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Man with a Pan

by John Donohue (Goodreads Author)

3.36 of 5 stars 3.36 · rating details · 181 ratings · 47 reviews

Look who's making dinner! Twenty-one of our favorite writers and chefs expound upon the joys-and perils-of feeding their families.
Mario Batali's kids gobble up monkfish liver and foie gras. Peter Kaminsky's youngest daughter won't eat anything at all. Mark Bittman reveals the four stages of learning to cook. Stephen King offers tips about what to cook when you don't feel...more

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Published May 17th 2011 by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill

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Apr 29, 2011 Lisa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone who wants to be motivated to cook

Shelves: cooking

I won this book through the Goodreads firstreads giveaway!

I really wanted to read this book because I have two small children, and it's hard to cook with them underfoot. The author speaks of that in the book as well. There isn't a lot of time too cook either.
I wanted to know what men were doing in order to cook for their families. My father didn't cook for me until my parents divorced. I made my own breakfast and lunch, but he made dinner. It was always grilled chicken or steak with a potato an...more I won this book through the Goodreads firstreads giveaway!

I really wanted to read this book because I have two small children, and it's hard to cook with them underfoot. The author speaks of that in the book as well. There isn't a lot of time too cook either.
I wanted to know what men were doing in order to cook for their families. My father didn't cook for me until my parents divorced. I made my own breakfast and lunch, but he made dinner. It was always grilled chicken or steak with a potato and green salad.
My father thought it was a woman's job to be in the kitchen. I'm so glad that I read this book. I already know that I have some weird sterotypes about women and their roles, but they aren't true.

I really wanted to expand my horizons and learn more about cooking. This book has inspired me to cook- and that is saying a lot!
Like any cookbook, I went through and put post-its on the pages with recipes I thought I could try. Then, I went back and read the stories that went with the recipes. I found that I am more motivated to try new things and to try those recipes that are intimating for me.

I only like to cook really simple things that don't take long in the kitchen. I do things like quesadillas, grilled cheese, and spaghetti. Now I am motivated to try curries (my husband loves Indian food) and duck. I will try a couple recipes as soon as I get the chance and edit my review to tell how it went. They all sound so great! I'm not much into dessert, but the pie crust and chocolate mousse recipe sounds awesome!

The book also has a "on the shelf" section that goes over some of the cook books the author has liked and why. I have tried some of my cousins canned pickles (using the same recipe) I can't even eat store-bought pickles anymore- yes they are that good! I like how the author speaks of honoring ancestors through cooking their favorite dishes. What a great way to carry on family tradition and spirit!

The only complaint I have is that in some of the stories other recipes mentioned don't go into detail. I don't really know how to find some of the ingredients, but I'm sure a trip to the grocery store will solve that problem.

I hope to be able to cook for my husband. He is really into all kinds of ethnic foods. I hadn't tried anything but American, Italian, and some Chinese before meeting him. I thought I'd better get a handle on it before long because we can't always afford to eat out and I want to learn how to cook as well as those $15-$25 a plate restaurants!(less)

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Oct 21, 2012 Patty Hopkins rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Man with a Pan is a wonderful collection of culinary essays, humorous anecdotes and yes, recipes.
John Donohue is a writer, cartoonist, and an editor at the New Yorker. He also has his own food blog – Stay at Stove Dad: A Site for Fathers Who Cook for Their Families. Makes sense then, that he would pull everything together in a book, and this one does just that.

The contributor’s range from well-known figures and familiar names such as Mark Bittman, Mario Batali, Peter Kaminsky and even Stephen Ki...more Man with a Pan is a wonderful collection of culinary essays, humorous anecdotes and yes, recipes.
John Donohue is a writer, cartoonist, and an editor at the New Yorker. He also has his own food blog – Stay at Stove Dad: A Site for Fathers Who Cook for Their Families. Makes sense then, that he would pull everything together in a book, and this one does just that.

The contributor’s range from well-known figures and familiar names such as Mark Bittman, Mario Batali, Peter Kaminsky and even Stephen King, to more “regular guys,” such as David Oliver, a thirty-nine year old software engineer, Brett Thacher, a fifty-eight year old father and self-proclaimed housekeeper/homemaker, and Josh Lomask, a forty-one year old fire fighter.

This is by no means the full list, and with each story, we hear from men who stand before the stove. The men who shop for meals, plan menus, feed their families on a daily basis and entertain guests with lavish spreads of food. In their essays, they share their passion, their love for cooking and their thoughts on what they’ve gained by being part of the ever-changing roles in American families.
If the essays stood alone in this book, I would have still taken pleasure in reading it, but the fact that they also share their recipes makes it so much more enjoyable!

Recipes like Matt Greenberg’s Grilled Burgers with Herb Butter, Sean Wilsey’s Fish Tacos, Jesse Sheidlower’s Bacon-Wrapped Duck Breast Stuffed with Apples and Chestnuts, Mohammed Naseehu Ali’s Peanut Butter Soup, and Tony Eprile’s Chocolate Mousse. Some really awesome recipes here!
Another huge plus for me, was to read the “On the Shelf” section at the end of each story. Here, each author shares some of their favorite “go to” books on cooking and the world of food. Some of the books were familiar, and some I’d never heard of. For me, having a list of books recommended by someone who loves to cook is a huge plus, and I’ve already made my list of which books to check out next!

When I first browsed through the book, I wondered how I would choose which recipe to start with. I couldn’t decide if I should pick one based on the author, based on the stories I enjoyed the most, or simply the one’s that sounded the most delicious to me. In the end, I chose The Pie Guy, by Manuel Gonzales. I loved his essay about his pie making ventures and I was craving a pie by the time I finished reading. When I saw the recipe titled Mexican Chocolate Pie, my decision was made! He also includes his pie crust recipe, and let me tell you, the combination of the two were simply decadent!

You don’t have to be a cook or a chef to enjoy this book – if you like a good read with lots of wonderful writing infused with some humor, you are sure to enjoy it, but beware, you’ll end up in the kitchen one way or another, because you’ll either be totally inspired to whip something up, or craving a wonderful meal!(less)

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Jul 08, 2011 Heather rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: home-library

I bought this for my Papa for Father's Day, having only just heard about it through (gulp) Gwyneth Paltrow's website, Goop. He and I both like memoirish food essays, particularly ones integrated with recipes, and since he was the cook in our family when I was a kid, I thought it'd be appropriate.

Well, three points for trying, Heather! The thing about this collection is that as delightful as I found the introduction (written by editor John Donohue), I desperately wished that he did some more damn...more

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Jun 17, 2011 Caroline M. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really enjoyed some of the essays in this collection. Sean Wilsey is honest and likable about the impact of his children on his "Kitchen ABCs" ("Always Be Cleaning"). He writes about how his first response to the 9/11 attacks was to put up water to boil pasta: "Fatherhood, at times, has also been a bewildering state of emergency. Cooking was, and remains, my response." Mario Batali is conversational and smart about involving kids in the kitchen in his essay, "If It's Tuesday, It Must Be Cardoo...more

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Dec 26, 2011 Stephen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was a gift from my daughter Heather Anne who survived many years of my cooking and somehow grew up to become an excellent cook. John Donohue, who cooks for his family, collected essays from food professionals -- Mario Batili, Mark Bittman, Michael Ruhlman -- and average guys -- musicians, writers, teachers, a lawyer, an engineer, a carpenter, and a biochemists. The results are, predictably, of highly variable quality; novelist Stephen King produced a better essay than did the football...more

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May 16, 2011 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, first-reads

A very mixed bag of food essays. The book is more or less structured to alternate between longer (~6 page) essays by established food writers or chefs and shorter (~2 page) "In The Trenches" essays from Regular People. Each writer provides at least one recipe, and the writers of the longer essays also get a page or so to list a few of their favorite cookbooks.

The notable exception to the rule that the longer essays are by people working in the food industry is the inclusion of a piece from Step ...more A very mixed bag of food essays. The book is more or less structured to alternate between longer (~6 page) essays by established food writers or chefs and shorter (~2 page) "In The Trenches" essays from Regular People. Each writer provides at least one recipe, and the writers of the longer essays also get a page or so to list a few of their favorite cookbooks.

The notable exception to the rule that the longer essays are by people working in the food industry is the inclusion of a piece from Stephen King, who phones in what is unquestionably the worst essay in the book and whose recipe offering is a cake recipe he got off allrecipes.com that features his suggestion that there's no point in making your own icing when frosting in a can tastes so good. I couldn't help feeling that this essay was included simply for the name recognition, though I think having essays from Mario Batali and Mark Bittman already lends more than enough weight to a book of food essays.

The book is subtitled "Culinary Adventures of Fathers Who Cook for Their Families," though I think that only means that the writers had to have children to be allowed to participate in this project, because while each essay is about food, only some talk about their families - maybe half the essays actually mentioned cooking for or with the writer's children. The writers are all men, most of them are from New York, and some of them enjoy name-dropping at irrelevant times ("I once cooked this for Bruce Springsteen and his mom"). None of the essays particularly struck me as being five-star pieces of writing, and I have to admit most of them were entertaining in the moment but quickly blurred together so that it's hard for me to say in retrospect which ones stood out (I think the Thomas Beller essay, told in storylike vignettes, may have been my favorite). This is the sort of book that I don't regret reading, but I can't imagine myself recommending to anyone.

I did get really excited about cookbooks while reading this, though, and may pick up a few new ones based on hearty endorsements from various writers in this book.(less)

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Jul 24, 2011 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I noticed that there were many less than stellar reviews about this one but I thought it was funny and touching and well-written, in addition to having some great recipes. Also just a good reminder that eating with your family, being with them, means more than all the trinkets you can buy them. Excellent.

*I sometimes think, on those rare occasions when I'm full, about how rich I would be if I wasn't spending so much money on food. I don't like to ponder how much I might have accomplished in lif...more

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May 10, 2011 Elizabeth rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Informative and entertaining. I took this book with me to jury service yesterday, and it was a blessing. The jury service duty was the typical cattle call, wait around all day to either be excused or selected to sit on a jury.

This book's short story format is a breeze for thumbing through and picking out chapters that capture your interest in the moment. I managed to flip through the entire book in the 6 hours of jury service waiting room time. Here's what I liked most about the book:

1. Each li...more

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May 09, 2011 Margaret Humphries rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Such a delight! I'm so thankful that I won it as a first time reader.
It is full of stories, recipes, cooking tips, and humor. It even has the chef's cookbook recommendations which I will use when I purchase my next cookbook. This is the first cookbook that I've actually had fun reading. The recipes go from the very simple to the very complicated, and I'm looking forward trying them. I put stars by the stories I liked best and those will be the recipes I will try first. This is a great book for m...more

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May 08, 2011 Lyn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own

This review is for the Advanced Reading Copy of Man with a Pan that I received in a giveaway on Goodreads. It is being timed for release at the end of May, two weeks before Father's Day.

This is a collection of essays from men who cook in their lives, both personal and professional. Many of the essayists are people who are perhaps better writers than cooks. All essays include at least one recipe and food books they've enjoyed. Many of the recipes are online as well. The writers are often husbands...more

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Jun 11, 2011 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads-giveaway-books

This book contains stories about eating and cooking written by men who cook for their families. The basic structure is a story by someone relatively famous or in the restaurant or food industry - chef, author, etc. That story is followed by a list of books that man uses in the kitchen or for inspiration (if any) and a recipe or two. Next comes a section called "In the Trenches". The "In the Trenches" sections are also stories about eating and cooking. These are written by regular people - a fire...more This book contains stories about eating and cooking written by men who cook for their families. The basic structure is a story by someone relatively famous or in the restaurant or food industry - chef, author, etc. That story is followed by a list of books that man uses in the kitchen or for inspiration (if any) and a recipe or two. Next comes a section called "In the Trenches". The "In the Trenches" sections are also stories about eating and cooking. These are written by regular people - a firefighter, a carpenter, a chemist. These are also followed by recipes.

I did enjoy the stories, for the most part. I was a little confused by the structure, as most of the "Trenches" stories didn't tie in any way to the story written by the famous person. I kind of expected them to relate to each other, based on the way the table of contents was laid out. It would have made more sense to me if the two stories in each section had some kind of common theme - a type of food, maybe, or a specific style of cooking. And not every "famous" guy was followed by a "Trenches" section, so it wasn't clear to me why they "regular" guys were separated out that way. They could have just made it a book of essays without dividing the two types of writers.

All in all, though, this is a good book. It's an angle I hadn't really seen. I really enjoyed reading about men and their attempts to have family time. A lot of times, the media makes it seem like this is something that women want and men don't really care one way or the other. As Manny Howard (famous guy, food writer) says, "Every time dinner is dismissed as an event designed to simply deliver the day's final load of calories and nutrients, an opportunity for adventure and fellowship is lost." (p 40). And Michael Ruhlman (also a famous one, author) says, "Just because [taking the time to have lunch together is] pleasurable doesn't mean it's an indulgence." (p 243). Taking the time to be together is important and should be viewed as such.

The only real issue I had was that some of the "Trenches" pieces felt unfinished. There were several that just made a statement and stopped. I didn't feel that they were complete without some kind of concluding paragraph. That is probably just my prejudice.

I did find a few typos. This was an ARC that I received through Goodread's Giveaway program, so maybe they will be fixed in the final copy.

(less)

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Sep 07, 2011 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: cooking-food

This book is a collection of short essays by men who cook - they could be either professional chefs or food writers, or just "ordinary" men who enjoy cooking. There are also lots of recipes after every essay. As one of the writers mentioned, the fact that this book exists shows that men in the kitchen is still seen as rare, although with the number of writers in this book that is obviously changing. I know from my experience that it's usually people older than me who are surprised that my husban...more

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May 24, 2011 Christi rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, first-reads, 2011-reads

I won a copy of this book through GoodReads First Reads.

I haven't read a collection of short stories before. This book is just OK. It's random men only three I had heard of before (Mario Batali, Mark Bittman, Stephen King) sharing thoughts on cooking, family, recipes and life. There's a lot of rambling. Many of the essays are from underemployed writers who start cooking simply because their wives work and their children need to be fed. I grew up in a family where the men do cook so I guess this...more

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Aug 16, 2011 Cathy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I admit that I didn’t read all of these essays. It was an uneven group, so I skipped around. They ranged from personal histories, technical treatises on gender bias, chatty discussions of kitchen techniques and even a screenplay! Some were interesting, others were almost unreadable. The longer essays concluded with each author’s cookbook picks. This was a great feature. I will pick up a couple of their recommendations.

I still do most of the cooking at home, although my husband is very capable in...more

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Jul 01, 2011 Luann rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads, nonfiction, biography, 2011, adult, gr-authors

I quite enjoyed this. I took my time with it and often didn't read it for days at a time, but I never had a hard time opening it up again when I had a few minutes to read. As with most short story collections I've read, there were some essays I preferred over others. But overall, this is an interesting read that I particularly enjoyed around Father's Day.

Reading this felt a lot like watching the Food Network. If you enjoy reading about food, reading memoirs with a food slant, or contemplating t...more

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Jun 09, 2011 Colleen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book as a part of the goodreads giveaway. To the review!:

I have never described a book as being cute before, but this is a cute book. The longer essays by seasoned writers are interspersed with experiences from men "in the trenches", your average dad who work 9 to 5. Each is capped off by a foodie cartoon from the New Yorker, and many have divulged their best recipes along with their favorite food books. As a warning, if you are vegetarian or v...more In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book as a part of the goodreads giveaway. To the review!:

I have never described a book as being cute before, but this is a cute book. The longer essays by seasoned writers are interspersed with experiences from men "in the trenches", your average dad who work 9 to 5. Each is capped off by a foodie cartoon from the New Yorker, and many have divulged their best recipes along with their favorite food books. As a warning, if you are vegetarian or vegan, some of the descriptions might be a little off-putting, but not so much that they make you sick. Still, all of the stories are told with a real frankness about the desire to cook and the love of good foodstuffs. I would definitely recommend this book as quick, summertime read.

You could eat this book up in delightful snack sized bits or in four course meal style. These short essays are written by men who cook for their families; how they started to cook, why they like to cook, plus the troubles and tribulations of cooking for kids. It can really be read as an anthropology lesson on what it meant to become a man after the first wave of feminism in the 60's. The fact that this book was made at all is a testament to how men in the kitchen is still seen as gender-bending. But, thankfully, you see the generational differences in norms from the various men's stories; The older writers were likelier to talk about how their fathers never even entered the kitchen, while the younger ones often write that they learned to cook from their fathers. The men discovered they could 'find themselves' in the kitchen. They also discovered that they could make the lovers in their lives happy by taking on some of the chores in the house.

[It's akin to the finding that in cultures where the women are in charge or seen as equals (read: separation of household chores), men report feeling happier and having more sex. Think about it guys!]

Other stories are just great peaks into the life and mind of the daily grind of cooking for loved ones and yourself. Though, my favorite may not be one of the essays, per say, but the screenplay about the psychotic grill. You'll just have to read it, really.(less)

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Jul 11, 2011 Derek Coatney rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A collection of essays about men cooking. I received this book as a gift and was able to get through it while flying back and forth to SF. There definitely were some really bad essays in here, but I also found a few motivating, clever, and entertaining. There were a handful of recipes I'm eager to try too. In general, if you are a guy that wants to learn more about cooking or get motivated to learn more, this isn't a bad book to start with.

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Nov 13, 2011 Katrin Stamatis rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Some wonderful essays by men who enjoy to cook. It was nice to have different voices (amateur & professional writers) represented, but the contrast between the two made for cumbersome reading at times. The essays which tried too hard to make statements about equality and feminism had a suspicious undercurrent of self-righteousness that this reader found grating. Otherwise a delightful read.

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Mar 28, 2012 Ann rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Enjoyable enough, though it felt like a bunch of students following a writing prompt. The same essay over and over with slight variations. A couple more original attacks, much appreciated: Sean Wilsey's "Kitchen ABCs: Always Be Cleaning" and Michael Ruhlman's "How Many Parents Does It Take to Roast a Chicken?" Otherwise, very few actually tackled the topic of cooking for families. Most just wrote a short memoir of their own cooking evolution.

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Jun 15, 2011 Scott rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This collection ran hot and cold with some mundane ramblings to brilliant writing showing the passion of food and family, and the love put into preparing a meal. My favorite section was the writer's reading list of the cookbooks writers used and loved. Marcella Hazan and her Italian cookbooks showed up consistently. A few of the recipes looked worth trying, but nothing that motivated me to drive to the store immediately.

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Sep 07, 2011 Marielle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Love this collection of stories written by men who cook for their families. The writers are an eclectic mix of professional chefs, professional writers, and the every man. Each contributor also includes recipes that are successful in their homes.

Bought it for Paul at a Portland, ME bookstore that is dedicated to all things culinary.

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Jul 28, 2011 Andy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book gets the highest compliment I can give a book about cooking: it made me want to cook. A lot. Before I even finished, I ran off to the library to request a half-dozen cookbooks that the various authors refer to as their favorites.

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Nov 11, 2012 Renuka Soll rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book has a series of essays from men who cook for their families. It also includes their favorite recipes. I really enjoyed the book. Many of the men write with such passion, and I plan on trying out some of the recipes.

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Jan 26, 2012 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Okay. Some of the essays were extremely funny and amusing. Some essays were rather poorly written. A few of the recipes I'd like to try. Being married to a man who cooks I'd have to say is awesome, like most of the men in the book say!

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Feb 25, 2012 Aspen Junge rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: food

Essays by men who cook for their families. Some are trite. Some authors are professional cooks, many are professional writers.

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Jan 02, 2012 Kate Cronin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An interesting collection of essays by men who cook at home, for their families or for themselves. Includes some good recipes/techniques. Easy to pick up and put down since most of the essays are only a few pages long.

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Dec 13, 2011 Christy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, non-fiction, food

Some of the essays were good, but overall they felt disjointed and did not flow well. Sweeping statements not followed up on, one story smashed up against the next. In one case, a story about recreating a grandmother's recipe was interrupted for a long-winded discussion of gender roles.

The stories I enjoyed: I am glad I made it to the end for the sake of the story that took place in South Africa. Also, Jesse Green's essay was exactly what I wanted this book to be: an entertaining, well-written i...more

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Aug 01, 2011 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A bit of a mixed bag, but it has some really strong pieces in it.

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Sep 16, 2011 Michelledenisenorton rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lots of good quick stories about food + cooking. Nice bedside read. Useful recipes + an intriguing list of books I need to write down so I can find + read them myself.

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Jun 29, 2011 Colin Santos rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fun stories and recipes.

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