Chris's Reviews > Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen

This was my second read on this book. While I enjoyed it, I also felt like perhaps me, as a cook, has changed. Or me as a reader has changed. Maybe I've read too many incredible food memoirs in the meantime, or my skills have improved. This time I sort of felt like I was getting advice from a 1970s earth mother in a room with a spider plant. This is not to say I didn't identify with her ("Because I am always hungry, I myself eschew hors d'oeuvres. When they come my way, I eat too many and then I am full by the time I reach the table. This does not, however, prevent me from cleaning my plate and then I am angry at myself for eating too much.") Ah, this is me. This is also not to say I didn't take away nuggets of wisdom: "Always try everything even it turns out to be a dud. We learn by doing. If you never stuff a chicken with paté, you will never know that it is an unwise thing to do, and if you never buy zucchini flowers you will never know that you are missing one of the glories of life."

Reading this was like having a friend in the kitchen, talking ever so quietly to you as you cook. Maybe I've been reading too much Melissa Clark, who is a "louder" talker to me in the kitchen, and who is fresh, young, daring, and adventurous. While I enjoyed reading this and didn't give one thought to putting it down, I was a little disappointed it didn't affect me like it did the first time I read it. Sometimes, you CAN'T go home again.