The Wedding Officer

This is another book club pick. Set in World War II era Italy, the book centers around Captain James Gould a British Officer assigned the duty of making sure that British solders did not marry Italian women of "poor reputation", specifically prostitutes. However wartime shortages and extreme poverty ensure that almost all of them have slept with a solider for cash and he approves almost no marriages. He also attempts to crackdown on the black market with little or no success. Then Livia Pertini, a widow from the Italian countryside becomes the cook for Gould and the other officers. Gradually Gould begins to fall in love with her, the food she cooks, and Italy itself and see the world as more than black and white. The story takes a few turns towards the far fetched, but the book was still a worthwhile read.

The Mango Trees

Sorry, another late post. This memoir covers actress and author Madhur Jaffrey's childhood in India. There is a pleasant wistfulness to the stories of her childhood surrounded by extended family. There is also an emphasis on the many influences on Jaffrey and her family from all elements of Indian society--Hindu, Muslim, and English. But above all, it is about the food from her childhood and the many memories of preparing and eating everything from traditional meals to the treats from street vendors. There are also many family recipes included in the back.

The Joy of Cooking

I have four copies of this book. One is a reproduction issue of the first 1931 edition, once is a battered copy of the linked-to version (1973 "standard" edition, widely considered to be the best) that I got from a box of free for the taking stuff at a garage sale, a copy of the 1998 revision (which has the sloppy joe recipe my husband is crazy for), and the 2006 75th anniversary edition. All of these have different recipes, side notes, charts, and information to reflect the changing times and editors (the book began life chatty, became less so culminating in the "too impersonal" 1998 edition and is now on it's way back in the other direction.) I love this edition for pure reading enjoyment. There are innumerable weird recipes (four for frog legs alone) and huge sections on wild game, (including a recipe for porcupine), sauces, frosting and tons of details on obscure cooking topics. Some people think these recipes are only average, but I think they have a good work to result ratio, in addition to the books being historic documents and fine reading as well.

Tender at the Bone

One interesting thing about doing this blog is that looking over our choices, patterns start to develop. Apparently I am completely obsessed with books about cooking and food, because here is yet another food related choice. Tender at the Bone is the first of three excellent memoirs about former New York Times restaurant critic and current Gourmet editor in chief, Ruth Reichl. The book describes her childhood and her early adult years, showing how she came to love not only good food, but the meaning of cooking and serving a particular dish. From a some what privileged background, Reichl learns about food from the various excellent cooks in her life (housekeepers, family, friends) but also learns much from from her mother, who is maniac depressive and prone to serving guests spoiled food. Overall, this is a great memoir of an unusual life, as are the next two volumes, Comfort Me With Apples and Garlic and Sapphires.

The Tummy Trilogy

This book is actually three separate books by Calvin Trillin, --Alice, Let's Eat, Second Helpings, and American Fried-- in one volume. I love Calvin Trillin's books about his family and particularly this volume which focuses on food. Trillin touts the pleasures of barbecue (particularly Arthur Bryant's in Kansas City), good fried chicken joints, and Chinese food authentic as he can find it. He is horrified by the "continental cuisine" that was popular when the books were written (the '70s and '80s) and bland food in general. When his daughter asks him how come the bagels in Kansas City "taste like round bread?", I knew just what she meant. A lot of the book has his wife Alice, playing straight man, limiting him to three meals a day, and suggesting his views on food might be, oh, just a bit extreme. For a corrective of that check out his memoir, About Alice. These are funny and sweet, a good pick me up on a bad day.

My Life in France

My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'Homme is a terrific read for your quarter (or one third) life crisis. At age 36, Julia Child moved to France with her new husband Paul, speaking no French and newly retired from the O.S.S.. In looking for a way to occupy her time, she turned her new found love of French cuisine into first a hobby, then a job teaching cooking and then a career, publishing cooking books, staring in her first PBS series and becoming Julia Child, cooking celebrity. Refeshingly, Julia doesn't hesitate to say what she thinks, she remains unrepentingly critical of her father through out the book, and recounts her differences with Simone Beck, one of her co-authors on Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The book was written shortly before her death with the assistance of her nephew, Alex Prud'Homme and I was shocked it wasn't on any of the best of the year book lists.