M. F. K. Fisher among the Pots and Pans: Celebrating Her Kitchens (Volume 22)

California Studies in Food and Culture #22

by Joan Reardon

From her very first book, Serve It Forth, M.F.K. Fisher wrote about her ideal kitchen. In her subsequent publications, she revisited the many kitchens she had known and the foods she savored in them to express her ideas about the art of eating. M.F.K. Fisher among the Pots and Pans, interspersed with recipes and richly illustrated with original watercolors, is a retrospective of Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher's life as it unfolded in those homey settings—from Fisher's childhood in Whittier, California, to the kitchens of Dijon, where she developed her taste for French foods and wines; from the idyllic kitchen at Le Paquis to the isolation of her home in Hemet, California; and finally to her last days in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys. M.F.K. Fisher was a solitary cook who interpreted the scenario of a meal in her own way, and M.F.K. Fisher among the Pots and Pans provides a deeply personal glimpse of a woman who continues to mystify even as she commands our attention.

Genres: Food, Nonfiction, Cookbooks, Biography, Food Writing

184 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Joan Reardon is the author of four previous books, including M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child, and Alice Waters, which was nominated for a Julia Child Award. She lives in Lake Forest, Illinois.

(from http://us.macmillan.com/author/joanre...)

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A commendable tribute to the gustatory legend that was MFK Fisher. I wish there'd been more excepts of her writing or direct quotes - it reads a little linear - but her ability to cook with limited resources and means, and make leftovers even tastier than the original dishes, made me adore her even more.

The recipes made me hungry too.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit of a biography, with a few of Mary Frances' recipes. While the illustrations were sweet, and the text a rather short summary of her life, it reminded me how much I've internalized a lot of MFK Fisher's writing. The same key elements I remember are the same key points the book discusses.

[Himaja · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first intro to MFK Fisher lore. Loved the descriptions of her kitchens and food through the phases of her life. This was an interesting look at how constraints made people more creative.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a biographical tribute to America’s greatest food writer, who grew up in nearby Whittier and Laguna Beach, spent her formative food years in France and Switzerland, and kept house during the second half of her life in Napa Valley.

Reardon wrote a longer biography in 2004; here, she’s decided to keep her touch light by documenting the different kitchens rented, remodeled or simply passed through by Fisher in her progress through three marriages, the birth of daughters legitimate and illegitimate, and the writing of many, many books and articles.

Most of Fisher’s kitchens consisted of little more than a hot plate and a pantry. Fisher insisted on eating and cooking in the same space, and her best meals were apparently also her simplest, though they required being in the right place at the right time (fresh peas with butter served with “tiny roasted birds and warm baguettes from the village”). Horrified by the “square meals” promoted by mainstream U.S. food organs, Fisher preferred a “balanced day” to a “balanced meal.”

Her 1942 book How to Cook a Wolf, written during the first years of World War II, addressed “the preparation of food in times of scarcity and bomb shelters.” Recently widowed by the suicide of her second husband, this document of frugality, crisis and creativity was also the first book Fisher wrote in order to support herself.

Watercolors by Avram Dumitrescu recreate the kitchens. A suite of updated recipes divide each chapter, providing some hands-on sustenance for Fisher fans. Designer Sandy Drooker has given the book a small footprint suitable for your airplane carry-on. I read the book in an evening (as if it were “a cheese souffle and a light salad”), but is well worth holding onto for its portrait of “a writing cook and a cooking writer,” “bold at the desk as well as at the stove.”

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whenever I read a book about or by M.F.K. Fisher I get a far off look in my eye and fantasize that I would actually cook food as part of my everyday life; that I would share meals with friends and even appreciate food by myself. For today it’s only a fantasy, but I can live the fantasy by reading about Mary Frances’ meager scrappy kitchens and the miracles she made in them. I like this kind of fantasy cooking much more than the unattainable creations photographed in the restaurant cooking books. Thanks Mary Frances, for keeping it real :)

[Melanie]

This is an aesthetically beautiful book, and that certainly helps set the mood for the journey that Reardon takes you on through MFK Fisher's kitchens. Reardon has a found a way to make this biography intriguing and engaging, as well as extraordinarily clear. I have not read much of Fisher's work, amd to be introduced to it through Reardon's eyes and research has been both informative and pleasureable.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read, but I wished there was much more detail and more of M.F.K.Fisher's writing included. The book felt more like an overview of a really interesting life - especially with the crazy jumps in location and relationships throughout her life - would have been better to know more about what she was thinking. Recipes included are great though (I can veganize about half of them).

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the hundredth anniversary of Fisher's birth, Reardon provides a pleasant biographical sketch based on the food writer's kitchens. Nice pictures and illustrations, but title is not meant to be a comprehensive biography.

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this book in about 1.5 days. Makes me want to read every single book M.F.K. Fisher ever wrote. Plus it makes me want to have a bottle of port always at the helm.

[Brooke Everett · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit stodgy at times, but overall a worthwhile read. Loved the gorgeous little illustrations of Mary Frances's kitchens and homes throughout the book, too.

[Melissa]

It seems a little incongruous to read M. F. K. Fisher while eating a Wendy's spicy chicken sandwich, but one can't be picky when one is starving!

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a lovely retrospective of Fisher's life as it unfolded in Whittier, Dijon, LePaquis, Hemet and Napa California. Liked the drawings & recipes.

[Jmp · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty book. Nicely printed. Lovely illustrations. Not to my taste in writing.

[MaryJo Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely a must read for any MFK Fisher fan. She was an amazing woman who lived life on her own terms. This is a biography of her kitchens supposedly but adds much to our understanding of her.

[Susanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just read MFK Fisher instead.