Eat This Book

I think we're all big fans of food around here, but I'm the kind of fan that is not simply satisfied by just eating food or writing about food. I also like to READ (you guessed it) about food.

I was inspired to write this post by my friend T's Google Chat status message, which contained a link to Mark Kurlansky's new book about food history and the way Americans ate before chain restaurants and other modern "conveniences" obliterated the idea of seasonal eating.

I would have loved to create a longer post about this, but I'm kind of on a time crunch considering my upcoming trip to Sicily, which I leave for tomorrow and which I have not yet begun packing for. On the bright side, I'm hoping to get a few great SPF posts out of the trip!

A few books about food that I absolutely adore and would definitely recommend:

*The United States of Arugula: The Sun Dried, Cold Pressed, Dark Roasted, Extra Virgin Story of the American Food Revolution, by David Kamp
*Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, by Anthony Bourdain
*Eat, Drink and Be Gorgeous, by Esther Blum and James Dignan
*What to Drink With What You Eat, by Andrew Dornenburg, Karen Page and Michael Sofronski (reference)

And a few I've been dying to read:

*Omnivore's Dilemma / In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan
*What to Eat, by Marion Nestle (even though I tried to interview her once and she was kind of rude to me)
*Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise, by Ruth Reichl
*The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell, by Mark Kurlansky
*Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser
*A Cook's Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisine, by Anthony Bourdain
*Moveable Feasts, by Sarah Murray
*Art of Simple Food, by Alice Waters (reference)

If anyone has read any of these and would like to comment, or has other food book suggestions, I want to read your comments! Because, you know, I like to READ ABOUT FOOD...

"Roman gourmet Apicius" is my Homeboy

"The first Western cookbook appeared a little more than 1,600 years ago. “De re coquinara” (concerning cookery) is attributed to a Roman gourmet named Apicius who, legend has it, poisoned himself upon learning that he could no longer afford to eat fancy food." --from "Pluck a Flamingo," economist.com.

Yep. I dig his vibe. Thanks to Eric for this one!

http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12795620

I Heart NY

It's not exactly an exotic locale, but apparently we just don't know how lucky we are, gastronomically speaking. Also, I think it's important that we utilize the phrase " 'zas" more often.

Cooking Can Save Your Life...Or At Least Your Bank Account

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/02/judges_70yearold_wife_fights_o.html

Reasons why this is amazing:

1. This woman calls the robbers in her home "young men."
2. The ridiculously long explanation of what happened is delivered lecture-style from what appears to be her library.
3. The moral of the story is that alcohol causes problems.
4. A saucepan can easily mete out justice.
5. This quote: "'She was upset that she had to turn over her favorite saucepan as evidence.'" I would be too.
6. This story is brought to you from a town in Ohio right next to where I grew up. Because we know how to take care of business in the heartland.

Thanks to Rob for this!

“It’s that guy in the band with the big plastic glasses who’s already asking for grass-fed steak and knows about nibs”

According to the times , brooklyn's food scene is poppin! It seems that a scrappy young crew, "with a taste for bold graphics, salvaged wood and scruffy beards," have pieced together quite the culinary culture in our favorite borough. Thanks to such rascals as the guy I used to pass everyday on the way to the L, bk can boast handmade pickles, cheeses, and chocolate. Plus, blogs.

Yet Another Reason Why I Love Vogue

Reading this on the elliptical at the gym made my mouth water...

http://www.style.com/vogue/feature/2009/01/minor-miracles/

Someday

Mark Bittman at the the New York Times walks us through how to be better at life, and I now find it really distressing that I don't have a quarter pound of prosciutto in the house at all times.