Books that cook : the making of a literary meal

Cognard-Black, Jennifer, 1969- (Added Author). Goldthwaite, Melissa A., 1972- (Added Author). Nestle, Marion. (Added Author).

Summary: Organized like a cookbook, this is a collection of American literature written on the theme of food: from an invocation to a final toast, from starters to desserts. All food literatures are indebted to the form and purpose of cookbooks, and each section begins with an excerpt from an influential American cookbook, progressing chronologically from the late 1700s through the present day. The literary works within each section are an extension of these cookbooks, while the cookbook excerpts in turn become pieces of literature--forms of storytelling and memory-making all their own. Each section offers a delectable assortment of poetry, prose, and essays, and the selections all include at least one tempting recipe to entice readers to cook this book.

Record details

ISBN: 9781479830213 (cloth)
Physical Description: print
xx, 343 p. : ill. ; 24 cm
Publisher: New York : New York University Press, [2014]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Cooking the book : an introduction / Jennifer Cognard-Black, Melissa A. Goldthwaite -- Porkchop gravy / Bill Kloefkorn -- From 'American cookery' / Amelia Simmons -- From 'Delights and prejudices' / James Beard -- Puffballs, From 'Secrets of the Tsil Café' / Thomas Fox Averill -- Full moon soup with snow / April Lindner -- To Cépe, with love / E.J. Levy -- Coriander and carrot / Michael S. Glaser -- An unspoken hunger / Terry Tempest Williams -- From 'The American frugal housewife' / Lydia Maria Child -- Recipe: gingerbread / Karen Leona Anderson -- Whistle Stop, Alabama, From 'Fried green tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe' / Fannie Flagg -- Bread / Sharon Olds -- In Nancy's kitchen / Caroline M. Grant -- From 'The food taster' / Peter Elbling -- From 'Boston Cooking-School cookbook' / Fannie Merritt Farmer -- H is for happy, From 'An alphabet for gourmets' / M.F.K. Fisher -- Making the perfect fried egg sandwich / Howard Dinin -- All it took was a road, Surprises of urban renewal, From 'If I can cook, You know God can / Ntozake Shange -- Poison egg / Tenaya Darlington -- From 'The joy of cooking' / Irma S. Rombauer -- American liver mush / Ravi Shankar -- Eat your pets / Ellen Meloy -- How to make stew in the Pinacate Desert / Gary Snyder -- Spirit-fried no-name river brown trout, From 'My story as told by water' / David James Duncan -- Half-life / Paul Hanstedt -- The poet in the kitchen and The poem of chicken breast with fettuccine / David Citino -- A good roast chicken, From 'Pass the polenta' / Teresa Lust -- Turkey bone gumbo, From 'Gumbo tales' / Sara Roahen -- Boiled chicken feet and hundred-year-old eggs / Shirley Geok-Lin Lim -- 13-16 / Sherman Alexie -- From 'Mastering the art of French cooking' / Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, Simone Beck -- The vegetable gardens at Bilignin, From 'The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book' -- Summer salad / Melissa A. Goldthwaite -- Reception / Kathy Fagan -- Potatoes and love, From 'Heartburn' / Nora Ephron -- Repulsive dinners, From 'Home cooking' / Laurie Colwin -- The demystification of food, From 'Vibration cooking' / Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor -- How to cook moong dal, Bengali style / Deborah Thompson -- Food and belonging, at home and in alien-kitchens / Ketu H. Katrak -- From 'Chez Panisse menu cookbook' / Alice Waters -- All the old tales are tales of hunger / Caitlin Newcomer -- Baking for Sylvia / Kate Moses -- Suman sa ibos / Cheryl Quimba -- Pie, From 'Never eat your heart out' / Judith Moore -- Funeral food, From 'Consuming passions' / Michael Lee West -- Pie throwing, From 'Recipes for disaster: an anarchist cookbook' / CrimethInc. Ex-Workers' Collective -- Burn / Jennifer Cognard-Black -- The assurance of caramel cake, From 'Hallelujah! The welcome table' / Maya Angelou -- How to make rhubarb wine / Ted Kooser.