Food, Well Done

Jeffrey Steingarten has been a food writer and restaurant critic at Vogue magazine and a judge on Iron Chef America. He's a witty, intelligent writer with an unequaled passion for eating, cooking, and finding the perfect recipe for any dish, whether it be french fries, steak, puff pastry or hot chocolate. In It Must Have Been Something I Ate, a collection of his food essays following on the heels of his first excellent book, The Man Who Ate Everything, Steingarten waxes philosophical about beef marrow, baguettes, and cooking gourmet food for his dog. He perfects the roasted chicken and explores the question of chocolate's mythical powers. He cooks and eats his way through vast amounts of food. He tries several turducken recipes. He dry-ages beef in his own refrigerator, keeping a fan running inside so as to create a near-perfect environment. He spends countless hours and dollars in his quest to nail down that divine combination of temperature, time and ingredients necessary to create the perfect meal. It's really interesting reading, and at the end of every essay is a recipe for whatever he's discussing. Steingarten is funny, armed with a sort of sarcastic, self-deprecating humor as he goes about his culinary experimentation. These are great essays for foodies and amateur chefs. I recommend this one, but beware - it will make you very hungry while reading.