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27th out of 469 books
—
976 voters
Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen
Share the unsurpassed pleasures of discovering, cooking, and eating good, simple food with this beloved book. Equal parts cookbook and memoir, Laurie Colwin's "Home Cooking" combines her insightful, good-humored writing style with her lifelong passion for wonderful cuisine in essays such as "Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant," "Repulsive Dinners: A Memoir," and "Stuffe...more
Paperback, 184 pages
Published
June 1st 2000
by Harper Perennial
(first published 1988)
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Dec 21, 2009
Lauren
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Amber Hoover, Suzanne Theberge, Amy King
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My good friend Rachel B and her mom have read Laurie Colwin for years. I always noticed a row of her novels in their home outside Cambridge, MA. Never before my visits had I seen her books, but I happened upon Clothilde (sp) from Chocolate and Zucchini mentioning Laurie Colwin's exquisite food writing. So when it came time for me to buy Rachel some presents as a "thank you for hosting me in San Francisco" gift, I knew that one item had to be the collected food writing of Laurie Colwin.
And that...more
And that...more
I haven't run across much food writing that can make me laugh out loud, but this book did just that. These are chatty, revelatory, often humorous essays on cooking, entertaining, and domestic life in general. Colwin's approach is warm and accessible. You need not be a cook to enjoy the book, but it might make you want to start using your kitchen for more than just the microwave oven. There are informal recipes scattered throughout the book, and some more formal ones at the end of most of the ess...more
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This was my second read on this book. While I enjoyed it, I also felt like perhaps me, as a cook, has changed. Or me as a reader has changed. Maybe I've read too many incredible food memoirs in the meantime, or my skills have improved. This time I sort of felt like I was getting advice from a 1970s earth mother in a room with a spider plant. This is not to say I didn't identify with her ("Because I am always hungry, I myself eschew hors d'oeuvres. When they come my way, I eat too many and then I...more
Rereading this, and not for the first time, with great pleasure. I got the book out to look for the Black Cake recipe, for which, if I am making it for Christmas, I need to start marinating fruit in wine and rum now, in October.
As much as I have enjoyed Laurie Colwin's fiction, this book and its companion, More Home Cooking, are my favorites. I feel as though she is a good friend, a realization that is always poignant since she died in 1992.
As much as I have enjoyed Laurie Colwin's fiction, this book and its companion, More Home Cooking, are my favorites. I feel as though she is a good friend, a realization that is always poignant since she died in 1992.
Reading Laurie Colwin is like sitting in a friend's kitchen sharing a cup of tea. She shares favorite recipes, dining experiences and opinions on food along with stories of notable disasters. This book is the food writer's version of comfort food. The recipes are good and the cooking advice is sound. The creamed spinach with jalapenos is wonderful, the gingerbread delicious, and the potato salad very good. I enjoy rereading it every January while there is snow on the ground and think about it wh...more
Five stars, and I haven't even read this book!
But I used to read Colwin's warm, witty, much-loved food columns for "Gourmet" magazine, and an old and trusted friend assures me this is one of her favorite cookbooks, and it's Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is the time of year that I always dig out my November, '93 issue of Gourmet--in remarkably good shape; take that Kindle and Nook, and all the rest!--and make one of my, and my family's, all-time favorite late fall, early winter desserts: Nantucket...more
But I used to read Colwin's warm, witty, much-loved food columns for "Gourmet" magazine, and an old and trusted friend assures me this is one of her favorite cookbooks, and it's Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is the time of year that I always dig out my November, '93 issue of Gourmet--in remarkably good shape; take that Kindle and Nook, and all the rest!--and make one of my, and my family's, all-time favorite late fall, early winter desserts: Nantucket...more
I tucked the collection of essays into my backpack on a family vacation in July and breezed through the book while I saw in a row of strangers and my husband sat with our two young sons. For anyone who has ever flown with children under the age of ten, you know what a luxury that was for me! I didn't have to field the constant chatter - "Mommy, when are they bringing the drinks?" "Mama, may I have ginger ale?" "Why does Dylan have more pretzels than peanuts in his snack bag and I have more peanu...more
This collection of essays penned in the 1970s describe Colwin’s various misadventures in the kitchen, as well as her advice to novice chefs and dinner party planners. It’s her wit that really shines through and I laughed aloud several times. In a chapter on stuffing she admits, “It was years before I could come out and say how much I hated stuffing. Everyone in the world but me was fired by an elemental urge to fill up bird cavities with this and that.” She has this to say of dinner parties: “It...more
This is a very cozy book to settle in and enjoy on a winter day. I, for one, often enjoy reading about cooking and people who cook more than I do actually cooking. Each chapter has a theme with some thoughts and stories on the theme, and then often followed by a recipe or two. Most of the recipes I couldn't possibly attempt. This, for example, is her instructions for Polenta: "cook the polenta in the usual manner". I'm afraid I have no usual manner for cooking polenta. I am inspired to try her r...more
The concept of a food memoir has become popular recently, and as a nonfiction writer and food blogger, it seems an obvious route for me to take. Still, I’m not convinced that the food memoir can be done well, or should be done at all, and Corwin’s Home Cooking stirs the pot against it.
It’s not that Corwin is a bad writer. She was an accomplished writer before her very early death in the early 1990s, and flashes of brilliance can be found in nearly every chapter. I enjoyed her understated sense...more
It’s not that Corwin is a bad writer. She was an accomplished writer before her very early death in the early 1990s, and flashes of brilliance can be found in nearly every chapter. I enjoyed her understated sense...more
This book has both essays and recipes, although the recipes are often very general. As you might expect from the title, the author isn't interested in fancy food, but rather in traditional fare. In fact, many of the memorable stories come from her time living in a New York City apartment so small that it didn't have a kitchen, only a bathroom sink and one plug-in burner. Colwin also has good advice for entertaining: don't be afraid to have a few dishes you know you do well and make them over and...more
I picked this one up because it was super cheap at Powell's and they were closing. Don't you just panic when you have nothing to read? I was leaving for vacation and this was what I planned to read. Unfortunately I started reading it on the way to the airport and finished it before we landed. Once again -- nothing to read. I felt like I ought to be baking bread in the kitchen rather than visiting beaches on vacation, though, so maybe it's a better read when you're heading into a cold winter and...more
Read it for the stories and the snark, not necessarily for the recipes themselves (which offer great ideas but tend to be short on detailed instructions).
The best chapters (self-contained essays, really) are laugh-out-loud-funny descriptions of BAD cooking: one on kitchen disasters, hers and those of her acquaintances ("I myself have never made a spinach pie, and therefore have never had the thrilling experience to see one catch on fire. Therefore I have never watched my husband place his large...more
The best chapters (self-contained essays, really) are laugh-out-loud-funny descriptions of BAD cooking: one on kitchen disasters, hers and those of her acquaintances ("I myself have never made a spinach pie, and therefore have never had the thrilling experience to see one catch on fire. Therefore I have never watched my husband place his large...more
I finished this book in just over one sitting. Laurie Colwin's 'Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen' is comprised of a series of conversational essays on food and cooking, with some of her own recipes added in for good measure. Essays include how to cook for large crowds, the best way to fry a chicken, the joys of a good potato salad and many more. I really enjoyed her conversational style and often I laughed out loud at her observations. Some of her reference points (the Sixties) and observat...more
Last year I heard NPR's Maureen Corrigan list this book as one of her top 10 books for a holiday gift. It took me some time to track down a copy and while the search was worth it, the book was a bit less than what I expected. I love memoirs; I love memoirs that incorporate food and the mix of a meal with a favorite event and this didn't quite offer me that. Still, she has an easy going manner of chatting up food; a less intense experience than say Ruth Reichl offers and her recipes are much easi...more
First published in 1988, Laurie Colwin writes a series of essays in the manner of Ruth Reichle about food, cooking, recipes and personal memories. She recalls cooking in her tiny Greenwich Village apartment, entertaining with only a 2-burner stove plate for preparation. She writes about recipes she likes and those she didn't. She winds food into her parenting and entertaining, showing her love to family and friends with the food she creates and offers. Sadly she died in 1992 leaving behind her s...more
I read this when I was pregnant and it was fabulous! It has recipes and writings about food and it makes you hungry.
I adore this book and its follow-up, More Home Cooking. It's a collection of essays by novelist and food writer Laurie Colwin. When I read these essays I feel cozy and warm and comforted. Colwin is so good at evoking a particular sense of place and time. One of my favourite essays is "Alone in the Kitchen With An Eggplant," which I've included in readings packages for my lit students. Anyone who's ever lived in a tiny, imperfect first apartment that they loved anyway will enjoy that piece. Can't...more
Fun and easy read about cooking adventures with a few recipes thrown in for good measure. I liked that she put in whole chapters on cooking disasters of various sorts. I may have to borrow it from my mom occasionally to try some of the recipes. I think they might be good, but they might be that disappointing sort of thing where the easy recipes really do taste like easy recipes you got out of a novel about cooking. Either way, good book for curling up with when you go to bed or when lounging in...more
This was the perfect time of year to read a nice food book. Her recipes make me feel ready to do some cooking, and the temp is now cool enough to make the oven on a welcome addition to the day. Gingerbread (cake), flank steak, shepherd's pie, scones, yum! I wish it included a bibliography of all the nice cookbooks she mentions, but I guess it won't be too much of a chore to read the book over and note them down. I love that she included stories of meal disasters both received and created.
When I was a kid and couldn't sleep, my mom gave me cookbooks with great narratives to read, our favorite being Margaret Fox's Cafe Beaujolais cookbook. So when I told her Braxton Hicks contractions were keeping me up at night lately she overnighted me this from Amazon. And it's delightful. Funny and warm and cynical all at once. She's already sent me the second one, but I'm saving it for my hospital stay so I'll have some mom time even when my mom is all the way across the country.
Laurie Colwin, who passed away unexpectedly in 1992, was a cook for the rest of us. Although she could make gourmet meals, she typically didn't. She was interested in food, the tastes, the smells, the textures, even the visuals - not the plating like a chef would use, but how does it look when it comes together. She's not afraid of her failures and sees them for the amusement value they provide. In other words, she's not full of herself. She's full of life and joy and the pleasures of food. Ever...more
Read this for the essay, "Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant." Read this for the recipes for barley soup, old-fashioned beef stew, bread, potato salads, and baked beans. Read this to discover how happiness can be found in a kitchen, and at the table with friends. Read this because you have a free afternoon and a hot cup of tea and it's comforting to be reminded how cozy the world can be. Read this because Laurie Colwin is one of life's greatest pleasures.
Maybe because I read More Home Cooking first I was less enchanted with this volume. Still, it is delightful and my favorite chapter is about friends with special diets. I have been in that situation and you don't want to kill your guests she acknowledges so offers solutions. Also she had dinner guests in her first apartment which didn't have a kitchen sink. I have no more excuses not to entertain.
Although I enjoy Colwin's writing, this felt dated and rather regional (i.e. New York centric) to me. In tone and style, it is very similar to MFK Fisher, but perhaps not quite as polished. Most of the recipes don't appeal to me, and many of the food-related shopping problems etc don't exist today. I did find her emphasis on fresh fruit and vegetables, obtained at farmer's markets, interesting.
"A long time ago it occurred to me that when people are tired and hungry,
which in adult life is much of the time, they do not want to be confronted
by an intellectually challenging meal; they want to be consoled." I loved this memoir/cookbook. Unpretentious and funny with some good recipes thrown in. It collects essays from the early 1980s, so it can be hilariously dated, too; e.g. the author's apparent obsession with dusting things in paprika. Exotic! Really, I can't wait to look up her novels....more
which in adult life is much of the time, they do not want to be confronted
by an intellectually challenging meal; they want to be consoled." I loved this memoir/cookbook. Unpretentious and funny with some good recipes thrown in. It collects essays from the early 1980s, so it can be hilariously dated, too; e.g. the author's apparent obsession with dusting things in paprika. Exotic! Really, I can't wait to look up her novels....more
I never met Laurie Colwin, and she died in the early 1990s, but I consider her a close friend. Her articles in Gourmet inspired and comforted; here is the first collection of them. These essays on eating and living well are like an afghan crocheted for you by your grandmother and a cat making biscuits on your stomach. Recommended for frazzled minds and cold evenings.
I without a doubt loved this book!! The author is so in love with food and cooking that you want to get in the kitchen and start cooking. This book is part cookbook and part memoire sp? A rare treasure that both my husband and I enjoyed! An author overlooked and well found, also dead too young! I without a doubt recommend this entertaining and readable author!
Mar 24, 2012
Jessica
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Jessica by:
Kris
Funny that I couldn't put this book down even though there weren't that many recipes I'd actually make. She did open my eyes about the art of bread making however: Bread can rise a looong time in a cool place. It can work around MY schedule! "Let your yeast do all the work for you and you take all the credit." Maybe I should try her novels too. Thanks Kris!
I love peeking into other people's kitchens. What is in their cupboards and fridge? What is in their pantry? What is in their recipe file? This is a peek into the author's kitchen and the stories are told with a witty, dry sense of humor. When I read "mixes are universally atrocious" I knew if we ever met, we would be friends.
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Laurie Colwin is the author of five novels: Happy All the Time, Family Happiness, Goodbye Without Leaving, Shine On, Bright and Dangerous Object, and A Big Storm Knocked It Over; three collections of short stories: Passion and Affect, Another Marvelous Thing, and The Lone Pilgrim; and two collections of essays: Home Cooking and More Home Cooking. She died in 1992.
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“The old days were slower. People buttered their bread without guilt and sat down to dinner en famille.”
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7 people liked it
“For the socially timid, the kitchen is the place to be. At least, it is a place to start.”
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1 person liked it
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Feb 02, 2011 12:28pm