These simple formulas nurtured talent, it turns out, and one of the book's many pleasures is reading the frequent assertion that "Mom's cooking is where mine began." Less felicitously handled, the book might feel gimmicky, but Styler keeps his eye on the always compelling relationship of food to family ritual, while presenting ethnically diverse recipes that everyone can use. These include the likes of Ming Tsai's mother's Hoisin Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches; Sara Moulton's mother's Meatball Stroganoff; Rocco DiSpirito's mother's Potato and Green Pepper Frittata; and Jamie Oliver's mother's Rhubarb Daisy Cake."My mother cooked instinctively," writes Nigella Lawson, "and those instincts were always right." Lawson's assertion mirrors many of the others', though there are, amusingly, "dissenting" notes. ("My mother ... was a very good cook," opines food writer Arthur Schwartz, "but she didn't like cooking."). In the end, though, the recipes and their stories convince us of cooking's power to mold and sustain identity. It's a lesson that gains strength the more one reads, and enjoys, this deceptively straightforward book. --Arthur Boehm From Publishers Weekly This Mother's Day book is a marketing coup: what chef doesn't have a mother or grandmother who inspired him or her as a child? And who wouldn't want to hear those stories? That said, this collection transcends its own gimmickry. The chefs' anecdotes are truly engaging, telling of wise and clever female relations ("mother" is loosely defined) who fling wide the doors of their kitchens for their charges like fairy godmothers. These are simple recipes, for the most part-true comfort foods, as remembered by a chef's inner child. (The one predictable exception is Jeremiah Tower, whose idea of a user-friendly recipe is idiosyncratic: "Put a whole small and trimmed codfish that has been boned through the back à la Colbert into the pan.") Most of the recipes-especially Jasper White's Shrimp with Thyme Butter, Sylvia Woods's Biscuits, and Anthony Bourdain's Baked Macaroni-are can't-miss formulas. If there's a prevailing theme, it's belly-filling foods with big flavors, like Grandma Sarah's Lamb and Prune Stew from Rose Levy Beranbaum, or Rocco DiSpirito's Pasta for Breath Only a Mother Could Love. Styler presents the recipes one chef at a time, but a helpful index lists the recipes by course, which is more practical for a browsing cook. The best guarantee that this restaurateur's cookbook will actually be usable at home may be summed up in Joan Nathan's kind advice on making jelly roll cookies: "If you only have only 1 baking sheet, roll, fill, and bake the cookies in 2 batches."

 Hyperion 1-4013-0754-X / 9781401307547
Hardcover As new condition 

Price: 22.05 USD