what i read in my spare time

It should come as no surprise that I spend much of my time reading about food. Blogs, magazines, books–I can’t get enough of it. Food writing is just so creative and interesting, and it serves as inspiration for me. Inspiration for my future career and for this blog. When I am back at college and don’t have access to a kitchen on a regular basis, I often resort to reading to satiate my “appetite” for all things culinary. What follows is an (abbreviated) list that encompasses some of my favorite pieces of food writing, which I hope you’ll enjoy as much as I do.

 

Comfort Me With Apples; Tender at the Bone; Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl

 

Ruth Reichl is currently EIC of Gourmet Magazine, but her three memoirs detail her experiences growing up as a foodie and the development of her career as a food critic and writer. If asked to name my favorite book, I would have to list these as a three-way tie; they are incredibly honest, well-written, and oftentimes laugh-out-loud funny. Comfort Me With Apples and Tender at the Bone primarily document Reichl’s experiences growing up, her college years, and the early stages of her career. One of the most memorable moments of this mini-series is when Reichl’s mother throws an engagement party that guests must pay to attend, and serves moldy food that sickens all of her guests. Everyone has something that inspired them to their future careers, and anecdotes like these demonstrate the awareness of food that permeated Reichl’s consciousness from the very beginning. Garlic and Sapphires fast-forwards to Reichl’s storied tenure as the food critic of the New York Times. Reichl employs her use of disguises as an extended metaphor for the multiple personalities that exist within all of us, and her journeys on the path of discovering of herself are endlessly fascinating.

 

New York Times Blogs: Bitten and Diner’s Journal by Mark Bittman, Frank Bruni, assorted NYT editors, and other guest posters

 

The NYT is a bastion of talented editors, great writers, and probing topics. The Dining Section never disappoints, but these two blogs are hidden treasures of the online version of the paper. Impeccably written as always, they expand upon articles that have already been published, and have a certain casual latitude to introduce new topics of interest to the online food community.  Mark Bittman often posts recipes, characterized by his simplistic and loose style. Frank Bruni brings up fascinating topics–like the tendency of restaurants to still give men the check at the end of a meal–and then opens the space up to reader responses. These reader response threads are just so interesting, and definitely worthwhile reading. They are often intelligently written, and give others interesting perspectives on controversial topics. One of my favorite posters on Bitten is Emily Weinstein, who does a mini-series on her adventures in the kitchen as she learns to cook. These personal and perpetually human anecdotes are quite amusing and very relatable. Just the kind of food-writing that I love to read.

 

New York Times Dining Section, A Good Appetite by Melissa Clark

 

Every Wednesday, I eagerly anticipate Melissa Clark’s column. It’s not always there (I believe it runs three weeks out of the month, but I could be mistaken), but when it is, it’s a treat better than a chocolate lava cake. It’s a column that I can really sink my teeth into–no pun intended–and one that literally makes my mouth water at times. What is so special about Clark’s column is not the formula, which is relatively predictable and is similar in format to all of the food writing that I mention here, but her ability to make her readers feel like they are really there with her in her kitchen. Prior to the publication of a column documenting Clark’s experiences renovating her kitchen while in the midst of giving birth to her child (“Tossing a Rattle into the Renovation”), I had constructed an alternate reality of what her kitchen looked like, and how it would feel to cook in it by her side. The combination of Clark’s talent for placing her readers in the moment and the spontenaity with which she approaches her recipes are unstoppable. If you are not a regular reader of the Dining section, I sincerely suggest you peruse it next Wednesday.

 

Orangette by Molly Wizenberg

 

This is my favorite blog of all time. Everything, EVERYTHING about it is so compatible with my vision for what food writing should be: great photography, witty writing, and excellent recipes. Despite the fact that Wizenberg, a contributor to Bon Appetit and author of A Homemade Life, is primarily interested in pastry, she has a broad range of recipes and techniques, and I especially love her fearless love of vegetables. It’s one of many qualities that we share. I actually stumbled across this blog after reading one of Emily Weinstein’s posts, which utilized a recipe that Wizenberg adapted from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook. I remain eternally gratefuly for finding this gem of a blog, and I sincerely recommend that anyone even remotely interested in food writing peruse it at some point. She has the potential to be the next Ruth Reichl. http://orangette.blogspot.com

 

Fanny at Chez Panisse by Alice Waters

 

This is the book that first got me interested in food and food writing. Yes, it’s a children’s picture book. And yes, it’s worth reading. Alice Waters is the chef/author that made me fall in love with the kind of food writing that fuses personal anecdotes and memories with recipes and techniques. There is nothing more appealing to me than a personalized recipe accompanied by a meaningful description of the author’s experiences with it. Waters accomplishes this and more, skillfully gearing the tales of Fanny’s (her daughter) adventures in the Chez Panisse kitchen towards children, yet still making the book incredibly appealing for adults. It’s the cookbook equivalent of Toy Story. Morever, the recipes are of the same high quality that Waters usually turns out, but produced in a simple-enough manner that parent and child will enjoy cooking together. “Fanny Chicken” is still a perennial favorite in our household, and perhaps a recipe that deserves a blog entry of its very own in the future.