How to Cook a Wolf: Judge Announcement

It is with great pleasure that I announce our judge for the current edition of Cook the Books, in which we are reading How to Cook a Wolf by M.F.K. Fisher: food writer, cookbook author, and photographer Jeannette Ferrary has kindly accepted the invitation.

A personal friend of M.F.K. Fisher, Ferrary has written about their friendship in the book M.F.K. Fisher and Me: A Memoir of Food and Friendship.

In 2008 (the 100th anniversary of M.F.K. Fisher's birth) Ferrary wrote a very interesting article for Gourmet magazine about Fisher's Table Book:

It really didn’t look like much. The untitled book had a well-worn black cover and some clippings sticking out here and there. Inside, in scrabbly handwriting, I found the words Table Book, and as I slowly turned the pages, I began to realize the importance of this collection: Arranged by date, they were M. F. K. Fisher’s unexpurgated notes on those who’d come to visit, the food she’d served, the reactions of her guests, and her own reactions to them. 

Read the whole article to find out more about Fisher's notes, including the one dated October 3, 1997 describing Ferrary first visit to Fisher (in the company of poet and novelist Frances Mayes).

The same year, Ferrari was interviewed for an article on Weekend America about -- guess what? -- our current selection!

Jeannette Ferrary has been teaching food writing for years and that is how we met: I attended a food writing course she taught at UC Berkeley Extension. She is currently teaching a course at Stanford University.

A reminder that the deadline for submitting your contribution to the current edition of Cook the Books is end of the day Monday, July 29.

I will finish this post with a quote from How to Cook a Wolf:

All men are hungry. They always have been. They must eat, and when they deny themselves the pleasures of carrying out that need, they are cutting off part of their possible fullness, their natural realization of life, whether they are poor or rich.

MFK Fisher's How to Cook a Wolf

M.F.K. Fisher's writings loom large in the American literary landscape, and deservedly so. 

Of the books written by M.F.K. Fisher (1908-1992) that I have so far read, my favorite is How to Cook a Wolf, which, I believe, illustrates well the qualities that make her writing enchanting. After spending three years in France with her husband Al, Mary Frances came back to the United States in 1932. Five years later, she published her first book, Serve it Forth. In 1941 came Consider the Oyster, followed, in 1942, by How to Cook a Wolf, described by James Beard as “her brilliant approach to wartime economies for the table.”

Wartime brings special challenges to anybody trying to eat “with both grace and gusto.” Fisher refuses to allow all pleasures to disappear from the wartime table and provides advice and recipes that creatively make the best of what can be obtained and prepared at a time of tight budget and scarcity. Food provides the springboard for reflections on topics ranging from the balanced diet to the choice of a drinking partner. 

Each chapter of How to Cook a Wolf presents Fisher’s thoughts on a topic: “How to Boil Water,” “How Not to Boil an Egg,” etc. The recipes (inserted in the text) are interesting, though the main pleasure of reading the book is to listen to Fisher philosophize, muse, get passionate, gently satirize (herself first), and tell stories, where she describes people and events of her life.

Nine years after the publication of How to Cook a Wolf, Ms. Fisher went back to the book and annotated it. Her notes, printed enclosed in square brackets in the North Point Press edition, sound like theatrical asides where the author reflects on her earlier ideas and assertions. Sometimes she stands by her words, sometimes she amends her original words, since she thinks she has learned a thing or two in the intervening time, and sometimes she declares that she has changed her mind.

I hope you'll enjoy Fisher's writing, wit, world view, and approach to cooking in challenging times.

The deadline for publishing your post inspired by How to Cook a Wolf is Monday, July 29^th

When you publish your post (or posts), you can link it up by using the inlinkz tool below, or leave a comment to this post or email me at simosite AT mac DOT com. Feel free to use a comment or email message, should you have any questions.

Buon divertimento (have fun)!
Simona

An InLinkz Link-up

Announcing: Our Next Four Cook the Books Selections!

As we dig into our current pick of How to Cook a Wolf by M.F.K. Fisher, hosted by Simona of briciole, it is time to announce the next round of Cook the Books selections, taking us all the way through March of 2014. A wonderful variety we have--two fiction, two non-fiction. We'll travel from Germany to Texas, into our own gardens and backyards, throughout America and all the way to Africa looking for delectable foodie inspiration!

August/September 2013

We will close out the summer traveling from Germany to Texas as Heather of girlichef shares her favorite read of 2012, The Baker's Daughter: A Novel by Sarah McCoy. 

Heather says, "A story that flawlessly weaves the past with the present. Two bakeries. Two countries. Two eras.  We start off the year 1945 with Elsie Schmitt, a teenager who works in her father's bakery in Nazi Germany.  Her life changes forever when an escaped Jewish boy appears on her doorstep on Christmas Eve. Sixty years later in El Paso, Texas, journalist Reba Adams plans on interviewing an older baker from town for a feel-good Christmas story in the local magazine.  Little does she know the impact that speaking with the owner of Elsie's Germany Bakery will have on her outlook of life. Family, forgiveness, strength, and a testament to power of sharing a good loaf of bread.  I hope that you'll take as much inspiration from this novel as I did - I know I can't wait to read it again!"

The deadline for The Baker's Daughter is Monday, September 30th.

-----

October/November 2013

You are what you eat! Rachel, The Crispy Cook, gets us thinking local with her pick of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, by Barbara Kingsolver, Camille Kingsolver and Steven L. Hopp.

 Rachel says, "Barbara Kingsolver is one of America's great modern fiction writers, but in this book, co-authored with her professor husband and recipe-sharing daughter, she provides us with an entertaining, insightful and inspiring memoir of a year spent living la vida loca-vore. The Kingsolver/Hopp family worked hard and conscientiously to eat only what they could grow, raise, gather or buy locally and their adventures in cheesemaking, pumpkin growing and turkey harvesting are all so interesting. Given that our Cook the Book clan is spread out across the globe, I am particularly interested to see what others will be inspired to share from their local bounty." 

The deadline for Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is Monday, November 25th.

-----

December 2013 /January 2014

From thinking local to going global, I (Deb at Kahakai Kitchen) am taking us on a long journey to the recovering African country of Rwanda in Baking Cakes in Kigali: A Novel by Gaile Parkin.  

While poking around a used book store, I picked up a copy of Baking Cakes in Kigali because of its title and cover (always looking for that next CTB foodie book pick!), and found myself getting caught up in the story. Angel Tungararza is a talented cake maker from Tanzania who moves with her husband, who has taken a job at a university, and grandchildren to modern-day Rwanda. Along with baking and selling her cakes, Angel dispenses advice to her customers who come from from all walks of life, listening over cups of tea as they share their stories. At times sad, sometimes humorous, but ultimately a life-affirming and inspiring read with an engaging heroine to love. 

The deadline for Baking Cakes in Kigali is Monday, January 27th.
-----

February/March 2014

Simona of briciole takes us on a foodie journey through America via Twain's Feast: Searching for America's Lost Foods in the Footsteps of Samuel Clemens by Andrew Beahrs.

Simona says, "What foods do Americans miss when they are abroad? Mark Twain's autobiographical book, A Tramp Abroad , written in 1879 while on an extended stay in Europe, includes a scathing assessment of the cuisine offered by European hotels. After negative reviews of pretty much everything he has eaten during his stay, Twain sees the light at the end of the tunnel, since he is getting ready to travel back home, where he is planning to eat: Radishes. Baked apples, with cream. Fried oysters; stewed oysters. Frogs. American coffee, with real cream. He goes on to mention about 80 more American foods from buckwheat cakes to squash pie. On first reading, the list made me think about the menu of a Baroque banquet. In Twain's Feast, Andrew Beahrs "tracked down a number of these American classics, discovering what Twain's experience of them was, what's become of them today, and what's being done to bring them back."

 
The deadline for Twain's Feast is Monday, March 31st.

-----

There you have it—our reading list for the next several months. Start looking in your favorite bookstore, library or on-line for these four books. 

Happy reading, eating and cooking to you all!

Announcing Our Winner for "The Color of Tea!"

If you didn't get a chance to look through the roundup of all the dishes inspired by our April/May pick, "The Color of Tea," yet, I encourage you to do so. With the variety of beautiful baked goods and sweet and savory treats, we almost have the perfect cafe menu of our own! We certainly made the judging process difficult for author Hannah Tunnicliffe, never less, she persevered and we have the results below.

Hannah wrote such a lovely email, I have included in its entirety below:

Dearest Deb, 

Well, I've finally had a thorough read through of all the (incredible!) entries for The Colour of Tea. I have to admit - judging has been more challenging than I imagined. Everyone has gone to such an effort and translated the story, settings and characters in such diverse and personally meaningful ways; I had a really REALLY tough time! If only your Cook the Books club members were a little less creative and talented... ;-)

Right, so, here we go.... I was enchanted by Rachel's tea eggs, even if she wasn't in love with the end result, they looked beautiful and reminded me of the century egg congee I used to eat in Macau (and how pretty they would be for Easter!). Simona's roasted carrot scones looked gorgeous (especially pictured with her homegrown delicate pink rose) as well as tasty; scones are a personal favourite for me too. I was very touched that Ana made pavlova, as it is practically New Zealand's signature dessert and I had never drawn the connection between macarons and pavlova before - very clever! Of course, I loved your raspberry-almond oat bars - the sweetness of raspberry paired with teeth-satisfying firmness, just the sort of treat I'd eat in my "office" too ;-) Then, the tarts from Marla, Louise and Heather - ooooh, I do love a tart... Louise's was the closest to the tart Grace made for Pete in the book but Marla's was so divinely simple and Heather had me at 'smoked sea salt'. Heather had made a delicious tomato tart previously, so I was very impressed she edited using seasonal produce (asparagus) and made yet another delightful tart dish. Danielle had me desperately craving a perfect New York bagel and very happily drawn into her life and loves through her great blog. Debra's macaroons were so versatile - I'm a huge coconut fan and had never thought of making them that way with a space for a filling - delicious genius! 

And now for my two favourites - pomegranate-vanilla macarons with chocolate ganache by Claudia and vanilla-chamomile cremeux by Camilla. Firstly, hats off to Claudia for making macarons! Dark chocolate ganache is my favourite macaron filling, cuts perfectly through their sweetness and pomegranate is a great, unique flavour idea, I'm jealous I didn't think of it myself! I can just imagine the gorgeous pink and brown delights in the glass cabinet at Lillian's. A creation Grace and Gigi would be proud of. And finally, the vanilla-chamomile cremeux. I loved the simplicity of this recipe with the addition of chamomile and topped with some thyme. It was the recipe I most wanted to make and could imagine Grace cooking it with Faith at her side, wearing a tiny apron and dipping her fingers into the cremeux. To me, the macaron and cremeux recipes would be Grace's favourites and somehow represented her life and her future. For that reason these are my two winners and I'd love to send Claudia and Camilla a little New Zealand food-themed prize if they would like to send me their addresses. 

As an aside, I appreciated all the feedback your readers had about The Colour of Tea. I know it is not everyone's style of novel but your readers were gracious in their criticism and genuine and thoughtful with their compliments. I laughed when I read that your readers were frustrated with Grace...I was too! Lol! But that's her - flawed and somewhat obsessive but ultimately looking for love and purpose just like the rest of us. I hope your readers grew to like her like a friend as I did. Regarding the model on the cover, I'm afraid I don't have much of a say in cover design but yes, the model is not a red-head and that amused / confused me too, although I think the overall design is lovely. If there are any other questions or feedback please let you readers know that I love being contacted and have contact forms on websites www.forkandfiction.com and www.hannahtunnicliffe.com. 

A huge big thank you for organising, Deb, and involving me (and The Colour of Tea) in Cook the Books! Let me know if I can help out in any other way; 

Very best wishes, 

Hannah

                 Claudia's Pomegranate-Vanilla Macarons with Chocolate Ganache

Camilla's Vanilla-Chamomile Cremeux

Congratulations to our co-winners Claudia and Camilla! Ladies, if you send me your mailing addresses, I will get them to Hannah so she can send out your special treats. Add your Cook the Books Winner's Badges to your collections proudly! ;-)

A big THANK YOU to Hannah, who not only wrote a terrific book but is also a truly  thoughtful judge and a wonderful person!   

We will have the announcement post with our next four books posted later this week! Until then, we hope you are enjoying into our current selection, "How to Cook a Wolf by M.F.K. Fisher, hosted by Simona.
  

Color Us Delicious: The Cook the Book's Roundup for "The Color of Tea" by Hannah Tunnicliffe

Plenty of delectable sweet and savory bakery and cafe treats are on the menu for the roundup of our April/May selection, "The Color of Tea" by Hannah Tunnicliffe. Cook the Books participants found inspiration in this novel, set in a macaron-filled cafe on the bustling island of Macau China.

 
Get ready for your mouth to water!

MY CTB co-host, Heather of girlichef, enjoyed her second reading of the book and made  an elegant Asparagus Tart saying, "So, since it is full-on Spring, I turned to a veg that is in season right now to make my tart, Asparagus. Half of the slender spears standing at attention, the other half slightly bent to one side, as if swaying to the music...green and dusky purple. I also found a block of Monterey Jack cheese with brilliant red flecks of roasted red peppers inside that I knew needed a place in the tart. Add a little garlic oil...a smattering of black pepper and the smoked sea salt I'm so obsessed with, and it makes Spring seem almost as sensual as Summer."

Although she didn't connect with the book, CTB co-host Simona of briciole found the inspiration to make some savory Roasted Carrot Scones, saying "The scones were inspired by the novel in the sense that they were a reaction to it. They are unadorned, crisp outside and tender inside, a bit rustic, a bit surprising with their nuanced flavor of carrot punctuated by the small pieces of candied ginger, simply irresistible. Scones are traditionally served with tea and without roses, but I was too excited about cutting the first pink rose of the season from my bush not to share it here."  

Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camila found she couldn't put down the book. She got some help from her youngest "kitchen elf" to make these pretty Vanilla-Chamomile Cremeux saying. "This is one of his favorite desserts and one he's made more than once. I almost don't have to help him anymore. But we added some chamomile to the mix, this time around, to fit the 'tea' theme of this post. ... To serve, we topped the cremeux with cookie crumbles and fresh thyme."

Claudia of Honey From Rock enjoyed the book (although she wanted to yell at Grace throughout!), and was the one brave soul willing to take on the much-feared macaron, making these wonderful Pomegranate-Vanilla Macarons with Chocolate Ganache. She says, "I found something new (to me anyway) at the Natural Foods store, Pomegranate powder, and thought that would tint the cookies and help offset that sweetness. ... They were absolutely perfect for my women's OCC Prayer meeting Saturday morning, served with a pot of Thé au Chocolat, a lovely black tea flavored with dark chocolate."  

Debra of Eliot's Eats finds macaroons much more baker-friendly than macaroons and made some Lillan's-worthy Coconut Macaroon Tartlets with Peach-Honey Filling  Chocolate Drizzle. She says, "What a lovely book—truly lovely. ... Macarons scare me but not macaroons. I used to think coconut macaroons were the fanciest cookies we ever made growing up. And, I still needed to use up some more of that stored away jam. I would make macaroon tartlets, fill them with jam  and drizzle them with chocolate.  ... Not macarons, but maybe Grace would have allowed them in the shop."

Danielle of The Growing Foodie plans to make her first macaroons at a cooking class on an upcoming Paris trip so she took on another bakery staple, Mini Homemade Bagels. She says, "I began to think of something comforting I could make with tea that draws on my own life. That's when I got to bagels.  You see, bagels were great breakfast treats when we were growing up.  And we were SPOILED with the best bagels in the world living in New York. When I moved to Boston, I was shocked at what passed for bagels. Okay, sure, I ate them but I craved a good New York bagel. Now that we're in New York, it's about time to make this tasty treat for myself. Pull up a chair next to your best friends, gab and gossip, and have a bagel.  It's good for your soul." 

Marla of Sightsbitsandbites joined in for her second CTB round and says, "i found myself very easily pulled into this story. i’ve imagined myself relocating to a faraway land and starting anew. this is exactly what the main character (grace) does." After conferring with her cooking partner Louise, a pretty Tomato Tart in a Parmesan Crust was on the menu. Marla says, "the main character and her future husband shared a homemade tomato tart the day they met, and the hopeless romantic in me knew that’s what i wanted to make too." 

The other half of the dynamic cooking duo, Louise of Books, Cooks N Clubs, identified with the author--finding many things in common and enjoyed the book saying, "Along this journey, I enjoyed myself thoroughly. The sometimes frustration I felt with Grace  ….   yelling  (with my inside voice) … “oh come on Grace”! Other times I was jumping for joy celebrating her successes right along with her and her friends." About her (first ever!) Roasted Tomato Tart she says, "I’m pleased to announce it was a successful baking adventure, (my husband took a 2nd helping and asked to take leftovers for lunch – he never does leftovers!)"  

Ana of Sweet Almond Tree liked the ability to journey to a place she had heard about in old movies saying, "“Macau…  I may visit one day.”  And just recently, I did.  The trip cost something like 15 US dollars plus tax, and I took it sitting in the comfort of my reading chair." For her dish Ana picked a Pavlova saying, "What is a pavlova I thought, but a deconstructed macaron?  Egg whites, sugar, creamy filling, almonds, fruit.  Take the macaron ingredients apart, rearrange them (which is where the cooking term "deconstructing" comes in handy), and you have a whole new dessert, one in the shape of a pavlova!" 

Rachel, The Crispy Cook and fellow CTB co-host really got into the book once Grace opened her cafe, loving all of the descriptions of Grace's co-workers and customers and saying, "The reader finds out the intriguing back stories of these people and of Grace herself, which makes her a lot of more sympathetic than she was to me at the beginning of the tale." Rachel went the savory route with lovely marbled Tea Eggs, saying, "Reading this book provided the perfect opportunity to finally eggs-periment with making Tea Eggs, as I imagined that might be something found on the menu at Lillian's, Grace's Macau cafe." 

Finally, over at Kahakai KItchen, I lived out my fantasy of my own little cafe & shop vicariously through Grace. For my novel-inspired dish, macaron-making is WAY above my skill set and comfort level, so I opted for another of my favorite coffee shop treats, Raspberry-Almond Oat Bars. Buttery, soft and chewy, with a good combination of sweet cinnamon and tangy raspberry jam, they were just right with a cup of fruity berry-green tea.

With all of these delightful dishes on the menu, I would love to come hang out at our virtual Cook the Books cafe with all of you! Thanks to everyone who joined in this round. I do not envy Hannah Tunnicliffe, the author of "The Color of Tea" and our judge for this round, in having to pick her favorite!

I'll be back soon with the post announcing our next four book choices (after our current selection of How to Cook a Wolf by M.F.K. Fisher and hosted by Simona). Following that will be be our judge's decision and then I'll turn things over to Simona for the next round. 

Stay tuned!