen years after National Public Radio's wildly successful adaptation of Star Wars, and thirteen years after The Empire Strikes Back, the trilogy hurtled to its long-awaited thrilling conclusion with Return of the Jedi. Like its predecessors, this electrifying drama boasts a splendid cast (including Anthony Daniels as See-Threepio and Ed Asner as Jabba the Hutt), a greatly expanded script, with many scenes and characters not found in the movie, and audio engineering of unparalleled excellence.

Customer Reviews:

The Jedi are back!.......2007-09-11

Return of the Jedi is, of course, one of the foundation stories in the Star Wars saga. The film is a classic loved by millions of fans. How then does an author attempt to put the story into words after the fact? I do not envy anyone trying to write novelizations of the first three films. You have to stay with the facts of the film, but you want to expand the reader's understanding of the action and further develop the characters. Not an easy task by any means. Whatever you add to the story that was not in the film is going to upset somebody, no matter how well it fits in.

So, keeping that in mind, Mr. Kahn deserves a tremendous amount of credit for his efforts on the book. The bones of the story are the same. Han Solo is rescued from the clutches of the evil Jabba the Hutt. Luke returns to Dagobah to learn key information from the dying Yoda. The rebels attack the Death Star. Luke faces Vader and Palpatine on the Death Star and wins. The Rebel forces triumph with a lot of help from the Ewoks and everything ends happily. Clearly all these events are told well in the book, and it is great fun to relive them on the printed page.

My only problem with the book is that some of Mr. Kahn's writing goes too far. He is trying to get the reader to understand the thought processes of a few of the major characters, but I'm not sure he succeeds. One example - When Leia is following Wicket to the Ewok camp on the forest moon of Endor, she casts her mind adrift for a while. She then ponders the gargantuan trees, the smallness of the Ewoks, her smallness when compared to the trees, and her loneliness and confusion being a part of all that. "She felt like a tiny, creative spark, dancing about in the fires of life...dancing behind a furtive, pudgy, midget bear, who kept beckoning her deeper into the woods." I think some judicious editing could have improved sections of the book. Even so, the book is a must-read, just as the film is a must-see. Don't miss either one of them.

Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03

Yes, Luke, he was your father. That makes the whole sister thing just a little bit on the squicky side, doesn't it?

Anyway, we find out Han Solo is still cool, Darth Vader isn't stupid, the Emperor is ugly, and no Ewoks bleed when they die.

Throw in some space battles and some force cheese at the end.

Brings new depths to the final film in the saga.......2007-06-25

At last in my chronological re-reading of the Star Wars Expanded Universe I come to the end of the films; interestingly, I am only a little more than one-third of the way through the novels! So far my reactions to the movie novelizations have been rather mixed. As far as enhancing the theatrical experience goes, I loved Revenge of the Sith thanks to its bold risk-taking and strong characterization, enjoyed Attack of the Clones and A New Hope, and was not so crazy about The Phantom Menace and The Empire Strikes Back. Happily, the six end on a high note with Return of the Jedi by James Kahn.

Kahn does not add much as far as new scenes or reinstating sequences deleted from the film, although he does throw in a few. Where he shines is in succinctly summarizing a character's thoughts and feelings. He does not spend as much time in the characters' heads as Matthew Stover did in Revenge of the Sith, but his vividly descriptive writing brings many scenes new life and emotion, such as the thawing of Han Solo from his carbonite prison and Vader's final thoughts as he lays dying in a Death Star hangar deck at the end. The Ewoks take considerably more convincing as the Rebels plead for aid in their planned assault on the shield generator than is depicted in the film. Throughout the book, it is these brief but shining flourishes that elevate this novel up above most of the other Star Wars movie novelizations.

Another misstep Kahn avoids in this book is the tendency of the Star Wars movie novelizations to run out of steam in the climax. Several of the others start off at least making a valiant effort at fleshing out details and making small additions to the story, but by the end it's as if the author simply wanted to get the job done. Return of the Jedi is consistent in its pacing and pays the same attention to Jabba's Palace, the middle interludes, and the Battle of Endor as the film does, giving none short shrift.

The novelization of Return of the Jedi is a worthy finale to the Galactic Civil War era. I'm still intrigued by the idea I raised in my review of A New Hope, that of inviting present-day authors to write new novelizations of the original trilogy which can leverage the knowledge unveiled by the prequel films. However, except for a few nitpicks, like Obi-Wan claiming Owen Lars was his brother, this book still fits well with the new films, even if it doesn't explicitly reference them. All in all, a good read, and I'm excited to start in on the New Republic era next!

This book is awesome .......2007-01-18

Star Wars
Episode VI
Return of the Jedi
By: John Gampert

Main Characters

Luke Skywalker: kind, hero, strong, skilled, caring, accurate, on the good side, blonde hair, smart, great pilot, good with the force and a light saber.

Han Solo: great with blasters and a fine pilot, self centered, former smuggler, loves money and women, works with Jabba the Hutt, charming, sly, on the good side.

Leia Organa: little patience, brown hair, likes Han, is a senator to the Imperial Senate, smart, great leader, dislikes waiting, good with negotiations, on the good side.

Darth Vader: EVIL! hates good, like seeing other peoples pain, over confident in the force, has a black suit and full helmet because he was burned badly.

Lando Calrissian: owner of a gas mining operation on a planet, he created a city around the operation, he helped destroy the second DeathStar space station. Friends with Has Solo and a professional gambler.

Chewbacca: he's a Wookie! partner of Han Solo, co-pilot of the Millennium Falcon, completely covered in hair and thinks with his stomach. Referred to as "Chewie"
R2D2: Luke Skywalker's astromech droid meaning mechanically inclined. Companion of C3PO, has many useful features that help save the day all the time.

C3PO: Luke Skywalker's protocol droid meaning an interpreter. Critical of R2D2 most of the time, gold plated, very talkative.

Plot
Our story continues on the planet of Tatooine. Luke Skywalker and friends rescue Han Solo from the grasp of Jabba the Hutt. Luke Skywalker flew to see Yoda to finish his Jedi training, but Yoda died. Then he returned to the Rebel Fleet. Luke leads an expedition to destroy the shield generator that protects the DeathStar. Luke is captured and held on the DealthStar. A big fight ensues on Endor between the Ewoks and the Evil Empire. Darth Vader saves Luke from the Emperor and dies. Lando and rebel fleet then destroy the DeathStar by shooting its main reactor. The Ewoks win the big fight.

Setting:
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

Themes
Major: War, Hope, Heroism,
Minor: Bravery, Death, Fear, Freedom, The Future, Love, Peace, Pride, Sacrifice.

Like or dislike:
I liked this book because it had many parts I could relate to. Like when the ewoks won the big fight. It had a great climax and closing. It also had pictures from the movie. It is also my favorite genera.

Final chapter in the classic trilogy.......2005-06-18

Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi (1983.)

As long as there had been motion pictures, there had been science fiction films. Unfortunately, very few of them ever managed to hit the spot. That was, until 1977 rolled around. It was in this year that George Lucas would change the way we look at science fiction. How would he do this? With the film he released that year - Star Wars. The film was so successful, that two sequels were released! And not surprisingly, they've all been novelized. Read on for my review of Episode VI - Return Of The Jedi.

BASIC PLOT:
A year has passed since the events that took place in The Empire Strikes Back. The Galactic Empire has begun work on a newer, more powerful version of the Death Star, the space station that caused so much trouble for the Rebellion in the first film. After rescuing Han Solo from Jabba's Palace, he, Luke, and Leia reunite with the rest of the Rebel Alliance, and discover that the plans for the new battle station have been taken into their custody, giving them a one-shot chance to destroy the station before it is completed. What they aren't aware of is that the Emperor has allowed the plans to fall into their hands, so that he can launch a surprise attack. While the rest of the Rebel Alliance falls right into the Emperor's trap, Luke goes aboard the new Death Star, so that he may face Darth Vader once again. On the Forest Moon of Endor, below the Death Star, Han, Leia, and the rest of a massive Rebel strike force plot to destroy the shield generator around the battle station. Before long, the Rebellion is involved in its most intense battle yet - a battle that will result in galactic peace if won - or eternal terror if lost.

OPINIONS:
A great story - no questions asked. This is a rare example of a sci-fi tale nearly thirty years old that doesn't seem dated. Even by modern standards, this is still excellent. It's by all means worthy of a high rating in my book.

OVERALL:
The Star Wars stories are science fiction masterpieces that don't fail to stand the test of time. Hell, it's all better than most of the modern sci-fi out there! If you're a fan of the genre, the Star Wars series is not to be missed.

It Must've Been Something I Ate: The Return of the Man Who Ate Everything

Average customer rating:

Great read
Steingarten is hands down the best food writer in America
Highly entertaining
As appetising as his "The Man Who Ate Everything"
Superb Tutorial in How to think about Food. Buy It!

It Must've Been Something I Ate: The Return of the Man Who Ate Everything
Jeffrey Steingarten
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0375412808
Release Date: 2002-11-05

Book Description

Thirty-eight outrageous, deliciously provocative pieces from Vogue's indomitable food critic-the man who eats everything, dreams perpetually of the ultimate food experience, and compulsively searches out the truth about how, why, and what we eat.

Each section of his new book is a savory course of a splendid feast: For starters, in "Who Is Having All the Fun?," join Steingarten as he dons costly fishing gear and sets out on an epic hunt for bluefin tuna (whose raw belly meat is one of the most delicious things on earth), or read about how he was assaulted by toxic airline food (and be glad you didn't taste that little green leaf).

Then, in "A Deep and Blinding Insight," partake of his investigative pursuits as he takes on salt chic (salt is salt, after all-isn't it?), assaults the FDA for banning succulent whole-milk cheeses in the name of hygienic sterility, and starts cooking dinners of braised short ribs for his dog when he can no longer withstand the baleful looks from his golden retriever confronted with desiccated dog-food pellets while his master sizzles sausages for himself. "There Is a God in Heaven," you'll find, be it in "Chocolate Dreams," "Caviar Emptor," or in the luscious taste of a superb boysenberry from the Chinos' farm.

But for every reward, there is first "An Intense Hunt for the Facts": knowing the lobster includes understanding its sex life, the secret to supergoose is brining, and you have to aim a Raynger ST-8 at your baking stone in order to determine the heat for the perfect pizza.

This is only a sampling of the gloriously entertaining menus that The Man Who Ate Everything dishes up this time around. You'll even find tucked under the plate some special recipes that he has climbed every mountain to obtain.

Lucky for his audience that Jeffrey Steingarten is insatiable.

Customer Reviews:

Great read.......2007-05-16

So well written. Easy to read even if you are just a mild foodie. Jeffrey is so funny and personable on paper.

Steingarten is hands down the best food writer in America.......2007-01-04

The long-time Vogue food critic (and frequent Iron Chef America judge) returns with his second, and equally excellent, compilation of his best foodie columns. He again provides whimsical yet detailed accounts of his various food-related forages. His highly entertaining food pilgrimages and other food-related adventures as well as plenty of self-depricating humor make this one very delicious and very funny read cover to cover. Few books are this entertaining and educating at the same time. His topics are always well-researched. The information always beyond reproach and presented as only Steingarten can. I don't think you need to be a serious food person to really enjoy this book. If you enjoy reading about the history, quality, and preparation of food from around the world, then your copy will soon be well-worn. I have bought several copies for friends and family.
If you missed his first book, "The Man Who Ate Everything," save yourself the time and order it now, too - the preface alone is hilarious, and both books are equally enjoyable. I can't wait for his next book, which will certainly be much more fun than wading through the ridiculous over-abundance of overly-sexed and perfumed ads in Vogue magazine to hunt down his fine work.

Highly entertaining.......2006-02-01

This book was a gift that I was not excited about receiving, but I picked it up one evening when I was desperate for something to read. At that point I was unfamiliar with this Steingarten fellow and did not expect much, as I do not find it terribly enjoyable to read about food. As it turns out, the book was a good read that kept me entertained and wanting more. I thought a few of the chapters dragged a bit, but most were about the right length. The bit on pizza was a highlight that inspired me to try his recipes for the sauce and dough. The sauce was not anything special, but the pizza dough recipe is another story. After trying literally dozens of recipes in search of the perfect dough, I can finally rest because this book provided it. That alone was worth the price of admission!

As appetising as his "The Man Who Ate Everything".......2005-08-24

It is interesting that a lawyer can write so well about food as to make one salivate! Entertaining, funny (perhaps witty) and informative, sprinkled with social commentary and hugely entertaining. Buy both books if you love food and its history, preparation and glories.

Superb Tutorial in How to think about Food. Buy It!.......2005-08-04

`It Must've Been Something I Ate' is Jeffrey Steingarten's second collection of Vogue columns, following the earlier `The Man Who Ate Everything'. Monsieur Steingarten is certainly better recognized these days among the foodie masses as he has appeared as the anchor judge on many of the new Food Network `Iron Chef America' shows, and adds gravity to the show as one of the few people who can trump commentator Alton Brown's perceptions on food.

I was always puzzled by the fact that a magazine like Vogue, which I have never once picked up to read, and which I perceived as a home largely of advertisements for goods appealing to women who have more money than they know what to do with (sic). I was chastised somewhat when I discovered that Mr. Steingarten's role at Vogue was formerly staffed by none other than Elizabeth David, one of the most interesting and respected culinary writers of the 20th century.

Mr. Steingarten's writing has a `family resemblance' to Ms. David's work, but they are really doing a slightly different kind of dialogue with their readers. Elizabeth David took conventional food writing with recipe plus commentary and elevated it to its highest level. Her closest students were Jane Grigson and Claudia Roden. Like James Beard with American cooking, her knowledge of food, especially European and Mediterranean food was encyclopedic.

Steingarten is doing something different! I would even argue with the blurb on the cover of my Vintage edition that states that he `knows more about food than any man now eating'. That perception may be due to the fact that Steingarten looks into food issues more deeply than almost any other writer I can cite, with the possible exception of Harold McGee. But Steingarten is a much better writer than McGee, so he is much more enjoyable to read. I think of him as being a culinary Sherlock Holmes who uses, or who has friends who use all of the very best scientific methods for tracking down the scoop on interesting food issues.

A classic example of his `modus operandi' is the article on differences in the varieties of salt. The jumping off point for the story is the fact that appreciation for salt has reached levels formerly lavished on olive oils. The heavy of the story is fellow food writer Robert Wolke who published a series of articles that claimed that the differences from one salt to the next are small and are largely due to the shape of the salt crystals. Like me, Wolke comes to culinary matters from a background in chemistry. And, since I know, like Wolke, that virtually all forms of salt are simply 98% Sodium Chloride. And, the odds are that the remaining one or two percent of the chemical composition is composed of inorganic compounds which simply do not register either on our tongue or nose. This is not to say that there are not important differences between salts. Kosher(ing) salt, for example is truly superior to table salt for seasoning simply because it is easier to handle while cooking.

Since Steingarten and his colleagues are more attuned to the culinary aspects of things than chemist Wolke, Steingarten felt Wolke was missing something. So, he enlists some pretty serious medical and statistical talent to conduct a true double blind test of the differences in taste. To make the experiment even better, the differences in crystal shape is factored out by doing the tasting of a 2% solution. I am very quickly getting the feeling that it is not Steingarten but the famous science writer, Stephen Jay Gould who I am reading.

Since it makes a great story, Steingarten is not at all shy in confessing that statistically, the first experiment showed very little difference in the various salts. Steingarten did not lose me when he felt that further investigation was needed. The aesthetic perception of something that not everyone can appreciate is an entirely familiar story. Just scratch the opinions of ten people at random to ask them what they think of Jackson Pollack's oil paintings and you will find more than half believing they are shams. Steingarten and his high priced scientific talent repeat the experiment with somewhat different conditions but with no loss of scientific rigor and come up with some, but not compelling statistical basis for saying that the tastes of one or two of the salts was different from the table salt controls.

Steingarten was probably constrained by the space allotted him on the pages of Vogue, but I would have liked him to take things just one step further and consider the relative costs of the `artisinal' salts compared to the perceived differences in taste. I suspect that Steingarten won this battle, but the salt enthusiasts may have lost the war to establish the greater culinary cachet of arcane salts.

But, unlike scientist Gould's work, this book is simply not about whether Steingarten reaches either the right or the desired conclusion. It is about the vistas opened to ways of thinking for yourself about food and the enjoyment you get from Mr. Steingarten's immensely talented way of writing about food. As with the case of the investigation into salt, I may have agreed with Professor Wolke's conclusion, but I think Steingarten was superior in every way in how he approached the issue. Wolke is good, but Steingarten is better.

Very highly recommended culinary reading!

Average customer rating:

WARNING: Identical to "Naked Chef Takes Off"

The Return of the Naked Chef
Jamie Oliver
Manufacturer: Penguin Books Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140292616

Customer Reviews:

WARNING: Identical to "Naked Chef Takes Off".......2006-01-15

I don't know if this book preceded the other Jamie Oliver book, "Naked Chef Takes Off," but it's the SAME BOOK.
I bought this for my wife, thinking I'd found a J.O. book she didn't already own. It's the same, identical book! I suppose it's just the British market title, but don't make the mistake if you're thinking it's a different book.

AMAZON STAFF: There should be some mention that this book was released with the different title in the States.

The Seasonal Kitchen: A Return to Fresh Foods

Average customer rating:

Recipes for the Novice and the Skilled Cook

The Seasonal Kitchen: A Return to Fresh Foods
Perla Meyers
Manufacturer: Fireside
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0671676598

Customer Reviews:

Recipes for the Novice and the Skilled Cook.......2003-01-28

Perla Meyers' The Seasonal Kitchen: A Return to Fresh Foods offers a great introduction to choosing the freshest and best produce available. The first chapter covers when fruits and vegetables are in season, how to start your own garden, and how to choose the best produce from the grocery store. Ms. Meyers tells the reader that the biggest and best-looking fruits and vegetables are not always going to be the best tasting, and she further instructs on how to search for the smaller, better-tasting ones. Also included in this book is a reference guide for in-season cheeses.

The second (and larger) part of the book is dedicated to recipes. This part is divided into six parts: spring, summer, fall, winter, all-seasons, and basic sauces. Each recipe is clearly labeled "easy", "intermediate", or "difficult" so the home cook can choose a recipe according to his or her skill in the kitchen. Ms. Meyers also gives a price guide, as in whether a recipe's components will be "inexpensive", "moderate", or "expensive". Of course, this price guide was written in 1973, so it is a bit dated. Several of the foods Ms. Meyers labels hard-to-find in the United States have since become prevalent in our gardens, grocery stores, and farmer's markets.

Book Description

"My first meal in France, in a hushed and formerly elegant dining car, was a revelation. The menu was absurdly simple; there was a choice of an omelette aux fines herbes or a sandwich jambon beurre. I chose the omelette and was delighted by the flavors of chives, tarragon and chervil mingling in the creamy lightness of the eggs, all so new to me. If the food in France was so good even in a train, I thought I might have a happy life here after all."

In 1947, as Paris recovers from the war, young Colette returns to the city of her birth after eight years spent among warmhearted Egyptian relatives in Cairo. Initially Paris seems gray and forbidding to the young Colette, especially after her mother abandons her to the disinterested care of her stern grandmother. Yet Paris will prove the place where Colette awakens to her senses. Her transformation from "l'Egyptienne" to "la Parisienne" begins when she is taken under the wing of the family cook, Georgette, who introduces Colette to the city's markets and inspires a love and talent for French cooking. The streets of Paris soon become Colette's own as she navigates to and from her lycée -- occasionally skipping class altogether, thus beginning a decades-long habit of making room for adventure in an otherwise disciplined life. Colette is sixteen when her mother returns with a new husband, and although initially suspicious of the round man with the twinkling eyes, she soon realizes she has a soul mate in Almire Ducreux, her new stepfather. Mira introduces Colette to her first truffle and her gastronomical self. He will also be the only one to support her when she falls in love and runs away with a young American, scandalizing her proper French family.

With Return to Paris, Colette Rossant proves herself the true heir of M. F. K. Fisher. In clear, understated prose she writes of a life lived and enjoyed passionately. Memories and family stories segue gracefully into descriptions of great meals and recipes. This is food writing at its finest.s

Customer Reviews:

Not nearly as good as Memories of a Lost Egypt.......2007-09-16

In Return to Paris, which covers her teen and early adult years (after she left Cairo permanently), Collette Rossant constantly showed an air of superiority toward others. When she married an American, this trait became even more evident. She was rude to the American Army wives and spent her time alone rather than mingle with them. When she and her husband moved to New York, she acted the same way toward her mother-in-law. While living with her mother-in-law, she wasn't gracious enough to hide her dislike of the food she was served, sometimes refusing to eat it. Yes, a lot of American food was convenience oriented in the 1950s, but there were plenty of good home cooks. CR was from a family who had full-time cooks, and she was a food snob.

Her attitude made me not like her and not feel sympathy for the poor little rich girl. I will not buy or read any more of her books.

A wonderful conclusion to a gastronomic adventure.......2003-08-08

I read this book trying to forget about the stiffling heat we're experiencing in Europe in one day. As wonderful as the first book is (Apricots on the Nile) this book is even better. Collette takes us on her journey back to Paris after being wrenched away from her loving coccoon of close family in Egypt to the great unknown. Soon however she finds solace in the kitchen & rediscovers her passion for food. Faced with many life changing decision, she recounts the events that took her all over Europe & (later to the US) on different adventures & always with food as her loyal companion.
A wonderful read that ended too soon, & although I rated this book with 5 stars, I felt it ended a bit too abruptly ... but then again you alawys want more of a great book don't you?!

Dinner with Colette.......2003-05-26

I loved this little book and read it in one sitting on a rainy Sunday afternoon. It made me wish that Colette would invite me to dinner! The writing swept me along throughout the journeys in her life. The recipes were a surprise bonus for me as I had never read her other books and had no idea she was known for cuisine. It was the beautiful cover that sold me! Highly recommend this book. I can barely cook, but am going to try the Agvolemono soup, a favorite from my 20's when I worked upstairs from a Greek Deli in downtown Boston.

The Piaf of Food Memoirs!.......2003-04-18

.
Reading _Return to Paris_ (and preparing its recipes) is like listening to a Piaf song, at once strikingly beautiful and hauntingly sad, something that commands your attention to the very end.

So, dear reader, beware! For should you open the first page of this book, you may find yourself swept away to a Paris you never knew of, to return to a present made a little sadder by finding there are no more pages left to turn.

I also recommend these other books by Rossant which I have read:
- Memories of a Lost Egypt (the first of her food memoirs)
- Bocuse a la Carte (translator)
- Colette Rossant's After Five Gourmet
- Colette's Slim Cuisine
- New Kosher Cooking
- Vegetable

from cairo to paris--a remarkable life with recipes.......2003-04-17

I don't usually read food-related books. I generally stick with novels or straightforward history/biography. Yet I could not resist Colette Rossant's earlier memoir, Memories of a Lost Egypt, for its poignant, delectable interweaving of memories, recipes, and passionate observations about the tastes and foods she discovered as a child growing up in remarkable circumstances. (Her recipes are fabulous, by the way--easy to recreate.)

Rossant's new book, Return to Paris, continues the story of her extraordinary upbringing. I really recommend reading both books, which are delightfully different but ideal companions. In fact, I so loved Rossant's evocation of Cairo in both writing and recipes, and her candid portrait of her family there, that I wasn't sure at first how I would react to her new memoir's focus on Paris, where she returned as a teenager. As it turns out, I enjoyed the dramatic turn this book reflects, in both her life and her culinary education, as she describes her difficult adjustment to postwar life in a country so different from her beloved Egypt. I was touched by young Colette's largeness of spirit as she accepts her losses and isolation, and opens up to the delights of Paris and its food.

Rossant is a wonderful writer with an explorer's personality, which makes her books transcend their genre. Lovers of good stories and good writing, as well as marvelous food, will enjoy Return to Paris. I'd like to add that given the events of our time, in particular the appalling anti-French and anti-Arab behavior some folks exhibit, it is compelling to read how one young person bridged two strikingly different cultures with grace, open eyes, and receptive tastebuds.

Return to the Common Grill
Average customer rating:
Return to the Common Grill
Craig Common
Manufacturer: Huron River Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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A Return to Family Picnics
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Inspirational

"Picnic" Inspires

what a grump

A Return to Family Picnics
Russell Cronkhite
Manufacturer: Multnomah Gifts
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Food That Says Welcome: Simple Recipes to Spark the Spirit of Hospitality

Bridgehampton Weekends: Easy Menus for Casual Entertaining

Festive Picnics: Recipes Crafts & Decorations for Outdoor Occasions

ASIN: 1590521404
Release Date: 2005-02-25

Book Description

A Recipe for Reviving Family Fellowship

A Return to Family Picnics, a beautiful gift-quality cookbook, captures our imagination and fosters the ideal of family gatherings, fellowship, and community...outside! A follow-up to A Return to Sunday Dinner, this cookbook takes us out-of-doors, where we experience the fun and fellowship of family times and extended family gatherings in the splendor of God’s magnificent creation. With over 120 mouthwatering recipes, inspirational quotes, and heartwarming memories, your heart will take an inviting and nostalgic journey, setting the stage for the Christ-centered message of celebration and our American family heritage.

From the moment the first blossoms of spring unfold, we start to dust off our winter blues. Through the long, lazy respite that is summer and well into the gold and deep-red hues of autumn, we are drawn outside to experience anew the splendor of God’s magnificent creation. We are called to return to those uninterrupted memories far away from the hustle and bustle of the world pressing all aroundâand to celebrate life!

The glorious pleasure of one of America’s favorite pastimes beckonsâa group of brightly covered tables, baskets of fresh flowers, frosty pitchers of lemonade, children laughing and spinning and swinging high in the warm, gentle breezeâ¦

It’s time for the best picnic ever!

****

A century ago, when Henry Ward Beecher

was asked how we could makeour nation

better, he answered, âMultiply picnics.â

He was right then, and his answer is right for us now.

robert d. putnam, author of bowling alone

INSIDE LEFT FLAP COPY:

Picnics

Fresh country air fills your lungs under the cool shade of towering oak trees. Soft blades of grass tickle your feet as you relax in the classic setting for America ’s favorite gathering.

of All Shapes and Sizes

From a romantic fete for two along the riverside to an extended celebration for the entire neighborhood, laughter rings forth to seal priceless ties between young and old.

Are for Celebrating

With more than 120 mouthwatering recipes, stunning culinary photographs, and inspirational quotes, A Return to Family Picnics blends leisure with pleasure.

Food and Fun for All

This unique cookbook includes recipes that accommodate gatherings of up to forty people, with dishes from every corner of the country. Delightful salads and scrumptious sides accent each menu. Favorites showcasing our nation’s heritage include Herb-Marinated Rotisserie Chicken, Heavenly Deviled Eggs, Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwiches, All-American Deep-Dish Cherry Cobbler, and Maine Blueberry Buckle.

Inhale deeply, and let the enticing aroma guide you outdoors to that special place where loved ones gatherâ¦and the memories created are simply the icing on the Coconut Cream Cupcakes.

Story Behind the Book

âI remember well those wonderful celebrations and community events when our neighborhood parks rang with the sounds of rollicking, wholesome funâpickup softball games, group volleyball, horseshoes, or three-legged races. On special days such as Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Labor Day, we gathered for solemn remembranceâthen headed for the picnic tables to celebrate our glorious past together. So many of my own childhood memories involve picnic momentsâflying kites on a hill, singing songs in the car, trips to the zoo, days at the beach, fascinating visits to historic sites, not to mention those wonderful, home-cooked foods. Doesn’t the very thought make you want to pack your picnic basket and head outdoors for a picnic celebration of your own?â

Customer Reviews:

Inspirational .......2007-04-30

I don't know who from Publisher's Weekly wrote the review for this book, but I think they need to go on a good picnic and chill out! I got this book as a review copy since I'm working on an article about family picnics for a newspaper. What I like most about this book, which I will be suggesting to my readers, is that in addition to the beautiful photos, soothing writer's voice and time-saving tips is that the recipes aren't a major deal to do! Most of the recipes do not come with an arm's length of ingredients and the need for huge amounts of time. I like that....a lot. Sure, some recipes are for a quick, rather unplanned jaunt and others are for a more planned-out, lavish feast. But that's the beauty of a picnic...it can be as simple or extravagant as you want it to be. This book gives you nice options for both. And yes....Mr. Publisher's Weekly...outdoor tea parties do count as picnics.

"Picnic" Inspires.......2005-06-10

Nicely done, A Return To Family Picnics by Russell Cronkhite is a nice gift idea and an even nicer way to inspire a personal event surrounding friends with a planned but simple sharing of food. I write this following our plan to set up our own picnic at Ravinia (sorry, rain knocked that one out, but we moved it to the park instead). It IS possible to throw a micro-party, a moveable feast, pretty easily and you're really going to like it.

Being a regular guy, I need occasional cheaters when it comes to looking smart; A Return To Family Picnics is just such a crib note: glossy enough for a coffee table and piled with enough clas s to make any shlep like me come off looking classier.

Great photos; nice menu ideas from Cronkhite, a man who knows his stuff about serving great food very well.

Food books? Don't get me started: too many miss their mark. But not Cronkhite's nicely done tome; I liked it enough to buy a copy for my mother who may never throw another picnic but will know that her son knows how it's done...

what a grump.......2005-04-21

To Whom It May Concern:

I normally don't bother responding to critics - I find that I am usually far more critical of my own work. However, reading the recent Publishers Weekly review of my newest cookbook I really can't help myself. I had heard it was a rather "lame" piece. And judging from the general tone, one that seems to imply picnics are either for latte sipping yuppies or red state warriors, it sounds as though this snide little curmudgeon may think a great picnic would include a package of Twinkies and a (full of) baloney sandwich.

Picnics come in many shapes and sizes. Had someone bothered to actually read my "text book" on picnic history they might have discovered picnics have been and still are leisure affairs filled with festivity, imagination, and romance. Whether a grand Southern picnic with platters piled high, an afternoon tea party, a fun-filled family reunion, New England clam bake, July Fourth barbecue, a springtime brunch, or a fall festival tailgate - picnics can be in the back yard, out in the country, in the garden, or down at the local park.

A Return to Family Picnics is filled with picnic perfect menus: some elegant menus featuring poached salmon or country pate - great for a wedding shower, Mother's Day, or an autumn hot air balloon ride. But I also included a good balance of sandwiches, wraps, cup cakes and bar cookies, as well as easy to prepare dishes like our juicy herb marinated rotisserie chicken and festive salads for an impromptu day in the park.

A Return to Family Picnics is a wonderfully well-crafted gift book designed by one of the industries top firms. It is beautifully photographed, with stunning food styling, and by most accounts filled with romance, warm memories, and charm.

Still, I could see how some might be turned-off to the book's splendor: the same cynics too sophisticated for Hallmark cards, Miss America, county fairs or small town parades. So, call me "corny" if you will. But golly gee, Mrs. Cleaver, saccharine...? Sorry, Saccharine is an artificial sweetener, while my love for all things bright and beautiful is quite natural and sincere. Most Americans, no matter what their supposed political stripe, still salute the flag with pride and still stand respectfully for the National Anthem.

So, this is a "red state" picnic book...Really? It's a given that reviewers generally think they are being oh so clever when often they can't see the beauty beyond their own murk-colored glasses - but is it possible someone is taking their Neanderthal rhetoric a little too seriously here? It's a cookbook for heaven's sake.

My guess is your reviewer has not recently been to an old fashioned community picnic. Around the Potomac where I live, like parks around America, civic groups, extended families, and groups of friends are gathering every weekend to enjoy lively games and conversations in the warm inviting breeze. Beneath awnings, umbrellas and shaded trees they fire up grills and propane cookers and spread tables with their own movable feasts - true, this takes a bit of forethought and pre-planning as all things worth doing well.

Picnics are a passion. For several years I was a judge at the Montpellier Steeplechase tailgate competition here in Virginia and I can assure you these picnics were anything but simple: crystal candelabra, sides of smoked salmon, fine china set out in the open trunk of a classic Rolls Royce. And yes, trifle!

Presently, I'm helping to organize a picnic at my church: we'll have macaroni salad, glazed ham, fried chicken, corn on-the-cob and deviled eggs. We'll play balloon toss, have a square dance, and run three-legged races. And if we can round up enough hand-cranked machines we'll churn frozen custard for the peach cobbler or for making ice cream sodas.

The point of a having a picnic, the point of my book, is one of fun and celebration. It is sad to realize that there are still people who can't manage to enjoy a bit of serendipity.

Russell Cronkhite author of A Return to Family Picnics

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