Five authors, five must-have books and five recipes. While not all of these authors are specifically food writers, they are arguably the finest writers about food on the face of the planet. All recipes are either adapted from or inspired by the authors.
Peter Mayle
Famous for his series of books about Provence, Mayle has the ability to make the flavors of southern French peasant food leap off the page and into your mouth. His essays on truffles, poulets de Bresse, and frogs legs (just to name a few) are a delight to read, and his off-the-cuff reviews of French restaurants (thinly disguised as “slice of life” sketches) are a feast onto themselves. I would almost rather read a Mayle piece describing his lunch than go out and have my own. Almost. Must-have Mayle book: all of them, but Toujours Provence stands out because I just finished re-reading it, and it has some delightful chapters specifically about food.
John Thorne
John Thorne is the finest writer about food we have at the moment, and his highly opinionated essays are invaluable looks behind the culinary curtain. Thorne picks up where MFK Fisher left off. John’s writing about food goes beyond recipes and culinary history. He considers himself a “literary” food writer, and once you tuck in and digest a few of his essays, you’ll understand this is not bombast. Must-have Thorne book: All of them, but I think I’ve cooked more from Serious Pig than any of the others. You must read all of Thorne’s books, and subscribe to his food newsletter, Simple Cooking, otherwise you’re a fake and should stop reading right now.
Breakfast Clafoutis (from Outlaw Cook)
4 to 6 oz. blueberries
Zest from 1 small lemon
2 tbs. granulated sugar
1/2 cup unbleached flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs, any size
1 cup milk
1 tbs. unsalted butter
Confectioners’ sugar
Sour cream (optional)
Preheat oven to 425. Cook washed blueberries in 12-inch cast-iron skillet with butter and a sprinkling of sugar. Make lemon sugar by mixing zest with granulated sugar in a small dish. In a large bowl, sift flour and salt. In a small bowl, beat the eggs gently and whisk in the milk. Add the wet to the dry ingredients a little at a time, whisking smooth. Stir in lemon sugar. Let the batter rest while the fruit is being cooked. Pour batter into skillet over fruit, bake in over for about 20 minutes. At this point, the clafoutis will be set, golden brown and puffed up on the edges. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar. Serve with a dollop of sour cream. Kids love this on Sunday mornings.
Sharon Tyler Herbst
Sharon’s Must-have book: The Food Lovers Companion (now in it’s fourth edition) is a must-have for anyone interested in food. It’s a culinary dictionary, with comprehensive definitions of nearly 6000 food, drink and culinary terms. Says so right here on the cover. This is the reference book that newspapers (modern media as well) use. Better than the New Larousse Gastronomique, and a lot easier on the wallet.
Gratin
A gratin is any dish that is topped with cheese or breadcrumbs mixed with bits of butter. (Definition from the book)
1 onion thinly sliced
4-5 large Yukon Gold potatoes, thinly sliced (I use a mandoline)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/2 cup Gruyere
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
Nutmeg
Salt & pepper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a well-greased round casserole, layer potatoes, onions, cheese in a spiral pattern. Sprinkle each layer with a touch of nutmeg, salt and pepper. When done, add the heavy cream. Finish top with dots of butter. Bake for roughly 40-60 minutes. 10 minutes before done, sprinkle breadcumbs on top and return to oven.
Richard Olney
Olney was an inspiration for the aforementioned John Thorne, and two of his books stand out as Must-haves: Lulu’s Provençal Table: The Exuberant Food and Wine from Domaine Tempier Vineyard and Provence, the Beautiful Cookbook: Authentic Recipes from the Regions of Provence. I would choose the latter over the former, and often do. I own Lulu, but I check Provence out of the library about once a month (it’s $100 for a new copy) purely for inspiration. The photographs and descriptions of the recipes are pure food porn, much better than the pedestrian versions offered by slick magazines like Gourmet and Food & Wine. This book is like an edible travelogue, allowing the reader to tour the South of France by recipe. Olney lived (and died) in Provence, and his love for its cuisine shines through on every page. However, if you can only buy one Olney book, you’d better go for Simple French Food. To do otherwise would be a mistake. I don’t think Olney would want you to just look at pictures… he expects you to cook.
Grilled Bread
I would include a recipe here, but Olney scares the ever-living bejesus out of me. I’m afraid I could never do him justice. So just do what he did: take a slice of rustic sourdough bread, grill it, rub it with a piece of garlic and dribble on some good extra-virgin olive oil.
Jim Harrison
Harrison’s novels almost always feature food and he wrote a must-have collection of essays, culled from his column for Esquire magazine entitled The Stomach God Forgot to Invent. Just kidding, the real title is The Raw and The Cooked: Adventures of a Roving Gourmand. Harrison is one of those rare characters who can write about haute cuisine without making it sound so, well, haute. A Michigan farmboy poet, Harrison traded his pentameters for prose and cashed-in Hollywood-style with films like Legends of the Fall and Wolf. His appetite is matched only by his machismo. This is what it would be like if Hunter Thompson had written about food. Which is a good idea. Remind me to do a gonzo-style article about food. Oh wait, Jim Harrison beat me to it.
Meatballs
1/2 lbs. ground beef (80% lean)
1/2 lbs. ground pork
3 tbs. HP sauce
1 tbs. soy sauce
3 anchovies
1 tbs. garlic powder
1 tbs. onion powder
1 egg
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
Salt & pepper
3 tbs. olive oil
Mix everything together (except olive oil) in a large bowl. Heat olive oil in a cast-iron skillet. Pre-heat oven to 350. Make meatballs by hand, about the diameter of a silver dollar. Cook in batches until well-browned. Finish in oven on a wire rack over a baking sheet, 15-20 minutes.
Sauce
8-10 Roma tomatoes
Handful of fresh Italian herbs (oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary)
2 cloves garlic, minced or passed through a press
1 tbs. sugar
2 tbs. red wine
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
Cut tomatoes in half and arrange on wire rack over baking sheet. Sprinkle with olive oil, wine, sugar, herbs, salt and pepper. Roast in oven at 350 until done. Finish in a food processor or with an immersion blender. Serve over meatballs with pasta.
Other notable authors: Harold McGee, Anthony Bourdain, Jasper White, Thomas Harris, Robb Walsh, Alexander Dumas, pere, Ian Fleming, Patience Gray, Patricia Wells, Alice Waters.
Author’s Note: I don’t like celebrity chefs.
Author’s Note 2: I did an Amazon list (Learning to Eat) several years ago, and it’s one of the things that still haunts me today (if you google my name).
