My favorite (and most used) cookbooks are A Platter of Figs and Heart of the Artichoke, by David Tanis. Accessible, deliciously written and photographed, not to mention both inspiring and educational (but not preachy!), the sentiments of the books as well as the recipes are soul-and-stomach-satisfying. That being said, I was absolutely giddy when I found out that David Tanis would be writing a regular column for the New York Times. And celebrating cooking in small city kitchens no less!
I think that the summertime launch of his column was perfect, his simple recipes make summer produce shine, while allowing the cook to remain perspiration-free. His writing is relaxed, conversational, smart, straightforward, intuitive, and informative while remaining retaining his unique sense of romance and imagination and above all else his sincere and obvious love of cooking.
In his article, "Chicken, Simmered and Chilled," he recommends buying "the best chicken you can, even if it costs more (it will). Factory chickens always taste flabby no matter what you do. Choose a free-range bird for the flavor, the food politics and not least, the muscular thighs." For me that says it all. It's not pretentious, but informative. Encouraging, but not critical, and, mainly, focused on a desire for simple deliciousness.
What I love is that he gives you information in such a way that you can make your own (educated) decisions, while making you happy to take his advice, because you know why he gave it. And he makes it sound so good. Take a look at his columns for City Kitchen, I dare you not to get hungry.
No comments:
Post a Comment