With a new foreword by Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen, the triumphant sequel to Home Cooking by “a home cook, like you and me, whose charm and lack of pretension make her wonderfully human and a welcome companion as she chatters on about the small culinary accomplishments and discoveries that occur in her kitchen” (Chicago Tribune). Lucky readers in the 1970s and ’80s discovered Laurie Colwin’s … the 1970s and ’80s discovered Laurie Colwin’s urbane, witty fiction in The New Yorker, as well as her warm, engaging food writing in Gourmet magazine columns. More Home Cooking, the second collection of these columns, is an expression of Colwin’s lifelong passion for cuisine and offers a delightful mix of recipes, advice, and personal anecdotes from the kitchen and beyond. She muses over the many charms and challenges of cooking at home in timeless essays including “Desserts That Quiver,” “Real Food for Tots,” and “Catering on One Dollar a Head.”
As informative as it is entertaining, and filled with Colwin’s trademark down-to-earth charm and wit, More Home Cooking is a rare treat for anyone who spends time in the kitchen and feels “like having a great conversation with someone that you love” (Samantha Bee).
more
I came into my marriage knowing how to make easy over eggs, which Dad asked me to make him on Sunday mornings, and how to stir gravy Mom had thickened with Wondra. Otherwise, I knew how to grate potatoes for Mom’s Potato Pancakes, use the can opener, and pour milk on cold cereal. Mom gave me recipe cards with her signature dishes–spaghetti, chili, chicken and rice. Dad gave me a cookbook.
My husband was in grad school and we were poor, living on a campus in the middle of nowhere. Learning to cook and bake and ‘put up’ and garden became our hobbies. We watched the tv chiefs. I borrowed cookbooks from the local library. We took an organic gardening class. We bought armfuls of rhubarb from a farmer and made jam.
On Sunday afternoons, we made the week’s bread. We had homemade soup and salads for lunch. For dinner, we made slow cooked baked beans (in a bean pot), served with home made cornbread, stuffed zucchini in summer, and for a treat chicken stewed with tomatoes and zucchini.
After my husband’s graduation we moved to Philadelphia. We found recipes in The Philadelphia Inquirer that we still use, and clipped recipes from the New York Times.
It was in Philadelphia, in the mid-1970s and 1980s, that I read Laurie Colwin‘s novels and her articles. I am delighted that her work is being republished. And even more delighted to have a copy of her 1992 book More Home Cooking: A Writer Returns to the Kitchen, sent me through The Book Club Cookbook.
Colwin’s writing is always entertaining and delightful. Her voice is friendly. She has a sense of humor that is never mean spirited. I waylaid my husband and read sections aloud to him.
I have been reading about sourdough starters for years, but frankly, I was too chicken to start one. I never took chemistry in high school, and besides, even if by some miracle it came out right, sourdough starters sounded demanding—what with stirring them or using them once a week and taking them out for an airing and keeping them in the right place in the fridge.[…]who needs sourdough starter? You might as well get a dog.
from More Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin
Her descriptions of food and her recipes inspired me to jump up and get into the kitchen and cook. Her meals are simple but with an exotic touch. Like pan roasted beets simmered in chicken broth, with red onion, rosemary, and hot pepper flakes added, and served on Angel’s Hair pasta. Or, Cranberry Beans in a Béchamel Sauce. A simple four ingredient biscuit recipe becomes savory with the addition of Cheddar cheese or poppy seeds, while adding a dash of sugar and add fruit makes scones. Roll it out for a pizza dough topped with fried vegetables or pesto, or top with jam and sliced fruit for an easy desert.
My mouth is watering just writing about it.
If you are a Colwin fan, or new to her work, you will want to check out More Home Cooking and her other books now rereleased.
I received a free book through the Book Club Cook Book. My review is fair and unbiased.