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Bitter Sweet: A Wartime Journal and Heirloom Recipes from Occupied France
"I'd never come across another suitcase quite like it. But what was the tattered black leather valise doing there, hidden behind a crocheted comforter on the top shelf of my late mother's closet? The tarnished brass locking mechanism had already been sprung. I held my breath and lifted the lid..."
The author's first discovery was a vintage portrait of her great-grandmother Blanche in traditional Alsatian costume (Blanche, her daughter and son-in-law would die at Auschwitz in 1944.) Blanche's photograph partially hid a tattered notebook, the daily journal of her husband, Prosper, chronicling the horrors of the Nazi occupation of Alsace Lorraine from April to December 1940.
Included in the valise was a notebook written in Blanche's hand, listing 160 heirloom family recipes.
For her 11th cookbook, part Holocaust history, part memoir, part cookbook, Kitty Morse translated these family documents into English, and adapted and tested over 60 of Blanche's recipes for the American kitchen. Includes food photography and vintage images.
Food History Award, Gourmand World Cookbook Fair, 2023
The author's first discovery was a vintage portrait of her great-grandmother Blanche in traditional Alsatian costume (Blanche, her daughter and son-in-law would die at Auschwitz in 1944.) Blanche's photograph partially hid a tattered notebook, the daily journal of her husband, Prosper, chronicling the horrors of the Nazi occupation of Alsace Lorraine from April to December 1940.
Included in the valise was a notebook written in Blanche's hand, listing 160 heirloom family recipes.
For her 11th cookbook, part Holocaust history, part memoir, part cookbook, Kitty Morse translated these family documents into English, and adapted and tested over 60 of Blanche's recipes for the American kitchen. Includes food photography and vintage images.
Food History Award, Gourmand World Cookbook Fair, 2023
- GenresWorld War II
238 pages, Hardcover
Published February 1, 2023
About the author
Kitty Morse
23 books7 followersPart history, part memoir, part cookbook, Bitter Sweet
Bitter Sweet, is the telling of a family's journey through WWII, from three perspectives: A tale of discovery of the author's great-grandfather's diary, written in occupied France in 1940 and the genealogical archival research it engendered; entries from the author's great-grandfather, Dr. Prosper Levy's, daily journal detailing the Nazi occupation of northern France; and heirloom recipes from his wife, Blanche's, family kitchen.
ABOUT KITTY MORSE
https//www.kittymorse.com
Kitty Morse was born in Casablanca of a French mother and British father, and emigrated to the United States in 1964. She obtained her Master’s Degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
She is the author of ten other cookbooks, five of them on the cuisine of Morocco and North Africa, including the award-winning Cooking at the Kasbah: Recipes from my Moroccan Kitchen (10 printings from Chronicle Books) and The Scent of Orange Blossoms: Sephardic Cuisine from Morocco (co-authored with Danielle Mamane).Her memoir with recipes, Mint Tea and Minarets: a Banquet of Moroccan Memories, and its French translation, Le Riad au Bord de l'Oued, were both recipients of a Gourmet Word Cookbook Award.
Kitty’s career as a food writer, cooking teacher, and lecturer spans more than three decades. Her articles on food and travel have appeared leading publications including Bon Appetit (the magazine featured one of her menus as Moroccan Cuisine: Cuisine of the Year), and Sunset's "Best Chefs of the West." She has lectured on Moroccan cuisine and culture at The Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, and the University of Wisconsin libraries, and continues do to so around Southern California. She initiated gastronomic tours to her native Morocco in 1983, and continued to do so for over 23 years.
She has appeared on the Food TV Network, CNN, the Discovery Channel, as well as on British, Mexican, and Moroccan television. One of the highlights of her career was cooking alongside Julia Child to benefit the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP). She and her husband Owen have been residents of Vista since 1979. Visit https://www.kittymorse.com.
Bitter Sweet, is the telling of a family's journey through WWII, from three perspectives: A tale of discovery of the author's great-grandfather's diary, written in occupied France in 1940 and the genealogical archival research it engendered; entries from the author's great-grandfather, Dr. Prosper Levy's, daily journal detailing the Nazi occupation of northern France; and heirloom recipes from his wife, Blanche's, family kitchen.
ABOUT KITTY MORSE
https//www.kittymorse.com
Kitty Morse was born in Casablanca of a French mother and British father, and emigrated to the United States in 1964. She obtained her Master’s Degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
She is the author of ten other cookbooks, five of them on the cuisine of Morocco and North Africa, including the award-winning Cooking at the Kasbah: Recipes from my Moroccan Kitchen (10 printings from Chronicle Books) and The Scent of Orange Blossoms: Sephardic Cuisine from Morocco (co-authored with Danielle Mamane).Her memoir with recipes, Mint Tea and Minarets: a Banquet of Moroccan Memories, and its French translation, Le Riad au Bord de l'Oued, were both recipients of a Gourmet Word Cookbook Award.
Kitty’s career as a food writer, cooking teacher, and lecturer spans more than three decades. Her articles on food and travel have appeared leading publications including Bon Appetit (the magazine featured one of her menus as Moroccan Cuisine: Cuisine of the Year), and Sunset's "Best Chefs of the West." She has lectured on Moroccan cuisine and culture at The Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, and the University of Wisconsin libraries, and continues do to so around Southern California. She initiated gastronomic tours to her native Morocco in 1983, and continued to do so for over 23 years.
She has appeared on the Food TV Network, CNN, the Discovery Channel, as well as on British, Mexican, and Moroccan television. One of the highlights of her career was cooking alongside Julia Child to benefit the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP). She and her husband Owen have been residents of Vista since 1979. Visit https://www.kittymorse.com.
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April 28, 2023
Here a two reviews, one in French and one in English, of my latest memoir/cookbook, Bitter Sweet: A Wartime Journal
https://www.lhebdoduvendredi.com/arti...
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/... (https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...)
It is available on Amazon.com. Please post a review on Amazon to help me spread the word.
Thank you for your support.
https://www.lhebdoduvendredi.com/arti...
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/... (https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/...)
It is available on Amazon.com. Please post a review on Amazon to help me spread the word.
Thank you for your support.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review