Tender at the Bone (Book Twenty Five)

Title: Tender at the Bone: Growing up at the Table

Author: Ruth Reichl

Pages: 304

Published: March 2, 1999

Buy the Book: Amazon

Words cannot describe how much I loved this book. I read it all in one day, and I wish it never ended so I'm going to pick up a couple more of Reichl's books.

• For You Mom, Finally
• Comfort Me with Apples: More Adventures at the Table
• Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise
• Not Becoming My Mother: And Other Things She Taught Me Along the Way

In this autobiography, Ruth Reichl, the longtime food critic for the NY Times, now the editor in chief at Gourmet, explains how she came to love food. The book weaves a tapestry of stories, including some about her manic-depressive mother (dubbed the Queen of Mold for serving completely unpalatable dishes), her distant father who brings her an extra grandmother from his previous marriage and her early childhood (how an early trip to Paris and her time spent at a French-Canadian boarding school influenced her tastes) to her adulthood, working in a collaborative kitchen and becoming friends with influential foodies.

She also inserts recipes for key foods along the way. One of my favorites and something I'm going to try next St. Patrick's Day is her mother's Corned Beef Ham.

So go out and read this book. It'll make to laugh, cry and empathize with the writer. Enjoy.

As always, I appreciate your comments or book recommendations. ~Dianna