ottawa foodies

I've been doing a fair bit of research about food these days. I've recently loved "in defense of food" by Michael Pollan and "I'm just here for the food" (and "More food") by Alton Brown. What other great books about food have you read? I could use some suggestions.

I just finished Anthony Bourdains Medium Raw. Pretty good read. He has a unique writing style that really matches how he speaks. Kitchen Confidential up next for me.

How to Cook a Wolf, by MFK Fisher. A collection of her essays from the 40's and such about food. Very worthwhile.
"Written to inspire courage in those daunted by wartimes shortages, How to Cook a Wolf continues to rally cooks during times of plenty, reminding them that providing sustenance requires more than putting food on the table. M. F. K. Fisher knew that the last thing hungry people needed were hints on cutting back and making do. Instead, she gives her readers license to dream, to experiment, to construct adventurous and delicious meals as a bulwark against a dreary, meager present. Her fine prose provides reason in itself to draw our chairs close to the hearth; we can still enjoy her company and her exhortations to celebrate life by eating well."

Thanks for these suggestions. I've put in a request at the library for them. In the meantime a friend has suggested "The Undomestic Goddess." It is said to be the funniest depiction of someone learning to cook, ever. There's hope for us all!
Please keep those suggestions coming... I'm a fast reader :)

Ah here it is - would have found it sooner if our host would include subject lines in the site search :-)

Forum - Summer Reading

Yes, I gotta get my little digs in on that one from time to time :-)

Ha! It bugs me too, Zym... I guess I'll have to dig in and figure it out! :S

I thought you told me before you left it out on purpose to make the searches faster ...

Sounds like a pretty lame excuse to me!!

Pretty sure I told you that already :-)

Heat
White Slave
Momofuku
anything by Ruth Reichl
Table 21
Food that Really Schmecks

Some older goodies I've enjoyed include John and Matt Lewis Thorne's books like "Pot on the Fire", Carol Off's "Bitter Chocolate:...", and Corby Kummer's "Joy of Coffee". More recently, besides Pollan and Bittman, I really enjoyed Malcolm Gladwell's "The Tipping Point" - while not a food book per se there is a lot about food in it.

The art of living according to joe beef
Kitchen confidential
Heat

I've also liked a few of Joe Schwarcz's books...less about cooking or resto business, more about the chemistry of foods. An apple a day or Brain fuel.

Hey, "Forum - summer reading" is a treasure trove - thanks for searching and reposting it. I see some titles keep coming up - will get onto those first... like maybe Heat and Salt for starters.

Heat, Soul of a Chef, and Cooking dirty are great reads. About to read the Huffington Posts February Book club selection, Blood, Bones and Butter.

A list of my favourites:
-My Last Supper (combination story and recipes)
-Waiter Rant
-Au Pied De Cochon (more cookbook, but I love the pictures and cartoons)
-Anything from Author Peter Mayle; A year in Provence, French lessons etc...
-Trail of Crumbs by Kim Sunee.
I also really enjoyed Tony Bourdain's books.

Happy Mouth, I am In the middle of Blood Bones and Butter right now. It is a great read. Hope you enjoy as much as I have so far.

I can't believe Eat, Pray, Love hasn't made the list yet.

It's really a cookbook, and not a book about food, but look what I picked up today at the new Goodwill on Merivale Road. There are recipes for Philadelphia cream cheese balls, KoolAid punch and that infamous bright green Watergate salad made with Cool Whip. They have a buy one get one for a penny deal on books and the other one I got was a gorgeous hardcover "Wild Sweets" which promises exotic dessert and wine pairings and had a cover price of $60 in 2003. I got both for $3.50

My Life in France by Julia Child is an excellent read. One of my favourite food books is Molly Wizenberg's A Homemade Life. Ruth Reichl's books are entertaining. I enjoyed Kathleen Flynn's account of her experience at the Cordon Bleu in Paris: Sharper Your Knife The Less You Cry.

It's not even remotely about cookbook but two of my favourites for food are "Prescription for Nutritional Healing" and "Staying Healthy with Nutrition". All about healthy eating with some specific suggestions for conditions. The second one has a few recipes.

I recently read the following enjoyable books:

Alone in the Kitchen with an Egglant
My Mother's Tokyo Kitchen
The Last Chinese Chef
Omnivour's Dilemma
Bottomfeeder

One my list "To Read Soon":
A Day of Honey
The Language of Baklava

Enjoy!