Then I made up a list for der B, of books I'd like him to order. (All on cookery, of course.)
I think there's a drawback, however, trying to browse books at one of the on-line bookstores. I like holding a book in my hands, flipping through it (well, if it's non-fiction, having learned my lesson with fiction), and seeing if there's enough of interest in the book to warrant my shelling out.
For example, Gourmet magazine has released a thick tome covering sixty years of recipes. Sounds good, right? But, when I saw the book at the bookstore a couple of nights ago, I found it less than pleasing. The names of the recipes, for instance, were printed in a sort of marigold ink, which was hard to read on the white paper. And there were other organizational issues that made me back away.
On the other hand, Anthony Bourdain, novelist, chef and bad boy of repute, has just released his Les Halles Cookbook, covering the recipes from his day job. He made it clear that he was not writing the book for sissies; yes, he does use fish heads when he makes fish stock, and that sort of thing. What I liked when holding the book was how he focused more on method than on exact "recipes," expecting the reader to know how to adapt stuff to their own kitchens. My kind of fellow.
