Books to savor

I have a few cookbooks that I really use, such as my much splattered and dog-eared Jeanne Lemlin vegetarian cookbooks – great, simple stuff you can make any weeknight. Then there are those that I’ve spent hours with but never made anything from. Like The Nantucket Table, which a friend gave me. It has great photographs of food and Nantucket scenes and delicious-looking recipes. I love to browse through it in winter and just imagine the tastes and smells of summer on the island. One of these days I’m going to cook something from it.

Another friend just gave me for Christmas the perfect cookbook to read: The Book Lover’s Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by Celebrated Works of Literature and the Passages that Feature Them. I got a little worried about the actual recipes when I saw in the Soups section: "Gruel." Fortunately, it’s just a passage from Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist. The recipe that follows is a fish stew, with a note that says “a bit tastier than gruel.” Looks like a cookbook I’ll be spending some time with (reading at least).

My friend also gave me Augusten Burroughs’ Running with Scissors, which is a memoir sure to make anyone else’s childhood appear sane and functional by comparison. I’m thinking of taking it with me for my upcoming family holiday visit. ;-)

Update: Okay, I've read about 30 pages and I've already decided this is going to be way too disturbing to read. Curious to know if anyone out there has read it. Yikes.

Recipes:
Last night I made a quick Roasted Red Pepper Spread appetizer for a get-together with a couple of friends. Very quick and easy to make. Also made a roasted veggie pizza - roast some veggies, toss them on a pizza crust with sauce and mozzarella and some fresh basil. Yum.

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