Sunday, June 16, 2013

My Favorite Food Literature

Books

-Michael Pollan: An Omnivore’s Dilemma, Food Rules, and In Defense of Food
-A Thousand Days in Venice: An Unexpected Romance by Marlena de Blasi
-Best Food Writing of 2009, edited by Holly Hughes
-In Search of a Perfect Meal by Anthony Bourdain
-Julie and Julia by Julie Powell
-My Life in France by Julia Child
-A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenburg
-Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

About to Read

Food Rebels, Guerrilla Gardeners, and Smart-Cookin’ Mamas by Mark Winne

My Reading List

  • Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelsson
  • Cooked by Michael Pollan
  • Chocolat by Joanne Harris
  • The Man Who Ate Everything by Jeffrey Steingarten
  • Watching What We Eat: The Evolution of Television Cooking Shows by Kathleen Collins
  • Fear of Food: A History of Why We Worry About What We Eat by Harvey Levenstein
  • Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
  • The Physiology of Taste by Jean Brillat-Savarin

Magazines

Cooking Light is my favorite. I don’t make any recipe just because it looks easy; if so, I wouldn’t have spent hours making cinnamon rolls and waking up at 4 am to start their last rise. But, the recipes in Cooking Light seem doable and are dishes that I want to eat, elegant but not fussy, are made with whole, fresh foods, and and have some consideration for health. I also love their feature stories which incorporate the culture of food, how it shapes our lives, and some humor (one story was about a passionate home cook testing some of the hardest cookbook recipes from the top-rated chefs in the world).

My close seconds are Bon Appetit and Food Network Magazine. Let’s face it, these magazines also bring a smile to my face on that glorious day when they are delivered to my mailbox. I get seriously antsy if it is that time of the month and I haven’t gotten one yet. These two are very different but I enjoy reading them both nonetheless. I admittedly have not tried many recipes from either of these magazines, but the artsy pictures in Bon Appetit and hint of the exotic will keep me reading while the random food facts and familiar chef faces fuel my love for Food Network Magazine.

Edible Charlotte has become another one of my favorite magazines. The best part is that it is free; but, that also means that I have to scavenge at my local health food store or farmer’s market to find a copy. The reward is worth the trouble to obtain a copy. This month the Mediterranean-inspired and raw recipes caught my eye but the spotlights on local farmers and chefs also make the magazine a must-read for Charlotteans.

Next up will be my favorite cookbooks and then I will end with my favorite food websites.