An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace

If you love food and are looking for something a little different than the typical cook book, check out Tamar Adler's "An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace." I'll admit up-front that I was predisposed to like this book since Tamar started as a cook at Chez Panisse the same week I started my culinary school internship in Chez's kitchen. But the book has received strong reviews from the likes of The New York Times and Forbes - so this positive review isn't just personal bias. Fans of M.F.K. Fisher will feel right at home - inspired by Fisher's "How to Cook a Wolf" (1942), "An Everlasting Meal" is more about cooking well (and therefore living well) than it is a collection of recipes. Recipes in standard format are scattered throughout, and they follow traditional methods - no molecular gastronomy here. In chapter 19, I was ecstatic to discover Tamar's version of Maiale al Latte - pork braised in milk with garlic, sage and lemon - which I was first introduced to at Chez and has since become one of my all-time favorite dishes. But beyond the "formal" recipes, Tamar's prose and its underlying message of cooking (and living) well will inspire novice and experienced cooks alike.

If you love food and are looking for something a little different than the typical cook book, check out Tamar Adler's "An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace." I'll admit up-front that I was predisposed to like this book since Tamar started as a cook at Chez Panisse the same week I started my culinary school internship in Chez's kitchen. But the book has received strong reviews from the likes of The New York Times and Forbes - so this positive review isn't just personal bias. Fans of M.F.K. Fisher will feel right at home - inspired by Fisher's "How to Cook a Wolf" (1942), "An Everlasting Meal" is more about cooking well (and therefore living well) than it is a collection of recipes. Recipes in standard format are scattered throughout, and they follow traditional methods - no molecular gastronomy here. In chapter 19, I was ecstatic to discover Tamar's version of Maiale al Latte - pork braised in milk with garlic, sage and lemon - which I was first introduced to at Chez and has since become one of my all-time favorite dishes. But beyond the "formal" recipes, Tamar's prose and its underlying message of cooking (and living) well will inspire novice and experienced cooks alike.