Four Eyes thinks the two most important cookbooks of the season are now available for pre-order at Amazon. The long awaited, much anticipated leviathan Modernist Cuisine is almost ready for its close up. Its release date has been pushed back to March '11 due to crash testing of its shipping packaging. Nevertheless, this book, to me, would be better than a puppy under the Christmas tree. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone with the ready cash to buy it for me.
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| (photo courtesy Nathan Myhrvold blog) |
The fortunate participants of the International Food Bloggers Association, in late August, were not only introduced to the book, but also treated to a tour of the kitchen / lab of the author, former Microsoft Technology Officer Nathan Myhrvold, in Bellevue, Washington. The best book review is by Betty Hallock in the Los Angeles Times Food Section. Treat yourself to this assessment. And steel yourself against the price, $625, unless you're a dot comer yourself and think nothing of ordering luxury items in the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book.
Remember, however, that it's six volumes, (they say the ink itself weighs 5 lbs--does Santa carry a fork lift in his sleigh? sure, he delivers ponies) the photography makes me SWOON, and it proves to be the tome of our new century culinary revolution. It takes its place as an uber reference work, following in the footsteps of Escoffier. Is a new "Emperor of the world's kitchens" (French press) born? I think so.
Equally exciting news is that Rene Redzepi's cookbook, Noma: Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine is ready for pre-order, also. Coinciding with the restaurant's elevation to #1 in the world by San Pelligrino, the book appears just in time for a place under the Christmas tree. I'm so excited about it, I'm going to pay full retail price for this one -- $32.97. Photo credits here go to Matt Drucher.
There are, of course, scads of other exciting holiday offerings, among them titles from food bloggers like A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg of Orangette. The Joy of Cooking is celebrating its 75th edition, and books like Hungry Planet: What The World Eats by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio have a global gander at food consumption. However, Modernist Cuisine and Noma are at the cutting edge of culinista interest and illustrate truly Goethe's quote from Faust, which appears in my 1974 edition of Joy of Cooking:
"That which thy fathers have bequeathed to thee,
earn it anew if thou wouldst possess it."
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