A Handful of Books I Can’t Wait To Get My Hands On. . .

This idea of writing up a list of books I’m looking forward to is constantly knocking around in my brain. Thankfully, the list never stops growing, but ultimately the works I anticipate are released and that list ebbs and flows. . . Alas, there are a handful of books that have yet to be released right now that I have been looking forward to for a long while. Perhaps it is just that I am an adult now (am I?) and I understand how the world turns a little better every year, but it does seem that thanks to social media, and the Internet on the whole, we are exposed to the progress of beloved authors’ latest works. Be it a periodic Instagram post or an apologetic/grateful blog post addressing a stressed/excited absence from their virtual space – we are given insights to how things are going, snippets to whet our appetites. 

Here are the titles I cannot wait to hold in my hands on, get cooking from, and finally see in print:

Extra Virgin: Recipes & Love from Our Italian Kitchen by Debi Mazar & Gabriele Corcos

The chemistry that flows between Debi and Gabriele on the screen and in person is practically tangible – they’re the kind of public couple you can tell are doing what they do because they absolutely love it, and love each other and their daughters. When I need some soothing I can find a clip or full episode of their Cooking Channel show. Their gentle, playful nature calms me and inspires me to get cooking. I’m looking forward to relaxed Tuscan recipes alongside their sweet and entertaining stories. [Photo from: http://underthetuscangun.com/]

Get It: May 6, 2014

Delicious!: A Novel by Ruth Reichl 

Ruth Reichl is one of my favorite writers. Her food memoirs are ones I want to re-read every year, and ones I often refer back to for reliving the moments she’s written (like hiding out in Danny Kaye’s kitchen and eating his luxurious lemon pasta). To have her writing food-related fiction has me over the moon with excitement. As far as I can tell it will be a story of: sisters, magazines, letters, and a rich tapestry of all things food. I devoured her food memoir trilogy in no time and I look forward to carving out time to take in Delicious! as soon as I get it. [Photo: https://www.facebook.com/monica.bhide1]

Get It: May 6, 2014

Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Practical Pantry by Cathy Barrow

Many moons ago I had the pleasure of meeting Cathy Barrow at my first Duckathlon. When we met I didn’t know about her blog, Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Kitchen, or about her work with Charcutepalooza (and the-one-and-only Michael Rhulman), but soon after I began following her across the board online I realized she was my kind of food person. She does an amazing job preserving the bounty of the seasons to enjoy all year long – in every form possible, not just jams and tomato sauces (although we once exchanged treats and she sent me to-die-for strawberry rhubarb preserves!). Her book is already making me want to live out my aspirational kitchen fantasies. To top it all off Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton (Canal House) did the photography for the book. The stunning cover is enough to get me anxious for what is inside.  [Photo: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/267823509064638838/]

Get It: November 3, 2014

On the Third day of Christmas... Ruth Reichl

For the third day of Christmas I want to share a gift I already have and cherish entirely, the gift of Ruth. 

Within the time frame of the past year I've become a serious fan of Ruth Reichl. Sure, I love her ethereal tweets and I think Gilt Taste is great, but its her trilogy of memoirs that has made me a proper fan of Ruth. I devoured Tender at the Bone while on vacation in Cape Cod, I gobbled up Comfort Me With Apples shortly after and now I'm onto Garlic and Sapphires, hesitating to move too quickly through it for I know there is no immediate book to follow (I will probably get to For You Mom, Finally at some point, though). When I read in the recent WSJ interview with her that there are three more books on the way I was overjoyed.

She is an inspiration to me, to the possibilities of my own life - in my career, in my love life, in my geographical location. Her three memoirs follow her journey from childhood through to the offer to be editor of Gourmet. Reichl is one of the true greats we are lucky enough to have among us in our lifetime. Her three books together will make an excellent present (whether they know it or not) to any food lover or aspiring writer. Start by getting Tender at the Bone from Gilt Taste that comes with a bookplate signed by Reichl herself (half wishing I didn't already own a copy so I could get this!). 

Follow Fridays: Introduction and #Reading

In my first months of tweeting I learned about #FF which stands for Follow Friday. It’s a way to suggest to your followers who they might enjoy following on Twitter based on the fact that you like how they tweet. If you are starting out on Twitter it is also a great way to get your handle out there and show some appreciation for the people who keep you tweeting. Friday’s hold a special place in my heart thanks to Twitter and it is all because of #FF. Since I still tweet my series of #FF every week, I thought I would explain the people I typically suggest. Also, I wanted to extend the list beyond the 140 character limit to include the accounts I like but don’t always make room for on Fridays. For the next six or seven Fridays I will give you a post on Friday mornings with all the accounts I like in one overall category.

To begin with I always give a list of my favorite writers or sources labeled as #Reading. This list stays pretty consistent but changes depending on what I am reading that week. If the author, magazine or blog I’ve been into lately has a Twitter account I will always include them. So here is how I tend to get things rolling on Friday mornings:

@GaelGreene – Gael Greene is a food critic and author best known for her hats and sensual writing that blurs the line between food and sex. When I started tweeting as @culinarylibrari the second season of Top Chef Masters was airing so my love for Gael was just starting to bloom. After I read "Insatiable" this past fall my head was filled with all sorts of naughty ideas thanks to Gael. My appreciation fully bloomed and she has been on every #FF #Reading tweet since their inception.

@ruhlman – Around Christmastime I learned about Michael Ruhlman while watching Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations Holiday Special. I thought to myself—who is this handsome man with great knife skills and even better hair? After Googling him and finding a recipe for homemade English muffins on the first page of his site I knew I wanted to learn more about him. He is the author of a myriad of books about cooking and being a Chef in addition to the handful of books he has co-authored with the heavy hitters like Thomas Keller and Eric Ripert.

The Locavores' Dilemma: A discussion about what to eat.

Thanks to my avid reading and tweeting on Twitter I found out about the event at the New York Public Library (NYPL) I attended Thursday October 21, 2010 from @SlowFoodUSA.

The Locavores' Dilemma brought in former Cullman Center Fellow Melanie Rehak, author of Eating for Beginners, Chef David Shea of applewood Restaurant in Park Slope, and Steve Jenkins of Fairway Market; the discussion was moderated by another former Cullman Center Fellow Patrick Radden Keefe journalist and author of The Snakehead.  Odds are unless you're a New Yorker you might not have heard of any of these people (yet). I recognized Fairway, of  course, and had seen Melanie Rehak's book cover but did not really know much about any of the participants or what they do. Jean Strouse, director of the Cullman Center, gave thorough introductions for each participant (a recipe of hers is included in Eating for Beginners, which Patrick Keefe drew attention to due to her memorable instruction to "add a stick of butter" to a dish of brussel sprouts- and Strouse added joyfully "and bacon!").

So how do these people fit together to make for a discussion about locavory? Rehak lives in Park Slope just blocks away from applewood restaurant (small "a" intended). She is a locavore and spent time working in the applewood kitchen to write her book; she also follows the food the restaurant uses back to  its sources; spending time making cheese, picking greens, and even out on the ocean to catch the restaurant's seafood. Chef David Shea is a consistent voice and presence in Rehak's memoir. During her time working at applewood he encourages her to believe in herself and in her abilities in the kitchen. Steve Jenkins is a mainstay in the New York grocery scene and brought insight to the more commercial side of local sourcing and eating.

The Longer You've Been Away, The More You Cry-- Reading Kat Flinn & Crying my eyes out

I just finished Kathleen Flinn's "The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry". Nothing I have read in the past year and a half since returning from studying abroad in Paris has conjured up so many memories of the City of Light or so many tears from my eyes.

It always seemed to me that people went abroad to their country of choice and had the time of their life-- making new friends from across the globe, travelling all around the region they are staying in, in Europe hoping from country to country every weekend, etc. Of course I figured it would be no different for me. I don't know if I had been more excited for anything as I was to leave for Paris. I decided I would go abroad late in the game, bored with my school and seeing the same people everyday on our campus of about 5,000. I was ready to change it up for my senior year so I didn't leave Geneseo bored and bitter. Plus I knew it was the best time to get away without being weighed down my bills, loans, rent, a job etc (all of which I have to deal with now!) and didn't want to let to opportunity pass. I applied in winter for the program, was accepted in early spring and had a long summer to work and prepare to leave in late September.

All summer long everything I said and did was about Paris. Paris came up to everyone who asked me about school; once I knew some of the people in my program we started e-mailing/IMing/facebooking; every other sentence from my mouth seemed to have Paris in it. I couldn't wait.

My trip really started with packing... packing too much! I worked at New York & Company the whole summer before leaving, so with my employee discount and their constant sales I amassed a whole new wardrobe which of course I felt I needed to bring with me! Bad idea.. should have saved my euros to get new clothes in Paris. So I set out to the airport with my parents and 3 ridiculously heavy suitcases which I think will be no problem because I am meeting our program director at the airport and we are being brought into the city on a tour bus.

We come into the city and I am eager to get to my foyer where I will be living for the next four months which is located on Ile St-Louis-- the smaller of the two Parisian islands located in the Seine. Unfortunately my quaint little island does not allow tour buses on it! This news is not good due to my heavy load to carry. I struggle across Pont de la Tournelle then a nice man offers to help me and I accept immediatement. I am surprised and delighted. I'm a little anxious so I don't let him walk all the way to Foyer la Vigie with me-- just in case.

The courtyard to the foyer is charming. The next challenge is getting my luggage up 6 flights of a worn down slippery spiral staircase up to my room. It works out well enough that I leave my open suitcase on the bottom and bring my things up seprately. Though I packed too much, I still packed smartly and used the large ziploc bags to put all my things in so this was easy.

By the time I'm done I try to set up the internet only to find there is no internet in my room (some say its because the buildings are too old and the walls to thick, i think its just because la vigie like to keep somethings un peu ancien). This led me, my overtired, hungry, jetlagged self to start the fountain of what would unfortunately be many tears falling Paris. 


So I was home sick nearly the whole first month of my stay; thought about seriously leaving within the first week. It was all ridiculous but I certainly grew (up) from it and do not regret how I spent Paris at all. It all boiled down to loneliness and fear which eased each day I was there. I got a good sense of a handful of areas in the city and cannot WAIT! to get back with my loved ones and be able to play tour guide. 


Paris continued and I began to see her beauties daily. In the patisseries the beauty came in the form of sugary confections and fresh baguettes and pain au chocolat; on the streets the beauty was in the old buildings, the street performers, school children running wild, and of course the lovers kissing on every bridges; indoors were the greatest beauties passed through the ages at the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, and even within each peek into Paris' many courtyards hidden by large metal doors which open up to reveal little oasis' at the center of apartment buildings. Paris is a place that has not left me and is forever in my heart. Flinn's wonderful descriptions rekindled many memories for me that I had nearly forgotten; for this I am very grateful. 


Reading "The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry" had me tearing up every couple pages and longing for Paris worse than before I left for the first time. Merci Meeze Fleen!