One of the great pleasures in writing about food is reading a lot of cookbooks. I’m not talking about choosing a recipe and cooking from a book, but rather sitting in a comfy armchair and letting a great writer and storyteller take me to another place, another time, or another culture through their love of the food.
I also read cookbooks to learn more about a particular food, technique, or cuisine. Many of these are stored in my Kindle Fire ebook reader. They offer the perfect alternative reading material when waiting for an appointment or putting in miles on the treadmill on a stormy day. Often essays open chapters or sidebars and tell a story about a recipe’s origin, ingredients, or the person who taught the writer to make the dish.
Acquiring Great Cookbooks
My first choice for acquiring a cookbook is the Boston Public Library (BPL). Buying cookbooks is expensive and storing them requires more space than I have. Therefore I audition potential purchases.
Many times I enjoy the BPL copy and use it to inspire a piece of writing or make notes for future reference. I can borrow it again if I need it.
However some books are so addicting that I will refer to them often, and so popular that I may have to wait to have the library copy longer or borrow it again.
These go onto my wishlist. A recent example is, “My Kitchen in Rome: Recipes and Notes on Italian Cooking” by Rachel Roddy. After reading a few rave reviews by colleagues I respect, I borrowed the ebook from the library. ( I have since purchased the Kindle version)
I read and reread this book in a weekend. Roddy took me to her neighborhood in the Testaccio quarter of Rome and introduced me to the neighbors, vendors, streets, sights, sounds, and aromas she discovered. She tempted me to make the food she learned to make and to enjoy the culture.
It went on my wish list. At that time, the ebook price was not much less than the hardcover price. When the price finally dropped, I added it to my Kindle collection.
More of my favorite cookbooks like this one will be in upcoming posts.
In writing about this book for the James Beard Foundation, Maggie Borden praised it as a, “… masterful exploration of the contributions of African-American women to our nation's culinary landscape. Pages after pages of reproduced archival materials and recipes upend the historical stereotype of black women in the kitchen as illiterate ‘Aunt Jemimas,’ proving how instrumental these oft-ignored chefs were to our dinners and diets.”
Toni Tipton-Martin said about her research, "I eventually owned nearly 300 African American cookbooks …" dating back to 1827. Her work set me on my own search for food writing and cookbooks that would help me better understand the African American contribution to our shared food culture.
Building Houses Out of Chicken Legs
Building Houses Out of Chicken Legs by Psyche A. Williams-Forson examines the roles that chicken, both as the bird and the food, has played in the lives of black women from the past to the present. For some women, chicken led to economic freedom and independence.
This one is not a cookbook but is a fascinating read and, in some ways, connects the others on this list with one food, chicken. This connection with the food lore of the past came to my attention in a contemporary cookbook, Red Rooster by Marcus Samuelsson.
Samuelsson’s cookbook is about far more than recipes, just as his Harlem restaurant Red Rooster is as much about community as it is about food. Each section begins with an essay about some aspect of the multi-dimensional mission that Red Rooster represents to him and his team.
Chicken plays a starring role in his restaurant and his book as he tells of his two year obsession with creating the perfect fried chicken dish that would be worthy of the Harlem chicken tradition.
In an interesting connection to the The Jemima Code, the basement supper club is named Ginny’s after a woman from Harlem who worked for his partner’s family. He wants it to be a place where all the Ginnys would feel welcome.
No list on this topic would be complete without a book by chef and food writer Edna Lewis. Her New York Times obituary recalled an earlier interview in which she said, "As a child in Virginia, I thought all food tasted delicious. After growing up, I didn't think food tasted the same, so it has been my lifelong effort to try and recapture those good flavors of the past." With this in mind, I suggest you read her book, “The Taste of Country Cooking.”
While this column was introduced as a reading list, it is also a cooking list, and I hope you will try some of the recipes and/or menus you come across. All of these books are available from the Boston Public Library.
As a bonus for this online version of this Fresh & Local newspaper column, we have not only linked to the books on Amazon, but also to each author's page, making this a more extensive reading list in case you already know the specific books we selected to feature here.
In writing about this book for the James Beard Foundation, Maggie Borden praised it as a, “… masterful exploration of the contributions of African-American women to our nation's culinary landscape. Pages after pages of reproduced archival materials and recipes upend the historical stereotype of black women in the kitchen as illiterate ‘Aunt Jemimas,’ proving how instrumental these oft-ignored chefs were to our dinners and diets.”
Toni Tipton-Martin said about her research, "I eventually owned nearly 300 African American cookbooks …" dating back to 1827. Her work set me on my own search for food writing and cookbooks that would help me better understand the African American contribution to our shared food culture.
Building Houses Out of Chicken Legs
Building Houses Out of Chicken Legs by Psyche A. Williams-Forson examines the roles that chicken, both as the bird and the food, has played in the lives of black women from the past to the present. For some women, chicken led to economic freedom and independence.
This one is not a cookbook but is a fascinating read and, in some ways, connects the others on this list with one food, chicken. This connection with the food lore of the past came to my attention in a contemporary cookbook, Red Rooster by Marcus Samuelsson.
Samuelsson’s cookbook is about far more than recipes, just as his Harlem restaurant Red Rooster is as much about community as it is about food. Each section begins with an essay about some aspect of the multi-dimensional mission that Red Rooster represents to him and his team.
Chicken plays a starring role in his restaurant and his book as he tells of his two year obsession with creating the perfect fried chicken dish that would be worthy of the Harlem chicken tradition.
In an interesting connection to the The Jemima Code, the basement supper club is named Ginny’s after a woman from Harlem who worked for his partner’s family. He wants it to be a place where all the Ginnys would feel welcome.
No list on this topic would be complete without a book by chef and food writer Edna Lewis. Her New York Times obituary recalled an earlier interview in which she said, "As a child in Virginia, I thought all food tasted delicious. After growing up, I didn't think food tasted the same, so it has been my lifelong effort to try and recapture those good flavors of the past." With this in mind, I suggest you read her book, “The Taste of Country Cooking.”
While this column was introduced as a reading list, it is also a cooking list, and I hope you will try some of the recipes and/or menus you come across. All of these books are available from the Boston Public Library.
As a bonus for this online version of this Fresh & Local newspaper column, we have not only linked to the books on Amazon, but also to each author's page, making this a more extensive reading list in case you already know the specific books we selected to feature here.
The photo below is the best one I could find of the long lost, South Boston, City Point Head House. Yes it is possible to grieve for something you have never seen or known. How I would have loved to have seen and photographed this building.
The Head House was designed by Architect Edmond Marsh Wheelwright and built circa 1897. Wheelwright is one of the most important names in Boston's architectural history. While this gingerbread gem is gone, his work survives in landmarks throughout the area. (Some of his papers are in the BPL Fine Arts Department Haven and Hoyt Collection.)
Histories of South Boston refer to the popularity of this beach and this building. In addition to restrooms, changing rooms, and offices, the building contained restaurants.
A partly covered pier extended out into the bay. I've been trying to determine if ferries served this pier.
What Happened to the Head House?
Both the pier and the building were damaged in the Hurricane of 1938. In the early morning of December 5, 1942, a 2-alarm fire at the building damaged it further, and what remained was torn down.
The photo below is the best one I could find of the long lost, South Boston, City Point Head House. Yes it is possible to grieve for something you have never seen or known. How I would have loved to have seen and photographed this building.
The Head House was designed by Architect Edmond Marsh Wheelwright and built circa 1897. Wheelwright is one of the most important names in Boston's architectural history. While this gingerbread gem is gone, his work survives in landmarks throughout the area. (Some of his papers are in the BPL Fine Arts Department Haven and Hoyt Collection.)
Histories of South Boston refer to the popularity of this beach and this building. In addition to restrooms, changing rooms, and offices, the building contained restaurants.
A partly covered pier extended out into the bay. I've been trying to determine if ferries served this pier.
What Happened to the Head House?
Both the pier and the building were damaged in the Hurricane of 1938. In the early morning of December 5, 1942, a 2-alarm fire at the building damaged it further, and what remained was torn down.
With our minds thirsting for color, we watch for the first leaves of what will soon be a display of tulips to poke through the ground. But we give little thought to the people who worked in the fall to plant those bulbs. In the Boston Public Garden that tradition of planting in the fall to give us beauty in the spring has gone on for years.
Here from photographer Leslie Jones is his picture titled, Public Garden Signs of Spring. (Date created: 1917 – 1934 approximate) (Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.)
Notice the skyline with just the Custom House Tower showing on George Washington's right.
For the now version, here's a photo Penny took in November of 2012 for a newspaper assignment. Her caption was, "Bob Denn and Danny Mullins from the Boston Parks Department plant the bulbs that will burst into colorful beds next spring near the Public Garden’s Arlington Street entrance."
Of course city workers aren't the only ones who toil to bring us beauty. Here's another shot that was featured on the front page of the Back Bay Sun with the caption, "As temperatures dipped, gardener Susan Juretschke (right) and Violet Byrd spent their days planting bulbs in Back Bay gardens. A few months from now, their work will deliver the first sign of spring as snowdrops, crocus, tulips, daffodils, and more push their way through the earth and snow."
As the sprouts shoot up and the flowers pop, we say thanks to all those who labor to plant bulbs in the fall for us to enjoy in the spring.
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Over the years, some of the statues that were once in the Boston Public Garden have been replaced. One with an interesting story was the Mother and Child by sculptor, Isidore Konti.
I was curious about what happened to this statue and why it was eventually replaced by the Boy and the Bird.
From the archives of the Boston Globe, I learned that, “The statue was first placed there by the Art Commission in 1912 as one of a number of ‘fountain statues’ exhibited on the Public Garden that summer.” The Park Commission decided that this marble fountain was too fragile to maintain in an outdoor setting.
Groups of citizens including the Metropolitan Improvement League and the Boston City Club had tried to raise the $2500 needed to keep the statue but failed. On May 13th, 1916, it was shipped back to Buffalo, NY to the sculptor.
Over the years, some of the statues that were once in the Boston Public Garden have been replaced. One with an interesting story was the Mother and Child by sculptor, Isidore Konti.
I was curious about what happened to this statue and why it was eventually replaced by the Boy and the Bird.
From the archives of the Boston Globe, I learned that, “The statue was first placed there by the Art Commission in 1912 as one of a number of ‘fountain statues’ exhibited on the Public Garden that summer.” The Park Commission decided that this marble fountain was too fragile to maintain in an outdoor setting.
Groups of citizens including the Metropolitan Improvement League and the Boston City Club had tried to raise the $2500 needed to keep the statue but failed. On May 13th, 1916, it was shipped back to Buffalo, NY to the sculptor.
Most of us have passed or viewed the former Riverbank Court Hotel without a second thought about its history.
Here it is as the Riverbank Court Hotel in the early 1900s. (This photo by Leslie Jones is courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection. Dated: 1934 – 1956 approximate)
Here it is today as Fariborz Maseeh Hall, an MIT residence located at 305 Memorial Drive.
This property found its way onto our "Then and Now" list because a photo of it from American Architect and Building News (January 1, 1901) keeps showing up on eBay labeled Charlesbank.
MIT has owned the building since 1937. In 1969, the building was included in the Historic American Building Survey. From that survey we know the history of ownership based on the Middlesex County Registry of deeds.
"1900 J. Whitman Bailey buys land at 305 Memorial Drive from Embankment Land Co. for the use of Samuel Carr, Francis Peabody, Jr., and Benjamin P. Hyde as trustees of the Riverbank Court Trust, established January 1, 1900. Deed Book £798, p. 220."
"1905 Albert S. Apsey and Hales W. Suter acquire land and buildings after foreclosure of Riverbank Court Trust's mortgage to Mercantile Trust Co. Deed Book 31*43, p. lUo."
"1905 Riverbank Court Hotel Co. acquires land and buildings and in 1906 registers property. Deed Book31^3,P-lW;Land Reg. Book6,p.593."
"1937 Massachusetts Institute of Technology purchases land and buildings. Land Reg. Book 28U, p. 197.:
It also listed the architect as H.B. Ball and set the date of construction at 1900.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!
Most of us have passed or viewed the former Riverbank Court Hotel without a second thought about its history.
Here it is as the Riverbank Court Hotel in the early 1900s. (This photo by Leslie Jones is courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection. Dated: 1934 – 1956 approximate)
Here it is today as Fariborz Maseeh Hall, an MIT residence located at 305 Memorial Drive.
This property found its way onto our "Then and Now" list because a photo of it from American Architect and Building News (January 1, 1901) keeps showing up on eBay labeled Charlesbank.
MIT has owned the building since 1937. In 1969, the building was included in the Historic American Building Survey. From that survey we know the history of ownership based on the Middlesex County Registry of deeds.
"1900 J. Whitman Bailey buys land at 305 Memorial Drive from Embankment Land Co. for the use of Samuel Carr, Francis Peabody, Jr., and Benjamin P. Hyde as trustees of the Riverbank Court Trust, established January 1, 1900. Deed Book £798, p. 220."
"1905 Albert S. Apsey and Hales W. Suter acquire land and buildings after foreclosure of Riverbank Court Trust's mortgage to Mercantile Trust Co. Deed Book 31*43, p. lUo."
"1905 Riverbank Court Hotel Co. acquires land and buildings and in 1906 registers property. Deed Book31^3,P-lW;Land Reg. Book6,p.593."
"1937 Massachusetts Institute of Technology purchases land and buildings. Land Reg. Book 28U, p. 197.:
It also listed the architect as H.B. Ball and set the date of construction at 1900.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!
from here to support this site!