Julie & Julia
Julie Powell
Little, Brown, $23.95
Powell, 29 and sick of her dead-end career as a temp, sets out to cook
all 524 recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in
one year.
Culinary Philosophy French cooking doesn't have to be stuffy, as ''Bitch Rice'' (Powell's term
for riz à l'Indienne) proves.
Gratuitous Food Porn ''The crunch of the mustard-spiked crust somehow brings the unctuous
smooth richness of the liver into sharp relief.''
Lowdown Spirited and funny, Powell leaves us hungry for more. A
Don't Try This at Home
Edited by Kimberly Witherspoon
Bloomsbury, $24.95
Top chefs like Anthony Bourdain and Mario Batali recount their worst
cooking disasters.
Culinary Philosophy The meal must go on — despite eels loose in the kitchen or foie gras
dropped in chocolate.
Gratuitous Food Porn ''The bird's interior succulence [was] offset by its startlingly crisped, salted, bronzed skin....''
Lowdown Though some tales are as bland as toast, most make you feel the oven's
heat. B+
The Hungry Years
William Leith
Gotham, $25
After interviewing low-carb guru Dr. Robert Atkins, the Brit journalist
humorously explores his dysfunctional relationship with food (and booze
and women).
Culinary Philosophy It's not how much you eat, but why.
Gratuitous Food Porn ''I tried Jarlsberg, and Gruyère, and Appenzell, which is creamy and
slightly foul or mildly rotten at the same time, seductive and punitive,
and therefore rather addictive....''
Lowdown Palatable, but needs some fat trimmed. B
Judgment of Paris
George M. Taber
Scribner, $26
In 1976, two unknown California wines upset the best French vineyards in
a now legendary blind test.
Culinary Philosophy Years of hard labor, and a bit of luck, are required to produce a fine
glass of vin.
Gratuitous Food Porn ''The small berries Tchelistcheff picked were a deep purple, with a light
gray, waxy coating that rubbed off easily... 'Honey. This tastes like
honey,' he said.''
Lowdown A vivid, robust story that goes down smoothly. A
