Cooking Memoirs
Posted on Monday, December 31, 2007 by Peg
The family meal was practically an institution in my household as I was growing up. We ate in the dining room with cloth napkins. My father like to remind us that we not merely eating but dining. My mother prepared delicious, somewhat elaborate meals. We applauded the chef for her efforts and we always had dessert. My mother went to culinary school when my three sisters and I entered high school. She was chef at a fancy tea room, exclusive restaurants, retirement homes and a soup kitchen. I have withheld the tradition of the family meal with my own family, while not "dining" every evening we make a point of sitting down together and sharing our evening meal. With such a background cook books and memoirs about cooking are fascinating to me. Here are a few favorites:
Out of the Frying Pan: A Chef's Memoir of Hot Kitchens, Single Motherhood and the Family Meal by Gillian Clark
As her marriage unravels Gillian decides to leave her successful marketing career behind and cook for a living. This book is her journey from new cook to chef in her own, now famous, restaurant. Her story of the struggle to raise two daughters while sweating in front of a stove for 60 hours weeks had me devouring this book like my favorite dessert. The recipes are a bonus. I plan on trying a few on my own family.
Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell
The author decides that her life and carer are going nowhere while her biological clock is ticking. After cooking one of Julia Child;s recipes from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", her husband suggests she attend culinary school. She made the argument that they couldn't afford it and instead she would master Julia Child's book by making every recipe. Our family faithfully watched the Julia Child's cooking show on Sunday nights and my mother's copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking is well worn. I usually dust off my copy during the holidays. You'll notice in Infosoup that the book has been republished in two volumes.
Stuffed: Adventures of a Restaurant Family by Patricia Volk
This book is a delightful account of growing up in the restaurant business. In a restaurant family "[y]ou're never full, you're stuffed," says Volk. The family eccentricities of this unusual family will keep you entertained.
Out of the Frying Pan: A Chef's Memoir of Hot Kitchens, Single Motherhood and the Family Meal by Gillian Clark
As her marriage unravels Gillian decides to leave her successful marketing career behind and cook for a living. This book is her journey from new cook to chef in her own, now famous, restaurant. Her story of the struggle to raise two daughters while sweating in front of a stove for 60 hours weeks had me devouring this book like my favorite dessert. The recipes are a bonus. I plan on trying a few on my own family.
Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell
The author decides that her life and carer are going nowhere while her biological clock is ticking. After cooking one of Julia Child;s recipes from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", her husband suggests she attend culinary school. She made the argument that they couldn't afford it and instead she would master Julia Child's book by making every recipe. Our family faithfully watched the Julia Child's cooking show on Sunday nights and my mother's copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking is well worn. I usually dust off my copy during the holidays. You'll notice in Infosoup that the book has been republished in two volumes.
Stuffed: Adventures of a Restaurant Family by Patricia Volk
This book is a delightful account of growing up in the restaurant business. In a restaurant family "[y]ou're never full, you're stuffed," says Volk. The family eccentricities of this unusual family will keep you entertained.
