New Book: Slow Food

[Guest guest]

Has anybody seen/read this yet? It just came out.

The Pleasures of Slow Food: Celebrating Authentic Traditions, Flavors, and

Recipes

by Corby Kummer, Susie Cushner (Photographer), Schlosser

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

As its name suggests, the Slow Food movement, founded in Italy, is dedicated to

preserving and promoting traditional foodways--to protecting artisanal food

producers and the pleasures of eating well. Corby Kummer's The Pleasures of Slow

Food introduces readers to the movement and its goals, while acquainting them

with some of the producers worldwide who embody its spirit and objectives. Thus

we meet the likes of and Meyers, whose Vermont dairy makes

exceptional cheeses, and Germany's Torshen Kramer, producer of fine cured meats

and sausages. The artisans also share with Kummer the stories of their work (of

their early cheese-making efforts Meyers says, " The bleu wouldn't turn

blue ... I buried a lot of cheese in the manure pile " ).

Most excitingly, perhaps, Kummer has included 40 recipes from chefs and everyday

cooks whose approach to food and cooking also represents the Slow Food ideal,

and in this Kummer has excelled. Not meant for weekday cooking, but easily

doable if, in line with the Slow Food ideal, people will put aside time to

produce truly gratifying food, the recipes are hits that just keep on coming.

Whether it's a simple Chicken Cacciatore with Baked Potatoes from the

Piedmontese farm of Elena Rovera; Fried Plantains with Chipotle Ketchup,

courtesy of Steve at the Blue Room restaurant in Cambridge,

Massachusetts; an extraordinary lamb stew from master chef Boulud; or

Alice Waters's caramelized Apricot Tart, the recipes are universally superb.

With an introduction by Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, and

marvelous color photos by Susie Cushner, the oversize book offers a thoughtful

introduction to the movement, as well as culinary thrills to those willing to

take it slow. --Arthur Boehm