Foodie Books

I'm reading a book right now that is really popular, Julie & Jul*ia. You've probably heard gobs about it, but basically it's about a woman named Julie who discovers her mother's book by Julia Chi*ld, "Master*ing the Art of French Cooking". She decides to make every recipe in the book (524 of them) in one year. Oh, and she blogs about it along the way. I guess that's where the book comes from.

*ahem*

I'm a foodie at heart. I adore the idea of cooking through a cookbook (more on that later), so when the library told me that my copy of the book was waiting for me, I couldn't wait to get my grubby little hands on it.

Without meaning to be critical, I'm disappointed in this book. The book is quite crass at times and lacks the heart of a true foodie in my opinion. 

A little background: I read a book about Julia Child last year and was immensely impressed with her easy spirit. She seemed to have no trouble rolling up the sleeves on her large frame and telling the formidable Cordon Bleu cooking school that she was gonna learn her some cooking. Oh, and she was in her mid 30s when she discovered this new love. 

So it was with this spirit that I cracked open the beginning pages of this book and found myself in the life of someone who was not particularly a foodie so much as someone drowning in the everyday of life. And because she's bored and stressed with her New York life, she sees fit to write. I'm not finished with the book and I don't know if I will. I find myself yearning for more Julia and less Julie. 

*Let's switch gears*

That being said, Ms. Pow*ell, the author, lends a very attractive idea: cooking every recipe in a cookbook. There's something strangely interesting and ultimately obsessive about reading and doing a cookbook cover to cover and letting its author, essentially, walk with you.

I recently read a delicious cookbook called "Sweet Tea and Screen Doors" by Martha Hall Foose. It's a very approachable book. The recipes are laden with stories and tips in the margins that feel much more like a big front porch conversation than a rigorous study in southern cuisine. And the recipes I tried were, well, unforgettable. Cabbage rolls (which I made into a casserole for the sake of time) that made me cry for my momma. And real Strawberry Buttercream frosting on strawberry cupcakes that tasted like they grew on a vine. I shared them with a handful of friends and the experience of eating them with these precious few was almost religious. 

I returned the library book but I may just buy the thing. I renewed it and must've had the book for 3 months before finally admitting that others may want to read its fine contents. Rats. 

More than anything, I loved walking with Ms. Foose through her southern experience. I've been toying with the idea of making every recipe in her book. And that's saying a lot for me because one of her recipes involves turtles. In soup. 

One of these days, I may buy my own copy, hear the new spine of the book crack gently and lend its pages to my eager eyes. I'll hear her voice invite me to walk with her. I just might.