I love words and I love reading. In fact, I take some pride in the fact that my entertainment of choice as a child was to read a book, as opposed to playing with dolls and doll-houses. I read voraciously all through my childhood and teenage years, and even in young adulthood. Since a few years back though, as an interest and passion for food and eating gradually took hold of me, my early bibliophilia melded with my newfound appreciation for food to result in a tiny explosion of food-related titles in my library.
Generally speaking, I much prefer food writing to cookbooks with little more than recipes in them, though the food porn potential in the latter is quite the lure. Perhaps this stems from me being years away still from having my own kitchen, so recipes do me little good besides inspiring a raging case of kitchen envy. Nevertheless, the occasional gem of a cookbook comes along that catch my fancy, and here is one of my recent acquisitions. I must qualify though that I’m probably the last person fit to judge how good a cookbook is, seeing as I don’t have my own kitchen and am hence unable to cook from the recipes!
Michael Symon (co-authored by Michael Ruhlman) — Live to Cook: Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen
The cover isn’t exactly very appealing one by cookbook standards, but it does sport Symon’s very jolly smile. The bald pate rocks too!
I first read about Michael Symon in Michael Ruhlman’s Soul of a Chef. In it, Ruhlman painted a picture of Symon as a modern-day Big Friendly Giant with an exuberant personality and who also happens to be a wicked chef. I remember Ruhlman writing about how Symon and Liz, his wife-cum-co-owner of Lola, were offering their employees health insurance benefits at a time when restaurant workers were barely getting even minimum wages. And I thought to myself that this couple were really kind and decent employers, and I’m sure their employees must agree unanimously too seeing how many of them have stuck by the Symon empire for years, moving on to helm and cook for new ventures in the group. It really makes for a heartwarming story.
Anyhow, Symon’s distinct personality and background comes through in his prose. He intersperses sections and recipes with stories of how his cooking career has been heavily influenced by his family and heritage (Mediterranean-Easern European). In fact, his mum works at his flagship Lola several times a week and his dad helps with the books. I like too that the recipes are hearty, homey fare; all those porky recipes call out to me so bad. He imparts lots of kitchen advice and tips to improve cooking techniques, and also offers suggestions for substitutions.
Most of all, I appreciate his integrity. He talks about how he respects and loves risotto but ultimately made the difficult decision of not putting it on his menus. He said, “I respect risotto so much that I don’t serve it at the restaurant. It’s not difficult but I don’t believe you can par-cook it and I’m not set up to do it properly in a restaurant setting. Risotto requires commitment from the cook to take it from start to finish, so I only make it at home where it is nothing but a pleasure.”
He is also practical, which home cooks will appreciate. I’ve read about it in Ruhlman’s writing before but Symon reiterates in this book that “If I can’t finish a dish in two pans, I won’t do it”, a philosophy necessary to to turn food and tables fast without busting a particular price point.
When I do get my own kitchen, I seriously can’t wait to start cooking from this cookbook!
