New cookbooks to enjoy

River Cottage Fish Book : the definitive

guide to sourcing and cooking sustainable fish and shellfish by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

La Tartine Gourmande : recipes for an inspired life by Beatrice Peltre

Cooking with Quinoa : the supergrain by Rena Patten

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Classics for a New Age

Three modern-classic cookbooks, two in newly revised forms and one a new gathering of two decades of culinary expertise, will soon be available for your browsing pleasure here at the library. All three are meant to be useful and cook-friendly.

The Silver Spoon, Second Edition Phaidon, 1,500 pages.

The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook America's Test Kitchen, 890 pages.

The Professional Chef, Ninth Edition Wiley, 1,212 pages.

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And again, Ruth Reichl

The esteemed food writer and longtime Gourmet magazine editor sums up the prevailing 'eat local' message in a beautiful quote published last Saturday in the Wall Street Journal.

The meal that changed my life was in Crete, when I was about 20, on my honeymoon with my then-husband. We walked up this mountain and at the top there was a hut and an old woman. She sat us on chairs outside and brought us olive oil that she had pressed, a plate of onions she had grown, some olives and some wine that her neighbor had made. Then she went down the hill to go fishing. She came back up and built a fire, and sprinkled the fish she'd caught with herbs from the hillside. We sat there eating this grilled fish and bread and the olive oil, ending with yogurt from her own goats. I had never had food that simple or so much of its place. This was 1970, when you couldn't get good olive oil in America. I thought, This is how I want to eat for the rest of my life.

Ms Reichl's books may be found in our cookbook section on the second floor.

Please share your own food story with us. We look forward to hearing from you!

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Recipes Remembered is a treasure

Recipes Remembered, A Celebration of Survival by June Hersh, is most definitely not your typical cookbook. It is a journey which takes the reader from one of the most harrowing times in history to the possibility of endurance and triumph through chance, luck, perseverance and personal faith. The recipes and personal stories were gathered from survivors around the map of Europe who fell victim to hatred from Poland, Germany, Greece, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Russia, Romania, Ukraine, Austria, Belgium and France. The 170 recipes are as diverse as the survivors themselves, whose recollections and photographs will touch you in countless ways. With the publication of this special cookbook, Ms. Hersh ensures the legacy of the courageous people who shared their stories with her.

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Food Memoirs

The current explosion of cooking blogs has triggered a renewed interest in food memoirs, including the popular Julie and Julia : my year of cooking dangerously by Julie Powell. Some of my favorites have appeared in previous blog posts. Following are some worth repeating and several additional titles.

A homemade life : stories and recipes from my kitchen table by Molly Wizenberg. Molly offers 50 recipes and lessons from the kitchen and beyond about love and life. Molly's blog, Orangette.blogspot.com, is a showstopping photo essay as well as a food blog.

Eating my words : an appetite for life by Mimi Sheraton. Veteran food writer Sheraton was the New York Times' restaurant critic in the 70's and 80's. Her enthusiastic memoir tells of her adventures as a food lover and journalist.

Tender at the bone : growing up at the table and Comfort me with apples : more adventures at the table by Ruth Reichl. Two delightful memoirs by restaurant critic Reichl.

Trail of crumbs : hunger, love and the search for home : a memoir by Kim Sunee. When tragedy interrupts her life as a 3 year old in South Korea, Sunee is transplanted to New Orleans and adopted by a young couple. Throughout her life, feelings of being an outsider persist and food and cooking are where she finds solace and a sense of belonging.

The tenth muse : my life in food by Judith Jones. From the legendary editor who published Mastering the art of French cooking by Julia Child, a truly inspiring memoir.

Do you have personal favorites? Please share them with us!

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Deb's Gluten-Free Choices

The current demand for gluten-free recipes and products is being met with a slew of new cookbooks devoted to this regimen. Come browse our collection on the second floor. Following are some of our holdings.


Artisanal gluten-free cupcakes : 50 from scratch recipes to delight every cupcake devotee - gluten-free and otherwise by Kelli and Peter Bronski

Gluten-free Asian kitchen by Laura B. Russell

BabyCakes : vegan, gluten-free, and (mostly) sugar0free recipes from New York's most talked-about bakery by Erin McKenna

The gloriously gluten-free cookbook spicing up life with Italian, Asian and Mexican recipes by Vanessa Maltin

Allergy free desserts : gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free, and nut-free delights by Susan Gordon

Got Vegan?

If you've been thinking about going vegan but don't know where to start, peruse the following popular titles in our cookbook section for ideas. And remember - you can even eat cupcakes and remain faithful to a vegan diet.

Vegan Cupcakes take over the world : 75 dairy-free recipes for cupcakes that rule by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.

The gluten-free vegan : 150 delicious gluten-free, animal-free recipes by Susan O'Brien.

The 30-minute vegan's taste of the East : 150 Asian-inspired recipes from soba noodles to summer rolls by Mark Reinfeld and Jennifer Murray.

The get healthy, go vegan cookbook by Neal Barnard and Robyn Webb.

Vegan Diner : classic comfort food for the body & soul by Julie Hasson.


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