Chefs, drugs and rock & roll

Chefs, drugs and rock & roll / Andrew Friedman, 467 pgs.

An interesting history of the American restaurant and cooking scene mostly from the 1970's and 80's.  Friedman did a LOT of interviews and uncovered the ideas behind "American" cooking as it intersected with classical French cuisine and the fresher ideas of people who wanted food prepared in a more simple manner and ingredients that were fresh and maybe locally sourced.  This is, perhaps, too much of a simplification but lots of people were breaking out of old molds and trying new things.  Many with great success, at least for a time.  Being a great chef and having a dedicated following doesn't always translate into financial success. The business aspects aren't always strong in many whose talents focus on the creative aspects.  Don't look for recipes here, this is about the people behind the movement.

Kitchens of the great Midwest

Kitchens of the great Midwest / J. Ryan Stradal 312 pg.

Eva Thorvald is a 6' 2" "super taster."  Even  as a baby she had a discerning palate and as she gets older she becomes a successful chef and all around good person.  Abandoned by her mother as a baby, she is adopted by her uncle and his wife after her father dies.  The stories of her family life, relationships and food are interesting and although many are sweet, they avoid becoming too sentimental.  Eva is a person who figures things out and get what she wants but in the best way.  I listened to the audio version and enjoyed it immensely.  I then got the print book because there are recipes included and I'm a complete sucker for those.

Highly recommended for those who enjoy literary fiction that is mostly realistic and ends on a high note.

Typhoid Mary

Typhoid Mary by Anthony Bourdain  161 pp.

Chef, author, and television personality, Anthony Bourdain, researched and penned this historical account of Mary Mallon, the infamous "Typhoid Mary."  Mallon was an asymptomatic carrier of the Typhoid virus. She was an excellent and talented cook who ultimately spread the disease to several well-to-do households where she worked causing the deaths of many people. One of the families affected hired an investigator named George Soper to track down the cause of the disease. When health officials requested blood and stool samples Mallon was uncooperative and ultimately was taken into custody by the New York Health Department who imprisoned her in a cottage at a hospital on North Brother Island. After five years she was released after promising not to work in the food industry but failed to keep that promise. She was once again taken into custody and lived the rest of her life on the island. Bourdain's research uncovered discrepancies in the versions recorded by various officials involved and the fact that Mallon was basically imprisoned without any sort of due process. There is also some question whether the legal counsel later working on Mallon's behalf was paid for by William Randolph Hearst. In the epilogue Bourdain describes visiting Mallon's grave and leaving a symbolic item "from one chef to another." This account is brief and simple, without an inflammatory or sensational slant.

On the Noodle Road

On the Noodle Road: From Beijing to Rome, with Love and Pasta by Jen

Lin-Liu  388 pp.

Lin-Liu was living in China and running a cooking school when she decided to research the origin of noodles (no Marco Polo didn't bring them back to Italy from China). To do this she spent several months traveling the Silk Road from China through Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Turkey, Greece, to Italy. On the way she ate her way through the noodle cuisines of many cultures, for the better and the worse. She was welcomed into peoples' homes to learn to fix a variety of noodle dishes. She did not find the origin of noodles but she did discover how closely related many dishes in the different cultures were to one another. Parts of the trip were made alone and part with her husband. I could have lived without the parts about her angst about her marriage and her ambivalence about her role as a wife in exchange for more about the different cultures she encountered. I listened to the audiobook version but now need to check out the book to see the recipes. 

Cook the Books by Jesssica Conant-Park

A really great mystery read especially for the holiday season. I found it on our display on the first floor. It is part of the Gourmet Girl Mystery series, and this is the fifth book in the series. I haven't read the others, but I enjoyed this one so much that I am tempted to read the others in order. Chloe Carter the main character is a real hoot as she tries to solve the mystery of who killed a popular chef in town. This is the season for food and cooking and this book fits right in.