Category Archives: international

All About Dolci

Posted on October 19, 2019 by Appetite for Books

If your mother cooks Italian food, why should you go to a restaurant? Martin Scorsese This is my eternal dilemma–standing in front of a pastry case and wanting one bite of everything. Someday I will buy one of everything and … Continue reading →

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CHoWline–Savage Feast

Posted on March 2, 2019 by Appetite for Books

Immigrant stories are fascinating, especially when they are inspired and illustrated by the kitchen and the table. They touch on familiar feelings–the sense of disconnection, feelings of being different, striving for reconciliation. In Savage Feast, Boris Fishman, hits those tropes … Continue reading →

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Baladi–Palestine

Posted on February 16, 2019 by Appetite for Books

The table is a meeting place, a gathering ground, the source of sustenance and nourishment, festivity, safety, and satisfaction. A person cooking is a person giving: Even the simplest food is a gift. Laurie Colwin This is the food of … Continue reading →

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CHoWline–New Art of Cookery by Juan Altamiras

Posted on October 6, 2018 by Appetite for Books

This review appeared in the October 2018 issue of CHoWline, the newsletter of the Culinary Historians of Washington, DC. Juan Altamiras was the pen name of the Spanish friar who published his recipes in 1745. But never mind that date, … Continue reading →

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T-Bone Whacks and Caviar Snacks

Posted on September 8, 2018 by Appetite for Books

This book records the cooking and shopping experiences of two American educators in Soviet and post-Soviet Russia, and is an excellent mix of research, experience, and recipes. And yes, some of the tales of privation–wonky stoves, uneven markets–are true, but … Continue reading →

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Fruit, Recipes that Celebrate Nature

Posted on July 14, 2018 by Appetite for Books

Our families don’t always cross the finish line in the span of one generation. But each generation passes on to the next the fruits of their labor. Julian Castro Fruit is such a gift–seasonal and treasured sweetness, no wonder they … Continue reading →

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The Galloping Gourmet

Posted on June 23, 2018 by Appetite for Books

An Englishman teaching an American about food is like the blind leading the one-eyed. A. J. Liebling I was once at the Smithsonian Museum of American History’s exhibit on Julia Child’s Kitchen where I overhead one teenager describe Child to … Continue reading →

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Souk, Feasting at the Mezze Table

Posted on June 9, 2018 by Appetite for Books

You have descended on your own people and have stepped upon the plains. –Arabic greeting That is, you are among friends in a land of plenty. And that’s the way this book feels, beautiful but fundamentally simple food, meant to … Continue reading →

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Cleaning Out the Basement–Pardon my Foie Gras

Posted on May 26, 2018 by Appetite for Books

I love books like this–blithe and bright, they have an American exceptionalism attitude that says we get to eat and enjoy good things. It’s full of cliches like casque-helmeted policeman, the kiosk, and fleur de lis. This 1956 book is … Continue reading →

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Risotto & Beyond

Posted on May 12, 2018 by Appetite for Books

Each month is gay, each season nice, when eating chicken soup with rice. Maurice Sendak Or when eating Risotto with Oysters and Prosecco, or Rice Tart with Prosciutto, or Rice Crespelle with Almonds and Organic Honey. John Coletta is the … Continue reading →

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