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Cooking for Gracie: The Making of a Parent from Scratch
A touching, insightful and uplifting memoir, complete with more than 40 recipes, that recounts a year in the life of a new parent learning to cook for three.
Keith Dixon’s passion was cooking. For years, he sustained himself through difficult days by dreaming about the lavish recipes he was going to attempt when he got home—Thai curries, Indian raitas, Sichuan noodles. All that changed when his daughter, Gracie, was born five weeks early, at just four pounds. Keith and his wife, Jessica, adapted to life with a newborn as all parents walking around in a sleep deprived haze, trying to bond with Gracie and meet the needs of this new person in their lives—all while dealing with the overwhelming fear that they were going to catastrophically fail in their new roles. After Gracie became a part of their family, Keith no longer had time to cook the way he once knew; when he did find time to make something, he learned the hard way that his daughter woke easily to the simplest kitchen noise, and soon realized that if he wanted his family to eat well, he was going to have to learn to cook all over again.
Based on three popular articles in the New York Times , Cooking for Gracie is a memoir of the first year of Gracie’s life, as Keith learns to cook for three—discovering what it means to be a father while still holding on to what made him who he was before his daughter came along. Keith and Jessica’s hilarious and poignant struggles to adjust to life with a newborn will resonate with new parents; foodies’ mouths will water over the tempting meals Keith creates; amateur cooks will laugh at his missteps in the kitchen—and it’s just impossible not to fall in love with the adorable Gracie.
A critically acclaimed novelist, Keith Dixon reflects on food, parenting, and cooking with both humor and reverence, and shares the delicious, accessible parent- and family-friendly recipes he discovered along the way. Beautifully written and compulsively readable, Cooking for Gracie is an irresistible and unforgettable story, for foodies and parents alike, of a family of three learning to find their way together
KEITH DIXON has been on the staff of the New York Times for seventeen years. He is also the author of two novels : The Art of Losing —which received starred reviews in both Kirkus and Booklist and was named “Editor’s Choice” by the Philadelphia Inquirer —and Ghostfires , named one of the five best first novels of 2004 by Poets & Writers magazine.
Keith Dixon’s passion was cooking. For years, he sustained himself through difficult days by dreaming about the lavish recipes he was going to attempt when he got home—Thai curries, Indian raitas, Sichuan noodles. All that changed when his daughter, Gracie, was born five weeks early, at just four pounds. Keith and his wife, Jessica, adapted to life with a newborn as all parents walking around in a sleep deprived haze, trying to bond with Gracie and meet the needs of this new person in their lives—all while dealing with the overwhelming fear that they were going to catastrophically fail in their new roles. After Gracie became a part of their family, Keith no longer had time to cook the way he once knew; when he did find time to make something, he learned the hard way that his daughter woke easily to the simplest kitchen noise, and soon realized that if he wanted his family to eat well, he was going to have to learn to cook all over again.
Based on three popular articles in the New York Times , Cooking for Gracie is a memoir of the first year of Gracie’s life, as Keith learns to cook for three—discovering what it means to be a father while still holding on to what made him who he was before his daughter came along. Keith and Jessica’s hilarious and poignant struggles to adjust to life with a newborn will resonate with new parents; foodies’ mouths will water over the tempting meals Keith creates; amateur cooks will laugh at his missteps in the kitchen—and it’s just impossible not to fall in love with the adorable Gracie.
A critically acclaimed novelist, Keith Dixon reflects on food, parenting, and cooking with both humor and reverence, and shares the delicious, accessible parent- and family-friendly recipes he discovered along the way. Beautifully written and compulsively readable, Cooking for Gracie is an irresistible and unforgettable story, for foodies and parents alike, of a family of three learning to find their way together
KEITH DIXON has been on the staff of the New York Times for seventeen years. He is also the author of two novels : The Art of Losing —which received starred reviews in both Kirkus and Booklist and was named “Editor’s Choice” by the Philadelphia Inquirer —and Ghostfires , named one of the five best first novels of 2004 by Poets & Writers magazine.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
3 people are currently reading
194 people want to read
About the author
Keith Dixon
4 books16 followersKeith Dixon is the author of three novels -- 'This Is How You Fall,' 'The Art of Losing,' and 'Ghostfires' -- and 'Cooking With Gracie,' a memoir that recounts a year in the life of a parent learning to cook for three.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
December 15, 2011
Hey! This was really great! It was a departure for me, as I don't usually read memoirs, or foodie books, or books about parenting. It was rich and engaging and the recipes were mouth watering. It gave me a peek into a world that is totally unfamiliar to me. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I highly recommend it.
June 14, 2011
This is a memoir of the author's experiences as a first time father, who also loves to cook. But it's not just about trying to cook while adjusting to having a baby in the house, it's a heartfelt and sometimes hilarious story about fatherhood and being a husband.
The lessons one learns in the kitchen can also be applied to life elsewhere, such as being able to plan in advance, and how to deal when unexpected situations come up.
The first few months of Gracie's life mean sleep deprivation for her mom and dad, and he learns to plan meals that wholesome, but simple, that are good without a lot of time consuming preparation; and later, when Gracie starts to sleep for hours at a time, it means being able to cook without making noise such as the clanging of pots and pans. There are recipes in each chapter of the book, and some very good ones too. Most are for 2-3 people, and you don't have to be a parent to enjoy them.
I have never had children, but I still enjoyed this book. The author told the unvarnished truth of what life with a new baby is like, but I also felt the joy and love he had for his daughter come through the pages. I could not help but think that when Gracie is an adult, what a wonderful record of her first year of life this will be for her to read!
I also give kudos to the author for the fact, that no matter how tired or pressed for time they were, they still made an effort to eat healthy, and did not rely on frozen or fast foods; if those two busy, tired parents can prepare healthy meals, so can everyone else; there is no excuse not to eat food that is healthy and good for you.
Even though this book is aimed at parents and foodies, I think this would be good reading for teenage girls too, who think they want babies and believe they can handle it at such a young age, especially the chapters when both parents were sleep deprived; even though I've never had a baby, I felt exhausted just reading about it!
The lessons one learns in the kitchen can also be applied to life elsewhere, such as being able to plan in advance, and how to deal when unexpected situations come up.
The first few months of Gracie's life mean sleep deprivation for her mom and dad, and he learns to plan meals that wholesome, but simple, that are good without a lot of time consuming preparation; and later, when Gracie starts to sleep for hours at a time, it means being able to cook without making noise such as the clanging of pots and pans. There are recipes in each chapter of the book, and some very good ones too. Most are for 2-3 people, and you don't have to be a parent to enjoy them.
I have never had children, but I still enjoyed this book. The author told the unvarnished truth of what life with a new baby is like, but I also felt the joy and love he had for his daughter come through the pages. I could not help but think that when Gracie is an adult, what a wonderful record of her first year of life this will be for her to read!
I also give kudos to the author for the fact, that no matter how tired or pressed for time they were, they still made an effort to eat healthy, and did not rely on frozen or fast foods; if those two busy, tired parents can prepare healthy meals, so can everyone else; there is no excuse not to eat food that is healthy and good for you.
Even though this book is aimed at parents and foodies, I think this would be good reading for teenage girls too, who think they want babies and believe they can handle it at such a young age, especially the chapters when both parents were sleep deprived; even though I've never had a baby, I felt exhausted just reading about it!
June 22, 2011
Keith Dixon’s Cooking For Gracie is a wonderful first year account of daughter Gracie’s life and the food they ate. Right away you know this story is going to be different Gracie is born early and later in the book you discover even more about Gracie’s birth that make’s you realize how courages her parents are. Your heart goes out to this new family as they work together as a unit. Mom stays home to take on the daily care and breast feeding and Dad takes on the responsibilty of feeding the family by planning and cooking the meals. The recipes are an excellent resource for parents of babies with infant reflux. The recipes range from simple to elegant with ingredients that are nutritious and some combinations of ingredients that have who wanting to try them right away. The book cover’s 12 months and there are several recipes for each chapter. Serious cooks are going to love the recipe choices in this book while new parents are going to appreciate the honesty of the experience of the new Dad roll. Cry It Out, have you heard of it is a new parent experience that hint’s home with every parent. Gracie and Dad’s first night alone together will have you smiling. I enjoyed this book and it’s insights into parenting and cooking. I found the suggesting for cooking, parenting and entertaining together to be very helpful.
June 8, 2011
A cookbook, a memoir on the first year of fatherhood, and not something I'd usually find myself reading. This however was written by the talented author of The Art of Losing: A Novel, Keith Dixon so I couldn't resist.
I am not much of a chef, nor have I tried any of the recipes laid out in this book. I must say that most of them sound delicious and I plan to try a few of them in the coming weeks.
So my review is more about the memoir than the recipes. Dixon manages to tell his story in an honest, caring and human way. It doesn't come across as overly sentimental or cloying which must be quite a challenge given his subject matter.
I'd recommend this book for any foodie or someone interested in a real, honest and touching account of what being a new father means in today's world.
I am not much of a chef, nor have I tried any of the recipes laid out in this book. I must say that most of them sound delicious and I plan to try a few of them in the coming weeks.
So my review is more about the memoir than the recipes. Dixon manages to tell his story in an honest, caring and human way. It doesn't come across as overly sentimental or cloying which must be quite a challenge given his subject matter.
I'd recommend this book for any foodie or someone interested in a real, honest and touching account of what being a new father means in today's world.
August 12, 2011
I received a free copy of this book as the result of winning a giveaway on goodreads.com. This was a realistic story of a child's first year of life, with all the ups and downs. I fell in love with Gracie. I could feel her parent's fear, exhaustion, anxiousness, confusion & joy. I understood when they questioned their ability and shared their feelings of joy when overcoming hurdles. It's been almost 30 years since I was a first time parent. I was able to revisit that time and those feelings while reading this book. The recipes were interesting. Though I don't believe I will try any of them. My husband and I are simple dairy farmers and we like simple basic foods. Preferably raised by us. I thoroughly enjoyed reliving Gracie's first year with her parents. A very enjoyable read.
March 29, 2012
I loved this book. It took me a little while to get used to the writing style with footnotes and recipes but once I did, I could not put it down. It was so honest and funny and I could totally relate to so much of it. It is a novel about love, marriage, cooking, children and how you put them all together and make a life. It makes one realize that to cook good nourishing food for someone is a wonderful way of saying you love them, love on one of the most basic levels. This was a wonderful and fun read.
July 25, 2014
I loved this book! It was filled with the honest ups and downs of becoming a parent for the first time! It took me back in time to my own experiences with my newborn. Not only could I relate completely to Keith Dixon, but when I closed my eyes to go back in time, I felt that I was him. Strange, but true!
I also really enjoyed the author's recipes and have since made a few for my family. Cooking for others is truly good for your soul!!!!
I also really enjoyed the author's recipes and have since made a few for my family. Cooking for others is truly good for your soul!!!!
August 17, 2011
Touching and heartfelt, the author speaks of some familiar experiences, a great read.
Great recipes too!
Goodreads firstreads winner
Great recipes too!
Goodreads firstreads winner
January 20, 2023
I definitely picked up this book for the memoir aspect and not the cooking. I read some of the recipes; I skimmed some of the recipes. I did not deal with parenting stress by preparing awesome cuisine, but I appreciated the highs and lows of being a new parent ... and I laughed a lot at the chicken that caught the oven on fire. That sounded familiar.
June 20, 2011
Goes faster than I expected - the chapters flow well as to feel fairly short (though I skipped over the recipes).
The prose reminds me a lot of Claire Dederer's Poser in that it employs a conceit to explore the tentative first steps of parenthood. The narrator here is much less... I suppose "hip" is the word I want to use. I found myself wanting to hang out with Dederer during the early chapters of Poser, but while Dixon is not at all aloof, neither does he charm his way into being your new imaginary best friend. That's not a bad thing: Dederer's book devolves into priv-lit territory over time, and Dixon never does. He's plainspoken and honest.
A wonderful, thoughtful little memoir. It's a quiet and deeply personal story, though I'm unsure I will revisit it in the future. I would eagerly recommend it to my husband if he read this sort of thing.
The prose reminds me a lot of Claire Dederer's Poser in that it employs a conceit to explore the tentative first steps of parenthood. The narrator here is much less... I suppose "hip" is the word I want to use. I found myself wanting to hang out with Dederer during the early chapters of Poser, but while Dixon is not at all aloof, neither does he charm his way into being your new imaginary best friend. That's not a bad thing: Dederer's book devolves into priv-lit territory over time, and Dixon never does. He's plainspoken and honest.
A wonderful, thoughtful little memoir. It's a quiet and deeply personal story, though I'm unsure I will revisit it in the future. I would eagerly recommend it to my husband if he read this sort of thing.
September 9, 2011
Saw this while picking over the inventory of a Borders in the final death throes. Got it for a foodie / new dad friend of mine but of course I couldn't resist a quick look-see myself.
The baby minutia was - unsurprisingly - totally uninteresting to me. The author is kind of a drama queen, no?
The adaptive cooking he had to do (e.g. no time; no dairy; no noise) was interesting and appealed to the part of me that likes reality cooking shows. I picked up a few ideas and I liked his chatty instructions. I do think the recipes are a tad fussy (but easily simplified) and that he overuses / misuses mint and ginger.
The baby minutia was - unsurprisingly - totally uninteresting to me. The author is kind of a drama queen, no?
The adaptive cooking he had to do (e.g. no time; no dairy; no noise) was interesting and appealed to the part of me that likes reality cooking shows. I picked up a few ideas and I liked his chatty instructions. I do think the recipes are a tad fussy (but easily simplified) and that he overuses / misuses mint and ginger.
July 8, 2011
This was kind of a random book. Cooking for Gracie couldn't quite figure out which direction it was going in. It is a really great story about paranting a young child from a father's point of view (something we see far to little of). Unfortunatly it also seemed like a soap box for the author who went on tangents from time to time and used quite a few distracting asides. It was also a cook book and while the receipes sound tasty they appear to be a bit too complicated for anyone who doesn't live near a major metropolition grocery store. Worth reading but more of a beach read then anything.
September 20, 2012
This was such a great concept for a book, exploring the first year of parenthood through the lens of cooking, but it just didn't work for me. Parts of it were touching and relatable, but a lot of it felt like the author was stretching to write a whole book. (It started as a story in the NYT and probably should have stayed just the one story.) The end really turned me off, as it was all about the recession and not really at all about parenthood or cooking.
December 7, 2011
This father of a newborn chronicles the first year and how his cooking varies depending on his daughter's development as well as the dietary contraints placed upon his wife due to his daughter's medical problem. He tells tales of her severe reflux and her crying fits which would try even the most patient parent. It was actually nerve wracking to read those portions. I grabbed a few recipes, including one for ginger scallion rice.
December 20, 2011
interesting book. I will not be making any of the receipies and really lightly skimmed them. I could really relate though to the struggles. My now 6 year old was also born 5 weeks early and spent (very little) time in the NICU, suffered from reflux and was on Zantac. The claims the author made were NOT exagerated, when it came to the crying, and the insanity said crying can (and does) bring to the parents. I liked the story, and enjoied the male voice.
May 24, 2011
Adorable story from a foodie Dad's perspective. Reminded me a lot of hungry monkey but this guy made me feel less like a culinary loser. It focused more on him and his experiences and observations meeting and raising his daughter. There's just something so endearing about reading about the man's point of view. Although I just glazed over the recipes so it was a quick read.
February 18, 2012
I recieved this book for free from the Goodreads first-read giveaway. A sometimes scary but mostly touching story of a couples life during their babys first year. LOTS of recipes ( I skipped over most of them because of complexity and unavailibity of ingredients in my area). Each chapter is like a short story. My favorites were "Sweet Nothings" and "American Nightmare".
August 30, 2012
A new genre: autobiography/cookbook. Cookobiography? The author's daughter was born early, and this book is about how he became a father by learning how to cook for his daughter. The recipes and stories are very interwoven--I especially liked a series of recipes where he writes about how to cook quietly, so as not to wake a sleeping baby.
April 15, 2012
Sweet, well written book. It took me right back to those baby days. Some of his recipes look good, too. The chapter-long tirade about food companies didn't fit and interrupted the flow, and I've heard it all before. Overall a nice read.
June 19, 2011
This was probably a much better book then I am giving it credit for in my rating. I am past this part of my life as a parent and therefore this just didn't interest me as much as it would have about 14 years ago.
July 4, 2011
I heard an interview with Dixon on WNYC, and liked his storytelling. The storytelling quality is sustained in his writing. "Cooking" is about Dixon's transition to fatherhood. The book is short, vivid and leaves you wanting more. Great read.
Want to read
May 18, 2011A memoir? Cooking? Parenthood? This sounds great.
June 18, 2011
2.5 stars.
July 1, 2011
A little light as a memoir but still a good read if you are a new parent.
October 2, 2012
Mostly reads like a series of whining written by a drama queen, but has some moments of beauty and wisdom.Some recipes included in the book are interesting and I intend to try them out.
October 17, 2011
A little scattered. But liked the real thoughts expressed about parenthood.
August 18, 2014
2.5 stars. There wasn't anything wrong with this book. It was fine. It just didn't ever become a story where I was looking forward to the next chance I'd have to pick it up.
August 6, 2012
A very honest portrayal of life as a new parent told through the medium of the food the author prepares for his family. The story really resonated with me during my own sleepless night phase.
January 8, 2013
Good book, neat to see the first year of a new baby's life through a fathers eyes.
September 1, 2014
I liked it. Funny, emotional, the recipes look tasty, and a unique book from this NICU nurse's standpoint :)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews