Simple Cooking

by John Thorne

Overview

John Thorne's classic first collection is filled with straightforward eating, home cooking, vigorous opinions, and the gracefully intelligent writing that makes him a cult favorite of people who like to think about food.

"Incisive, hilarious and occasionally nostalgic, this volume will delight many readers, reminding them why they enjoy the pleasures of food and cooking."--Publishers Weekly

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781466806641
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	11/16/1996
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	324
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

John Thorne is a food writer and author of numerous books and essays. He lives in Northampton, MA.

John Thorne and Matt Lewis Thorne live in Northampton, Massachusetts, where they publish the food letter Simple Cooking. Their most recent book, Pot on the Fire, won a James Beard Foundation Book Award.

Editorial Reviews

Similarities between the versatile zucchini and the blandly grating familiarity ``Have a nice day'' could easily escape the average cook, but Thorne, the editor of the Simple Cooking newsletter, thinks about such things. He also ponders Alice B. Toklas and the differences between fat and thin chefs. This multifarious collection of recipe-laced pieces gathers topics as diverse as stuffed grape leaves, picnics and the culinary subculture of ``truly awful recipes.'' The substance of Thorne's work is not the exotic, but the everyday. For example, a department store's food processor demonstration leads him to contemplate picture-perfect ingredients (and the cooks who demand them), turning the event into a thought-provoking essay. Recipes are likewise basic. Cocoa, macaroni and cheese, French toast and cheesecake are lovingly and thoroughly explored. Also offered are more adventurous but equally easy dishes: pears and toasted hazelnuts in whipped cream with Armagnac, strawberries with lemon and black pepper, and pork-and-apple pie. Incisive, hilarious and occasionally nostalgic, this volume will delight many readers, reminding them why they enjoy the pleasures of food and cooking. (October 21)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Thorne's essays with recipes originated in his culinary newsletter, Simple Cooking. His writing ingredients include reminscence, diary, and daydream, with seasonings of whimsey and irony, and a taste of nostalgia. His recipes evolve naturally from the essays. The recollection of eating his first stuffed grape leaf leads to recalling walks in fragrant fields, the place of grape leaves in Middle Eastern cooking, how to select the fresh leaves, and light recipes for stuffings. A final paragraph suggests further books to read. The next topic is strawberries and cream, a grand topic for many a gifted writer. Literate and leisurely, Thorne will please readers of Fisher and Capon. SP

Library Journal