Reading Time: Spilled Milk #48
Here are my favorite food books of the fall season.
Here are my favorite food books of the fall season.
And yes, I am shamelessly biased here, two of these books are from two of my best friends who have pulled my ass out of more fires than I can tell you about. The third from one of my favorite restaurants in New York City and the fourth from the chef whose last book is one of my all time go-to’s… enjoy.
Gavin Kaysen’s At Home
Gavin’s book is exactly what it says and you will have so much fun cooking out of it. I love books like this, where a globally renowned chef shares what he makes for his friends and family in his own home. The tomato Linzer torte is so much fun… this book should get a lot of use in your home’s kitchen. Simple and easy. And so delicious.
Will Guidara’s Unreasonable Hospitality
Will’s book, like Danny Meyer’s Setting the Table 20 years ago, is THE hospitality book of this generation. And it’s a world class business book that will be taught out of for years and devoured by entrepreneurs of all shapes and sizes. But Unreasonable Hospitality is also a book about how to run your life. Predicated on the ideas about being “of service” ALL THE TIME, is for me, what makes this a book about becoming your best self too.
Claudia Fleming’s Delectable
I am in love with Claudia Fleming and her food, and I have been for decades ever since first meeting her and tasting her legendary food. Fleming made her name at Gramercy Tavern and her last book is over 20 years old! That book, The Last Course is one I cook out of constantly and like Dorie Greenspan, Zoe Francois, and others, I learn all I need to know about sweets from these incredible makers. Fleming’s new book was born out of her pandemic isolation and her hardship, our collective pain does have some small offsets to the horrific tragedy and all the lives lost. This book is a stunner. Kumquat tatin will be the first thing I make when I get home and see the seasons peak of that incredible citrus. Savory tarts, devil’s food cake with Earl Grey cream and more blueberries than you can shake a stick at in her tart there. I will let you discover it for yourself. That being said I made it with all the last of the local berries in my freezer and you will want to also.
Jody Williams and Rita Sodi’s Via Carota
Via Carota is without a doubt a heritage NYC restaurant despite it being less than a decade old. It is a must for every visitor, a right of passage for every celebrity and luminary. Italian food relies on simplicity and seasonality more than any other cuisine so Williams’ and Sodi’s vegetable centric personal cuisine laid out so beautifully in this book actually gets you closer to dining in the restaurant than comparable other cookbooks written by chef/owners from other top tier eateries. The book is organized by season and is predicated on fresh ingredients (duh). The techniques you learn will allow you to nudge the best flavors out of the products when they are at their best. It’s simple and magical approach and it works. In the spring you make the restaurants arguably most famous dish, their Insalata Verde or in the fall perhaps it’s the hand rolled spaghetti with a sturdy ragu made from duck. In the winter go for the cacio e pepe lasagna which I made because I couldn’t wait. Simply stunning results from a wonderous book.
What are you currently reading? Share in the comments!
Claudia’s book will be no top on my gift list for Christmas, can’t wait to get it for all of my daughters and their friends. They love to bake and nobody does it better than Chef Flemming.
Looking for a good January read? Line up for Iliana Regan’s upcoming “Fieldwork” for all interested in foraging, getting out of an uncomfortable place or learning to live in a National forest- it’s a fireside treat that get you through the longest snowstorm.
WOK from J. Kenji López-Alt
Sweet Paris by Frank Adrian Barron