Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen

by Laurie Colwin
Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen cover
Good Books rating 4.17
Buy online
Waterstones
Paperback • £14.99
Amazon
Format/Price Check
Technical
  • ID: 1034
  • Added: 2025-09-24
  • Updated: 2025-09-24
  • Formats: 21
  • Reviews: 3
Reviews
app.thestorygraph.com · Unknown · 2025-10-01
delightful 4.50

Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin is a charming collection of essays that blend storytelling with food, offering a nostalgic and humorous look at cooking and entertaining. The book is relatable and witty, making it a delightful read for anyone who enjoys good writing and food.

Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin is a unique and endearing collection of essays that combine storytelling with food. The book is a series of memoir short stories centered around Colwin's adventures and misadventures in the kitchen, spanning her young adulthood to motherhood. It's big-city, twentieth-century, and a bit academic, with a cast of characters that come and go, interacting with Colwin's food and hospitality. The essays are humorous, relatable, and witty, making it a delightful read for anyone who enjoys good writing and food. The book includes sparse but amazing recipes, and Colwin's approachable and observant voice makes it a joy to read. It's a celebration of entertaining and communal eating, which might be a bit torturous to read during quarantine if you're craving social gatherings. Overall, it's a fantastic book for foodies and those who appreciate well-written, humorous essays.

Quick quotes

    When people enter the kitchen, they often drag their childhood with them

    It is perfectly possible to cook well with very little

    It is wise to keep in mind that pots and pans are like sweaters: you may have lots of them, but you find yourself using two or three over and over again

jacquiwine.wordpress.com · Unknown · 2021-10-03
delightful 4.50

Home Cooking is a delightful collection of essays, recipes, and reflections on simple yet delicious dishes. The writing is warm, generous, and down-to-earth, making it feel like having a friendly conversation over dinner. Passion and Affect features beautifully written short stories about quiet, unshowy people searching for happiness, with a dry and humorous style.

Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen is a wonderful collection of essays, recipes, and reflections on the joys of simple yet delicious dishes. The book weaves together Colwin's recipes, anecdotes, and sage advice on cooking and sharing food with friends. It feels like having your warmest, smartest, funniest friend over for dinner, sharing culinary tricks and treats alongside kitchen disasters. The recipes are achievable and include family favorites like Warm Potato Salad with Fried Red Peppers and Extremely Easy Old-Fashioned Beef Stew. Colwin's writing style is warm, generous, and down-to-earth, making the book a delight to read. Passion and Affect is a collection of short stories about quiet, unshowy people drifting through life, searching for happiness or fulfillment. Colwin writes with a kind of humanity that makes her characters recognizable despite their strangeness. The stories are bittersweet, with a dry and frequently direct style of humor. Some pieces resonate more strongly than others, but overall, the collection is beautifully written and memorable.

Quick quotes

    Orzo with butter and grated cheese is very nice. Orzo with a little ricotta, some chopped parsley and scallion, butter and cheese, is even better. Orzo with chopped broccoli and broccoli di rape is heaven, and it is also a snap. While you cook the orzo, steam the two broccolis — the amounts depend entirely on how many people you are feeding — until tender. Chop and set aside. Drain the orzo throw in a lump of butter. Stir it in, add the broccoli, some fresh black pepper and some grated cheese, and you have a side dish fit for a visiting dignitary from a country whose politics you admire. (pp. 85-86).

    The old-fashioned fish bake was a terrifying production. Someone in the family had gone fishing and had pulled up a number of smallish fish — no one was sure what kind. These were partially cleaned and not thoroughly scaled and then flung into a roasting pan. Perhaps to muffle their last screams, they were smothered in a thick blanket of sour cream and then pelted with raw chopped onion. As the coup de grâce, they were stuck in a hot oven for a brief period of time until their few juices run out and the sour cream had a chance to become grainy. With this we were served boiled frozen peas and a salad with iceberg lettuce. (p. 153)

    Holly was impeccable: she had not opted for neatness, it had been thrust upon her by nature. She had simple, unadorned features, and thick straight hair that fell unalterably to her shoulders. Clothes on her looked somehow cleaner and more starched than they did on other people. (p. 89)

devontrevarrowflaherty.com · Unknown · 2020-12-13
mixed 3.50

Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin is praised for its comforting and practical advice on cooking, with many readers enjoying its conversational style. However, some found the writing lacking in vividness and lyricism, making it less appealing. The book is best enjoyed by those who share a passion for cooking and appreciate down-to-earth, homely advice.

Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin is often described as a comforting and practical guide to cooking, with many readers appreciating its conversational style. The book offers advice on various cooking topics, from throwing a dinner party to making potato salad, and includes personal anecdotes and observations. While many readers enjoy the homely and straightforward approach, others find the writing lacking in vividness and lyricism. The book is particularly enjoyed by those who have an interest in cooking and appreciate down-to-earth advice. The chapter on English food is highlighted as a standout, with accurate observations about English cuisine. Overall, the book's appeal depends on the reader's preference for conversational and practical cooking advice.

Quick quotes

    Home Cooking is all that - Colwin is practical, straightforward and dishes out advice on cooking honed from years of experimenting in the kitchen.

    I love sitting on a squishy couch, cup of coffee in hand, to chat with a good friend. I'm not sure I would want to read a transcript or a narrative of that chat.

    What we call heavy cream, they get for free on top of their unhomogenized milk.

Appears in Lists