Pass the Polenta: And Other Writings from the Kitchen, with Recipes

If you love food and cooking, you will adore this well-written and fascinting book. It has some wonderful recipes (try her way of "assembling" polenta and gorgonzola and you'll never eat it any other way!) but it's her essays that make this book so special. She writes lovingly about food, and shares great insights into the world of cooking and 'gourmet' restaurants (for example: "It is a long-standing sentiment among professional chefs that American recipes, while quaint and cozy, really do need to be sent off to finishing school abroad before they can appear in public. I suppose they aren't elegant enough for your average gourmand. Yet what is a French meringue but a mess of egg whites? Or creme brulee but a bowl of pudding?") Ain't it the truth!This is one "cookbook" that belongs on the literature shelf -- yet it also has some of the best recipes I've found.Buy it ... read it ... use it.

Lust has intoxicated me with her writing where words strung together become magnificent aromas, memories of familial kitchen ethnic cooking, raising chickens, Pop's garden, and life growing up in the kitchen where everything was prepared fresh, from scratch, and with favorite family recipes. She has brought to my mind a memorable collection of essays on culinary subjects that everyone who loves to eat would love to read about, and especially in the way that she writes. She alivens the soul to once again slow down and experience preparing hearty food with love and care. "...Polenta" is definately a 5. Thank you Teresa for writing such an inspirational and touching book... and so young you are! Please write more!

Outstanding food essays. I want every food lover I know to read it, but I can't bear to part with my copy. It is not leaving my kitchen. The essays are informative, entertaining, and mouth-watering. If you love a good meal, this book with put a smile on your face.

In 16 essays Teresa Lust, ranges from home cooking to food history to the trade of learning in a professional kitchen. Her chapter, Fueling the Passions, alone is worth the price of the book. And after reading The Daily Grind, you'll always watch your order at a coffee bar. Excellent.

Teresa Lust is a wonderful writer whose table I would love to dine at. Her stories are sensitive, informative, and engaging. Between smiles and tears I was hungry at every turn of the page. I can't wait to try out a few of these recipes and I will certainly be passing this book on to friends. Please write another one!