Around the World in 80 Bites

While literature doesn't get much better than a long, super-descriptive food scene (the meals in Laura Ingalls Wilder's Farmer Boy! The restaurants in Hemingway's Movable Feast! The baked yam in Invisible Man!) it does get better when you are describing in minute detail meals had on epic journeys. There's been a spate of food memoirs lately, and even more recently than that a new crop of food memoirs On Location. There's something nostalgic and comforting reading about the food that people grow up with, and even if it's from a culture entirely foreign to you, what better way to understand cultures than in the food we grow up on. Some of the most beautiful sentences in literature seem to come from whatever gland is deep within us that hold the genuine love, passion and nostalgia for the foods that sustained us when we were young. Here's a roundup of my recent faves, and one I'm drooling to dig into:

Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking, Anya von Bremzen  This book was such a funtime treat to read. It was equal parts history of the Soviet Union, nostalgic memoir of a not-so-easygoing childhood, and a love poem to a century's worth of food from one of the biggest nations in the world, encompassing such a huge swath of culinary traditions it was dazzling, dizzying, and hunger-making. Von Bremzen is both funny and skilled, she made my stomach grumble embarrassingly over fish bones cooked in butter, something I'd never be interested in eating under normal circumstances. She is a sauce-y wordsmith!

My Berlin Kitchen, Luisa Weiss  On the other side of the Iron Curtain, Luisa Weiss grows up learning to cook and bake in her West German home. As a grown-up in America she returns to the recipes of her youth and tells a beautiful story that instantly transports you to the homey kitchens and worldly restraurants of megalopolis Berlin.

Blood, Bones and Butter, Gabrielle Hamilton  By now you might have noticed that the books in this post present a common color scheme. Red and yellow, the colors of the golden arches, have long been considered colors that will make consumers hungry and therefore to eat more. Perhaps this is true also of books, but when you've got a writer AND CHEF of such superlative skill as Gabrielle Hamilton, you cook drop her sentences in a greasy wax bag and the whole world would beg for more. Simultaneously a memoir, coming of age story, complicated love story, and hilarious if grueling account of the blood and sweat poured into opening her own restaurant, Hamilton's book is beautiful, true and offers one of the most fascinating accounts of understanding hunger in a brilliantly wrought scene that catches up with our narrator on her first trans-atlantic trip in Amsterdam. The simplicity of a small meal of a boiled potato and sliver of cheese has stuck with me YEARS after reading this book. She is SO BRILLIANT WHERE IS HER NEXT BOOK!?

A Fork in the Road, ed. James Oseland  Is a book I haven't even read yet but am salivating to dig into! It comes out in December and my-oh-my: Francine Prose, Andre Aciman, Rita Mae Brown, Marcus Samuelsson, Michael Pollan, Monique Truong, Madhur Jaffrey and a bajillion other writers dish on the best meals they've had abroad. Run don't walk--OH MY GOSH is it lunch time yet?!

Dude Food Books

Anthony Bourdain has started his own publishing imprint at Ecco, picking a few books a season by some pretty cutting edge (and predictably macho) dude food books. One of them that I'm particularly excited about is Daniel Vaughn’s Prophets of Smoked Meat, which is a full-color photo-rich book that is basically a travel guide to all the best barbecue in Texas. Also, that is a great title. And what better sort of book to give this time of year with graduations and Father's Day abounding, dads and grads alike need 1) books on how to feed the people that like them and 2) summer is around the corner and we have a duty, as friends of people with spatulas, grills or plane tickets to Texas, to perpetuate tasty meat consumption. Also, Franklin Barbecue forever.

Other books to try might be:

 Grilling Vegan Style by Jon Schlimm. Everyone loves a versatile chef!

Beer Lovers New England by Norman Miller. Think local with your gustatory travel ideas. And also think about what hops pair best with grilled meats.

Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare. No recipes here, but plenty of meaty humor.

And if you need more gifty ideas for dads or grads, "pork loin is my jam," says Jes of the Card and Gift Room when asked what meat is best. Or you could just check out our epic table of gifts and books at the front register, or gift-buyer Kerri's amazing display in the Card and Gift room for ideas!

For Those Who Devour Books

  

As Zoe mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I'm new to the Booksmith. Hi there Brookline! You're a lovely bunch!

Pros of this new job: There are books. Everywhere. And people who love books. And some people who don't ordinarily love people but who, through that particular alchemy of tacit bibliophilia and a slow Sunday afternoon, agree to share the planet and maybe even a coffee + scone.

But! Cons: I'm gaining weight. Why the heck am I gaining weight?

Fancy-pants logicians might draw conclusions. They might point to the industrious yet generous bakers and gardeners among my new colleagues. They might mention the creperie across the street, the pizza joint on the corner or any one of the numerous little cafes which prove so irresistible on lunch-breaks. They might question the wisdom of a staff candy-jar. But you know? I blame the books. 

(Image courtesy of We Know Books )

(Image courtesy of Design Mom: Book of the Week)

Consider: who among us doesn't hunger for literature? Whether you voraciously consume your latest Booksmith purchases or savor them, page by delicious page, you're in good company here. Take, for example, Oliver Jeffers' The Incredible Book-Eating Boy (above) which I recently found in our Children's section. It's the story of Henry, a young boy who develops a literal taste for books (red ones are his favorite).

(Images courtesy of Creative Review)

 Elsewhere in the genre of Books With Symbolically Significant Bite Marks is the aptly titled Eat Me: Appetite for Design. I'm crazy for this book, you guys - not just because its wafer-textured cover and creamy two-toned pages remind me of a layer-cake. It's a compilation of projects by modern artists and design firms who draw inspiration from food. When both form and content make you salivate, you clearly have a winner.

(Image courtesy of Playing with Flour)

 All this is to say nothing of the cookbooks, about which I could go on for pages. But to continue in the vein of really lovely design, I'll leave you with a gem that recently caught my eye. Any pastry aficionado will be familiar with Ladurée, the ultra-luxurious Parisian pâtisserie and purveyor of the quintessential macaron. This cookbook, daintily packaged to resemble a box of the bakery's infamous confections, holds in its gilt pages what I can only assume are the best-kept secrets of the cut-throat meringue and creme industry. Buy it for the Francophile in your life and save it from my clutches - my bookshelf and I are going on a diet.

Awesome Advice for Impressing Your Date

Everyone wants to impress that special someone when having them over for a date. But in the world of dating, everything is a challenge, and the slightest awkward moment could ruin your entire evening. Well, worry not! For I am here with some more of the Card & Gift Room's awesome items along with a step-by-step guide to having an evening you nor your date will likely forget.

Step 1: Dress Up for the Occasion

Whether or not you're a naturally good-looking individual (like myself), you'll want to add some flair to your attire if you want your date to really notice you. It is a proven fact that facial hair makes anyone, male or female, look incredibly distinguished and attractive. Instead of going through the hassle of trying to grow an awesome moustache or beard yourself, buy one! Stick on a moustache (in attractive styles such as Artist and Hipster) or blow up your own beard. Worried about those awkward moments when you gaze into each other's eyes? Try the Anime Eyes glasses to give your date something interesting to look at. And for  footwear, consider the Mop Slippers; everyone wants a date that can multi-task!

Step 2: Appetizers

You don't want your date to starve while they wait for dinner; it makes you look like a poor host. Whet your special someone's appetite with some bacon! Everyone loves bacon, and now you can enjoy it in a multitude of formats. Hang a bacon air freshener in your car to make an instant impression when you pick up your date; offer them some Bacon Gumballs or Gummy Bacon (Warning: Gummy Bacon is actually strawberry flavored) as a snack, or Bacon Toothpicks or Bacon Floss for a tasty way to get whatever that is out of your teeth. For chapped lips or the occasional boo-boo, there's bacon for that, too. By the time dinner actually comes, your date will be ravenous.

Step 3: Meal Preparation

It is always a good idea to impress your date with a home-cooked meal. The way to someone's heart is through their stomach, after all! If all that bacon didn't already win their heart, some of these impressive cooking accessories certainly will help. Show your date you take cooking seriously with the OCD Chef cutting board, which allows you to cut precise measurements of vegetables for the absolutely perfect dish. The Batter Finger spatula is a great tool for baking, and it doubles for an awesome "pull my finger" gag. Worried about burning your hand on a hot pan handle? Cover it with a silicone Banana Handle for maximum protection and potassium. If you plan to enjoy a bottle of wine, make sure to keep it fresh with one of our unique bottle toppers: Pickles, plungers, or bananas; there's something for everyone! Don't forget these whimsical oven mitts that make you look like an adorable animal has eaten your hand.

Step 4: Go with a Theme

Theme parties are not just for kids. A good theme will show your date that you have class and pay attention to detail. Here at Booksmith we happen to have some themed items set up for you, to save you the hassle of collecting them yourself! Russian Matryoshkas and Babushkas are adorable little dolls that your date will love. Put them in your kitchen as nesting Store-M Tupperware, M-Spoons measuring spoons, M-Cups measuring cups and Salt-M S&P shakers. If your date wants to freshen up in the bathroom, provide them with Babushka manicure sets, tweezers or matchbox emery boards. Their beady little eyes will make your date feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Step 5: Keep it Clean

Throughout your evening, you will want to show your special someone that you care about your personal hygiene. Your hands touch everything and spread germs everywhere! Protect yourself and your date with Handerpants, underpants for your hands. These attractive, stylish gloves will certainly make an impression--plus, they'll keep your date from noticing how sweaty your palms are when you touch. After dinner, don't let the entertainment end! Using these Dish Play rubber gloves, you can put on a show for yourself and your date while getting those dishes clean. Your skills at drama and puppetry will surely make them swoon.

 Well, that's about all the advice I can give you. With these tools at your disposal, you'll barely need to do a thing to make your special someone fall for you in no time. Your quest for romance is now complete!

You're welcome.

How to Have a Rockin' Dinner Party

If you're reading this blog, it most likely means that you are some sort of musical and/or culinary wizard who holds the stout belief in infusing everything around you with the power of ROCK. Sure, you can paper your walls with posters and make intricately cut city silihouette clocks out of your old records...but you know what's way cooler? Cooking with guitars. Yeah, that's right. Think it's impossible? THINK AGAIN.

 BAM. That's right, we have not one, but three types of guitar-shaped spatulas for you to use for your various culinary endeavors. For pancakes, omelettes, or musical-themed cookies, use the Flipper; whip up batter for the most metal of cakes with the Guitar Baking Spatula. Each of these food-safe silicone spatulas come in three rockin' colors: Cool Blue, Hellfire Red and Blacker than the Blackest Black Times Inifinity. Then we have the BBQ Guitar Spatula, which you can use over the fiery pits of your grill to make the most metal of steaks, hot dogs, and veggie-burgers.

While your bandmates and other rockstar buddies are waiting for you to compose your epic meal, serve them their favorite beverages with some rockin' ice cubes, shaped like guitars and music notes. Got your goth-rock friends over too? Keep their drinks dead-cold with Bone Chillers ice cubes. Or maybe you're more of a hip-hop type of person? Try some ice-cold boombox cubes for your drink. Don't forget to use your record coasters; everyone knows water stains are simply not metal.

While cooking with the power of rock, make sure you can take the heat; use these silicone record pot-holders to protect your hands from hot pots and pans. And don't think the seemingly dull task of mixing can stop the rock: no, with these Mix Stix, you can keep practicing your sweet drum solo when you're not using them for that sweet meal you're making. Making a pizza? Shred that cheese with The Shredder cheese grater, and slice it up in style with the Fresh Slice record player pizza-cutter.

Now on to dinnertime! Serve your deliciously musical meal on these record-shaped placemats; when you're not eating off them, use them to practice your DJ skills! I'm sure that you probably already have plenty of ornate knives and other brutal utensils to cut into that juicy steak (I've substituted our kids' Constructive Eating cutlery; but if you went the route of Vegan Black Metal Chef and made some metal Pad Thai, consider using a pair of Beat It! drum/chopsticks for your rockin' meal.

By now, you're probably wondering if this is all the rock-themed items we offer for your most musical of dinner parties. The answer: Never! After dinner, even the task of washing the dishes can rock when you wear the Tuff Dish dishwashing gloves, which keep your hands dry and your black nailpolish unchipped, while still making you look like a badass. Your bandmates can keep busy by playing a game of cards with the Mixed Deck retro playing card deck, while sipping some coffee (black, of course) from this brutal Fisticup brass-knuckles mug. If you or your friends brought their rockstar-in-the-making kids, keep them busy with this adorable little drum. It'll amuse them for hours AND keep them in practice for their next gig.

 If anyone had ever doubted what a culinary rockstar you are, they will doubt no longer; for you are clearly the Rockin' King or Queen of the Kitchen.

Maybe not as intense as this guy, but still.

 

All of our music-themed kitchenwares and other goodies can be found the Card and Gift Room's kitchenwares section, or with the gift items in Aisle 4 near our cookbooks. Come and get 'em!

Edit: Speaking of culinary genius, our event with Ree Drummond  (of Pioneer Woman fame) was a smashing success! Even after a signing line lasting nearly 3 hours, she was still awesome enough to sign quite a few of her cookbook Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier for our store. If you missed out on meeting Ms. Drummond, come on by for a signed copy before they're all gone!

AND THE WINNER IS

Shannon O'Connor!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A few months ago we ran a "poetry/ prose poem" receipt contest wherein we asked that you write something on the back of a receipt to the booksmith. It took a while for them to role in, but a few did!!! Shannon O'Connor is our winner and here is what was written on the back of her receipt!!!! I'll be sending her a gift certificate and some surprises too!

Keep an eye open for more contests (April is poetry month after all!!)


Here's our winner!



A while ago, Shannon ran
out of books to read, so she
went to various used bookstores
to fill the void. The books, in
piles on the floor, decided they
liked each other, and started
procreating. Now Shannon eats
two books for an afternoon
snack with her coffee.
The books on the floor cry when
one of their sisters gets
swallowed. Shannon doesn't like
to clean, she just eats the mess.
She's getting thinner.

Dig In!

Thanksgiving is coming up next week, and what better way to celebrate the tastiest holiday in America with a blog post composed entirely of me skipping ahead to the sauciest bits in the foodiest books in the UBC? Bon Apétit!

Goblin Market, Christina Rosetti

"I ate and ate my fill,

Yet my mouth waters still;

To-morrow night I will

Buy more," and kissed her.

"Have done with sorrow;

I'll bring you plums to-morrow

Fresh on their mother twigs,

Cherries worth getting;

You cannot think what figs

My teeth have met in,

What melons, icy-cold 

Piled on a dish of gold

Too huge for me to hold, 

What peaches with a velvet nap,

Pellucid grapes without one seed:

Odorous indeed must be the mead

Whereon they grow, and pure the wave they drink,

With lilies at the brink,

And sugar-sweet their sap."

Farmer Boy, Laura Ingalls Wilder:
"Almanzo ate the sweet, mellow baked beans. He ate the bit of salt pork that melted like cream in his mouth. He ate the mealy boiled potatoes, with brown ham-gravy. He ate the ham. He bit deep into velvety bread spread with sleek butter, and he ate the crisp golden crust. He demolished a tall heap of pale mashed turnips, and hill of stewed yellow pumpkin. Then he sighed, and tucked his napkin deeper into the neckband of his red waist. And he ate plum preserves and strawberry jam, and grape jelly, and spiced watermelon-rind pickles. He felt very comfortable inside. Slowly he ate a large piece of pumpkin pie."

The Devil's Larder, Jim Crace
"She liked the aubergine's affinity with olive oil and garlic, its generous response to mushrooms or tomatoes. It kept good company. She liked its versatility, just as happy to be stuffed as fried, just as tasty in a moussaka or ratatouille as in a dip or served as Fainting Priest."

The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath
Yeah I know they all get poisoned from the crabmeat but OMG this is the tastiest spread in literature:

"Arrayed on the Ladies' Day banquet table were yellow-green avocado pear halves stuffed with crabmeat and mayonnaise, and platters of rare roast beef and cold chicken, and every so often a cut-glass bowl heaped with black caviar. [..] Before I came to New York I'd never eaten out in a proper restaurant. I don't count Howard Johnson's, where I only had french fries and cheeseburgers and vanilla frappes with people like Buddy Willard. I'm not sure why it is, but I love food more than just about anything else. [...] My favorite dishes are full of butter and cheese and sour cream."

Like Water for Chocolate, Laura Esquivel
This book! Recipes in every chapter and saucy descriptions like gangbusters! Here's a teaser:


"It was as if a strange alchemical process had dissolved her entire being in the rose petal sauce, in the tender flesh of the quails, in the wine, in every one of the meal's aromas."

A Movable Feast, Ernest Hemingway
"As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea."

The Book of Salt, Monique Truong

Photo ©Rebecca Perriello

"I wanted to tell her that I would cut the first pineapple into paper-thin rounds and saute them with shallots and slices of beef; that the sugar in the pineapple would caramelized during cooking, imparting a faint smokiness that is addictive; [...] I would cut the second pineapple into bite-sized pieces, soak them in kirsch, make them into a drunken bed for spoonfuls of tangerine sorbet; that I would pipe unsweetened cream around the edges, a ring of ivory-colored rosettes."