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A Feast of Words
7 Food-Centric Books to Feed Your Body and Mind / BY Athena McKenzie / November 19th, 2021
From a celebrity memoir to narrative cookbooks — and even a cuisine-based exploration of classic fairy tales — these reads offer tempting culinary adventures.
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1 My Life Through FoodBeloved internet boyfriend and celebrated actor Stanley Tucci is also a successful cookbook author, sharing his Italian-American family’s recipes in The Tucci Cookbook and The Tucci Table. His new book is a memoir that explores his life in and out of the kitchen, building the narrative around his experiences with food, with some of his favourite recipes sprinkled throughout.
Recipe to try: Ragù Tucci, his family’s traditional take on the sauce.
Beloved internet boyfriend and celebrated actor Stanley Tucci is also a successful cookbook author, sharing his Italian-American family’s recipes in The Tucci Cookbook and The Tucci Table. His new book is a memoir that explores his life in and out of the kitchen, building the narrative around his experiences with food, with some of his favourite recipes sprinkled throughout.
Recipe to try: Ragù Tucci, his family’s traditional take on the sauce.
2Linda McCartney's Family KitchenMeat-free cooking is now so popular, it’s easy to forget it’s a recent movement. More than 30 years ago, the late Linda McCartney was a trailblazer in the field, advocating for the environmental and cruelty-free benefits of plant-based diets. She shared this passion around her family table, and now her husband Paul and daughters Mary and Stella McCartney have reinvented her best-loved recipes, presenting them alongside intimate family stories and photos.
Recipe to try: Deep Dish Pie, a vegan approach to the savory British dish, with vegan meatballs and puff pastry.
Meat-free cooking is now so popular, it’s easy to forget it’s a recent movement. More than 30 years ago, the late Linda McCartney was a trailblazer in the field, advocating for the environmental and cruelty-free benefits of plant-based diets. She shared this passion around her family table, and now her husband Paul and daughters Mary and Stella McCartney have reinvented her best-loved recipes, presenting them alongside intimate family stories and photos.
Recipe to try: Deep Dish Pie, a vegan approach to the savory British dish, with vegan meatballs and puff pastry.
3Black FoodMemphis-based chef and activist Bryant Terry, author of Vegetable Kingdom, has put together this stunning compilation that celebrates food with African origins through poetry, essays and artwork. It includes contributions from more than 100 Black cultural luminaries from around the world, exploring the Black experience from Homeland to Migration, Spirituality to Black Future.
Recipe to try: Jerk Chicken Ramen, from Toronto-based chef Suzanne Barr.
Memphis-based chef and activist Bryant Terry, author of Vegetable Kingdom, has put together this stunning compilation that celebrates food with African origins through poetry, essays and artwork. It includes contributions from more than 100 Black cultural luminaries from around the world, exploring the Black experience from Homeland to Migration, Spirituality to Black Future.
Recipe to try: Jerk Chicken Ramen, from Toronto-based chef Suzanne Barr.
4Fairytale Cooking: Delicious Dishes Inspired by The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Aladdin, and Other Classic CharactersFood stylist and recipe developer Alexander Höss-Knakal, who is based in Austria, channels the wonder of fairy tales in this delightful recipe collection. While lamb tagines “fit for the sultan’s palace in Aladdin” and opulent parfaits for the ball in Cinderella may seem daunting, these 60 recipes were created with the home cook in mind.
Recipe to try: Tomato and zucchini tarte tatin, inspired by Beauty and the Beast.
Food stylist and recipe developer Alexander Höss-Knakal, who is based in Austria, channels the wonder of fairy tales in this delightful recipe collection. While lamb tagines “fit for the sultan’s palace in Aladdin” and opulent parfaits for the ball in Cinderella may seem daunting, these 60 recipes were created with the home cook in mind.
Recipe to try: Tomato and zucchini tarte tatin, inspired by Beauty and the Beast.
5The Official Downton Abbey Cookbook CollectionIf the new Downton Abbey trailer has you craving a taste of life above the stairs, you’re in luck. A new gift set includes the Downton Abbey Christmas Cookbook and the Downton Abbey Official Cookbook, with recipes for the quintessential delicacies of Edwardian England and the proper way to serve them. You’ll have everything you need to host a proper gathering – although a full staff isn’t included.
Recipe to try: Figgy Pudding, a holiday classic.
If the new Downton Abbey trailer has you craving a taste of life above the stairs, you’re in luck. A new gift set includes the Downton Abbey Christmas Cookbook and the Downton Abbey Official Cookbook, with recipes for the quintessential delicacies of Edwardian England and the proper way to serve them. You’ll have everything you need to host a proper gathering – although a full staff isn’t included.
Recipe to try: Figgy Pudding, a holiday classic.
6The Cocktail Workshop:An Essential Guide to Classic Drinks and How to Make Them Your OwnElevate your home happy hour with a well-crafted libation. The team behind Philadelphia’s inventive alcohol brand Art in the Age have created a guide to making 20 foundational cocktails. Presenting iconic drinks like the daiquiri and the old-fashioned as building blocks, the guide expands the reader’s knowledge base as it moves through each drink, offering real skills, like the proper way to dry shake an egg-white cocktail.
Recipe to try: Pisco Sour, to use those new shaking skills.
Elevate your home happy hour with a well-crafted libation. The team behind Philadelphia’s inventive alcohol brand Art in the Age have created a guide to making 20 foundational cocktails. Presenting iconic drinks like the daiquiri and the old-fashioned as building blocks, the guide expands the reader’s knowledge base as it moves through each drink, offering real skills, like the proper way to dry shake an egg-white cocktail.
Recipe to try: Pisco Sour, to use those new shaking skills.
7Hearth & Home: Cook, Share, and Celebrate Family-StyleOpening their own restaurants separately in London and New York, and then together in Toronto, Lynn Crawford and her partner Lora Kirk learned how to make complex meals for hundreds of people. At home, the couple opts for the uncomplicated – but, as they say in the introduction, that doesn’t mean the dishes lack creativity, flavour or integrity. These recipes embrace simple, straightforward and delicious ingredients to make memorable meals.
Recipe to try: Tuna Poke Tostadas, to bring a taste of Hawaii to your Canadian winter.
Opening their own restaurants separately in London and New York, and then together in Toronto, Lynn Crawford and her partner Lora Kirk learned how to make complex meals for hundreds of people. At home, the couple opts for the uncomplicated – but, as they say in the introduction, that doesn’t mean the dishes lack creativity, flavour or integrity. These recipes embrace simple, straightforward and delicious ingredients to make memorable meals.
Recipe to try: Tuna Poke Tostadas, to bring a taste of Hawaii to your Canadian winter.