Not every cookbook has more to read than recipes and pantry stocking ideas. So in a way this reminded me of Nigel Slater’s Kitchen Dairies (love that book!) which also, in a different way, gives you context around the recipes. In this book, however, the context for each recipe is a memory.

It’s a eulogy to her father, a memoir of her childhood, a record of courtship with her now husband, and a engaging testament to the importance certain meals can take on due to the events surrounding them.

Great quote (I’m sure you’ll know why I like it):
I soon learned that Sam consumes books the way most of us consume food, which, though I do prefer to eat, is a quality I much admire.

A discussed, but not present recipe I hope is on her web site somewhere: the chocolate “rad” (cookie).

Recipes I have dog-eared to potentially try first: Bouchons au Thon, Rum Cream Pie with Graham Cracker Crust, Chana Masala, Custard-Filled Corn Bread, Pistachio Cake with Honeyed Apricots.

Place I need to go in Paris: L’As due Fallafel, “purveyor of some of the finest fried chickpea balls this side of Israel.”