"Laurie Colwin" news and stories

I first heard of Jane Grigson in the pages of Laurie Colwin's Home Cooking. Colwin often references Grigson as the source of some of her most beloved and delicious recipes. Her affectionate description of the food in Good Things made me tuck it away in the section of my brain in which I store things I long to read and explore. I had the opportunity to browse the cookbook section of the main Powell's a couple of weeks ago and there it was, tucked away in the English cuisine section. I added it to my stack, internally crowing a little at my good fortune.

And good fortune it has been, as this is a wonderful book. Written in 1971, Grigson's voice is down to earth and helpful and her recipes are easy to follow. I also adore the way the book is organized. It is broken down into large sections that include Fish, Meat & Game, Vegetables, Fruit and a section simply entitled And...

Within each of those sections, the contents are further broken down into specific ingredients. There are a full ten pages of recipes devoted to carrots. That section begins with these words, "Carrots are sweet. And carrots are a beautiful colour. And they are cheap." How can you not fall in love with a cookbook that speaks that honestly and charmingly about this basic root vegetable? It might help slightly that I am somewhat partial to carrots.

As I looked around to see what other people have said about Good Things and Jane Grigson, I came across this blog entry. Written by a woman from the UK who has been cooking from this volume for years, the affection she feels for Grigson shines through readily. I hope you feel the same way if you happen to get your hands on a copy for yourself.

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I have a deep and abiding love for Laurie Colwin. I like her novels alright, but I love her two volumes of essays about food and cooking. I read and reread them each a couple of times a year, although for the last year or so I haven't been able to dive into More Home Cooking because I lent my copy to my mom. However, when I was back in Portland for the holidays, I reclaimed my copy and quickly fell back into her appealing prose and tasty food descriptions.

While it isn't exactly a cookbook, it is a book that contain many wonderful, delicious sounding recipes. This volume contains recipes for Mulligatawny Soup, Rosemary Walnuts, instructions on how to roast a turkey, a section exalting the beauty of pears and a Happy Winter Fudge Cake (I think that just about any fudge cake has the power to make many winters far more happy).

I haven't been doing this with every Cookbook of the Day post, but after the jump you'll find the recipe for the Happy Winter Fudge Cake (because it just sounds so good).

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Monday was cool, overcast and rainy here in Philadelphia. I know that some people hate that kind of weather, especially in summer, but over a decade of living in the Pacific Northwest during my formative years left me conditioned to think of it as cozy and comforting. It just so happens that I've been re-reading Laurie Colwin's book Home Cooking over the last few days, which is the perfect accompaniment to cozy weather.

Towards the end of the book she has an essay entitled How to Make Gingerbread. I finished it right around dinnertime, and being that I had nearly all the ingredients necessary (I didn't have buttermilk, but I followed her tip to stir a little yogurt into milk) I figured fate was telling me to whip up a batch. It turned out well, except that for that fact that I made a very poor choice in pans and so had some overflow that accumulated on the already dirty bottom of my oven. Despite that minor disaster, it turned out well and has left my apartment smelling of warm spices and the coming of fall.

Laurie's recipe is after the jump.

photo by Marisa McClellan

I'm heading into my last semester of grad school and preparing to write my thesis. It's a collection of essays about cooking, kitchen tools and family. One of the things my adviser requires is a plan, including a reading list of books that are in the subject area and will help guide me through the work. I've been pulling the list together both physically and on paper. Friday morning I wandered through my apartment, creating a stack of food books that I already owned that could join the list. (I realize that Laurie Colwin is totally absent from the line up, but I say in my defense that my mom currently is in possession of my copies of "Home Cooking" and "More Home Cooking").

I also queried some friends for book recommendations and was referred to a great segment that aired on NPR's Morning Edition back in June. In it Steve Inskeep spoke with Ruth Reichl about her favorite food memoirs. In the segment she spoke about several books, but then also furnished NPR with a more complete list of gastronomical memoirs for posting on the website.

Okay Slashfoodies, what are your favorite food memoirs?

photo by Marisa McClellan