11 September, 2001: Home Cooking
Novelist Laurie Colwin's first collection of articles about cooking, food, and the art of eating, Home Cooking is a gem. Unlike many food esayists, Colwin can flat out write. The essays in Home Cooking -- as opposed to those by other many excellent food writers, like John (Serious Pig) Thorne -- aren't daunting. Colwin isn't, say, exploring the nuances of a regional cuisine or exploring the evolution of salade Nicoise; she's writing about much homier topics. The baked chicken she brings to parties; spinach casserole with jalapenos; slow-rising slightly sour bread; the perfect potato salad; Carribean fruitcake (for special occasions only, as you have to marinate the fruit in dark rum for weeks). These aren't intimidating recipes -- even the scary ones sound like a breeze in Colwin's sisterly, comforting voice. (How can you resist an essay called "Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant"?) And, to gild the lily, Colwin's recipes (the ones I've tried, at least; there are a number of vegetarian or easily-adapted recipes, although it's not the focus of the book) are very, very yummy.