If you peek under this meal you will find yourself in a number of other countries, immersed in other cuisines. As you look around your table—at which are seated, if you are lucky, congenial people from everywhere—you will realize the genius of American cooking and the secret of American life: a little bit of everything from everywhere put together to make something new and original. (128) More Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin
The New York Times ran an article this week on Laurie Colwin, author of Home Cooking and More Home Cooking. I am a proud owner of both works which combine recipes, memories, and kitchen anecdotes well ahead of the food revolution of the new millennium. Each reads as one is having an engaging conversation at the kitchen table with the author. Add them to your collection or gift them to someone else who will come to appreciate them as much as I do.
I am finally completing my small soup cookbook and was reminded by this article how Laurie Colwin's words resonate with me. So, I am wrapping up soup and returning to baking bread and remembering the far greater meaning I find in a well-prepared meal shared at a communal table and the authentic connections created by artisanal food.No matter how hard we work, we must also eat. To sit down with family and friends to a good meal is nourishing not only to the body but to the spirit. If our world is heartless, we must start somewhere. A bowl of soup and a piece of good bread provide a haven and help us get back that sense of a family dinner and a homemade meal. (142) More Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin
