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(More customer reviews)There was a time when we had real chefs and food writers in America - authentic professionals such as Julia Child, Craig Claiborne, Edna Lewis, M.F.K. Fisher, and Jim Beard (we still have Jacques Pepin!). They were dedicated cooks and bakers - not celebrities bent on spreading themselves too thin to make a profit. They didn't run restaurant chains, endorse second rate merchandise, expose us to their private lives in an effort of self-canonization, or appear on cooking programs that bear more than a passing resemblance to late-night talk shows.
There was a time, too, when good food was served on its own merits, without benefit of complex plated architecture, odd fusions, and intimidating presentations that deter more than delight. (No, I do not regard an egg-sized "foam" of sea scallops surrounded by a dozen strategically placed kernels of corn as a decent meal. Were I subjected to such nonsense, you can bet that on the way home, I'd stop at a Jane-and-Michael Stern approved sandwich dive for a Pepper-and-Egg and please don't forget the fries).
The recipes presented in this volume are straightforward and honest and they maximize the inherent beauty of the ingredients. Beard respected food the way nature delivered it - and he never felt the need to bastardize it in any way. He spoke with near reverence about the sheer beauty of onions and the simplicity of baked rhubarb. Above all, Beard had culinary integrity. He wrote with passion, but his prose is so approachable and comfortable that you feel as though he's sitting across from you at the kitchen table.
Sure, some of Beard's ideas and recipes may seem dated and we probably eat healthier now than in 50s and 60s. If, however, you want to read about a true love of food and its preparation for its own sake, this is a marvelous volume - without the "BAM!", "YUMMO!", or "Y'ALL". Beard was a giant in more ways than one. He was a great teacher who never stopped learning himself. Toward the end of his life, he was put on a restricted diet, which served to make him even more creative - but in ways that made sense. Even before Alice Waters and the Slow Food Movement, Beard believed in eating seasonally and buying locally (Beard hailed from Oregon and never forgot the delicaces and bounty of his childhood). When I get to that Great Dinner Party in the next life, I hope to be invited to the Beard-Child-Claiborne-Fisher-Lewis table, where the food and conversation will truly be a walk in the Elysian Fields.
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The return of a classic food book: James Beard's own selection of his favorite columns and recipes, distilling a lifetime of kitchen wisdom into one volume.In Beard on Food, one of America's great culinary thinkers and teachers collects his best essays, ranging from the perfect hamburger to the pleasures of oxtails, from salad dressing to Sauce Diable. The result is not just a compendium of fabulous recipes and delicious bites of writing. It's a philosophy of food--unfussy, wide-ranging, erudite, and propelled by Beard's exuberance and sense of fun.In a series of short, charming essays, with recipes printed in contrasting type, Beard follows his many enthusiasms, demonstrating how to make everyday foods into delicious meals. Covering meats, vegetables, fish, herbs, and kitchen tools, Beard on Food is both an invaluable reference for cooks and a delightful read for armchair enthusiasts.
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