About Laurie Colwin's first collection of food writing, Home Cooking, the Washington Post Book World said: "It is the one true kitchen friend." And the New York Times Book Review called it "as much memoir as cookbook and as much about eating as cooking." Like Home Cooking, this second gathering of food pieces is a treasury of culinary memories, recipes, tips, and stories; and it is a literary investigation, as hilarious as it is informative. Part memoir, part cookbook, and part one cook talking to another about the pleasures of discovering, cooking, and eating good, simple food.This time around Laurie Colwin finds herself more interested in the curative and health-providing aspects of food and in how to be a mother who both works and cooks delicious, healthy food that is easy to prepare and time-saving. Among the topics she addresses in her inimitable way are "Desserts That Quiver," "The Duck Dilemma," "Real Food for Tots," "The Beet Goes On," "Turkey Angst," "The Once and Future Dinner Party," "How to Cook Like an American," and "Catering on One Dollar a Head."As Laurie Colwin writes in her introduction, "The table is a meeting place, a gathering ground, the source of sustenance and nourishment, festivity, safety, and satisfaction. A person cooking is a person giving: even the simplest food is a gift....I know that young children will wander away from the table, and that family life is never smooth, and that life itself is full, not only of charm and warmth and comfort but of sorrow and tears. But whether we are happy or sad, we must be fed. Both happy and sad people can be cheered up by a nice meal. This book was written for the sustainers and those who will be sustained. I hope both will eat happily and well from it." Read Less