Review: Delicious!

Delicious! by Ruth Reichl
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is....well, for lack of a better word, Delicious! (Forgive me..)
A foodie brain like mine goes crazy for books like this, scattered with recipes and descriptions of smells and tastes...MMMM! I'm going to try my hand as the orangey spice cake recipe at the end and I'll update later if it falls through or not.

The WWII aspect of the story was sweet and rather fascinating, but also sad. I'm glad Lulu got a resolution. Our main heroine, Billie (short for Willhema) a drab and shy woman living in the shadow of her "beautiful" sister. This story broke my heart too. Gosh. No spoilers I swear but the twist involving her sister knocked the wind out of me. I enjoyed Billie's little romance, and the scenes with the hidden library and hunting through filing cabinets of index cards made my hands shake in excitement. Clue hunting through dusty old books and cabinets? Add hot library sex and living in a city full of restaurants? Count me in baby! I live for stuff like that.

I loved all the side characters, especially Sammy. He was kinda fantasy material, not so much that he was hot or anything, he was quite an older man (and no, it's not that I don't find older men attractive, but this guy was as old as my dad) but he was very sophisticated, and spoke using archaic words. I mean, no one REALLY talks like that, but it was another unique spice in the soup of our cast. (Oh and gay. I guess that's cliched or stereotypical, but whatever. I liked him. He wasn't FABULOUS! or anything. :P)

I do wish we had just a tiny bit more time with the cast of Hell's Kitchen (I kid..) because I found them such a weird motley crew. What I wouldn't give to work at a test kitchen and taste bits of everything here and there. I'd probably get fatter though!

Did I mention I'm obsessed with all the descriptive paragraphs about food? and I mean almost every kind of food...for whatever reason, all the cheese shop scenes had me drooling the most. What can I say, I'm a Dairy Queen (their food is way below sub-par, by the way. EUCK.) I liked our heroines love interest, Mitch, too. all I'm in envisioning is a slightly less muscled mountain man with awesome scruff and sweet, good with his hands *wink wink--and I don't just mean a spatula!* a bit sly...smart. Did I mention he could cook like nobody's business? Adored the scene with him and Billie in the bathtub with his pancakes. Oh god yes. This is sounding more and more like a sex roleplay the more I type...but seriously a cook with scruff? (I don't recommend combining your scruff with your cooking--no one likes beard hair in their scrambled eggs) He's got an island in his kitchen too--I'm such a foodie fangirl because that made me go nuts. It's like paradise compared to my tiny terror kitchen.

The story really enfolded itself in a lovely way, wrapped around a cocoon of grief, courage and food and the comfort it can bring in the worst of times.



View all my reviews

Review: Relish: My Life in the Kitchen

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Gosh, I loved this graphic novel! I did grow up with food in a minimal way--I do wish I had grown up with it more, and more diverse food, more healthy food with a small amount of indulgence--though I still remember my mother's fried hot dogs, her idea of putting ice cream or ice cream sandwiches between waffles or having my childhood favourite, chicken stir fry. Unfortunately though, my mom burnt or overcooked everything she made, even eggs. On Christmases, my grandmom gave me a whole new taste for food. She made cookies by scratch and ham and veggies and it was just wonderful.

I wrote down all the recipes in this book and I think I will try to the lamb. It was very very funny and I love the art and Lucy's explorations through a diversity of food and adolescence. In particular, I loved the bit with porno magazines. This is a treat for foodies and for artists.

View all my reviews