Extraordinary Foodoir

While I don't like the word "foodoir," memoir is my favorite thing to read and an author who can describe meals, foods, and the cooks they've known is someone we can all relate to. I have never known abandonment, abuse, hunger, poverty, war or the many other horrors that can bedevil the innocent. I have known love via my mom's warm-from-the-oven Vienna Dream Bars, sympathy via a plate of sandwiches friends walked up the driveway the day she died, the magic of Paris via a plate of steak tartare, and the comfort of a long, strong marriage from the feasts Chuck and I prepare at Thanksgiving and Christmas. I can't choose a favorite between Ruth Reichl's TENDER AT THE BONE and Nigel Slater's TOAST. While their childhoods were different from mine, the era, the mood, and the culture of the 1950s and 1960s are so familiar to me. They're both funny, loving, and frank about the times they hated their difficult parent. Written from the perspective of their adult success, their ability to describe taste and technique is unparalleled. Gabrielle Hamilton's BLOOD, BONES, AND BUTTER is beautifully written and won all kinds of awards, but have her over for dinner? Uh-uh. Ruth, whom I've met numerous times and couldn't like more, and Nigel, whom I'd love to know, are my dinner guests from heaven. If only Betty Crocker hadn't discontinued those Vienna Dream Bars!