Tasty Reads

By the way, that’s not me, that’s my Tummy-Double.

Yes, I read cookbooks from cover to cover, like a novel. Truly, I snuggle down into the couch with a big glass of wine and read them, skimming the recipes while conjuring events and parties that might support my new creations.

Now that June is upon us, I can justify purchasing a large quantity of books: It’s my summer reading/entertaining stockpile. Clearly I’ll be too busy poolside with my Pimm’s Cup to make it to the bookstore before people just start showing up and demanding food. So I hunt and gather.

It helps that the New York Times Sunday Book Review last week was their food issue. Tra la la!

I’ve pretty much read this one already while standing in Barnes & Noble. Hungry Planet: What the World Eats is magnetic. With pictures of global families surrounded by the food they eat, it draws you in and hooks your stomach to someone else’s half-way around the world.

I’ve also paged through The New American Cooking. I love how it shows the beautiful diversity of our culinary landscape.

I am so excited to read The Omnivore’s Dilemma. I truly think one of the most vexing questions in the universe is “What should we have for dinner?” This looks to be an insightful and interesting discussion of what we eat and why we eat it.

The Nasty Bits by Bourdain promises to be good. I like his writing more often than his television, but appreciate the raw attitude always.

The Reach of a Chef: Beyond the Kitchen. Filling out his chef-trilogy (Making of a Chef, Soul of a Chef) Ruhlman always manages to nail the fish to the table.

I Love Crab Cakes! because I love Tom Douglas!

I met this firecracker of a Japanese woman this past winter and now I can’t wait to swim through her book, Harumi’s Japanese Cooking.

I can’t take my eyes off it, I’m a complete rubber-necker for the world of competitive eating. So is Ryan Nerz as displayed with Eat This Book (not the Tyler “tough-chef-walking” Florence book).

A History of the World in 6 Glasses. Because everyone needs a signature drink, dahling.

The Brewmasters Table is on my list because sometimes there’s nothing that will cure a summer day like a Trappist Ale. But what to eat? Some may bemoan the lack of recipes, but I’m keen on taking his food/beer pairings and creating my own dishes.