Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin

Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin is not a recent book.  It was first published in 1988.  But don't let that deter you.  Before telling you a little bit about this fab book, I want to thank Katherine of  I Wish I Lived in a Library for the recommendation.  If you click here you can see what she had to say about it.

The author is an accomplished and published author of a number of works of fiction but this little gem of a book is a series of essays about her life with food.  The writing is fabulous and funny.

I particularly liked her down to earth attitude towards entertaining and kitchen gadgets. 

And she also provided another idea for my ongoing quest to find the perfect technique for scrambled eggs (P8-9).  She said that the best scrambled eggs she ever had were cooked for her in a double boiler.  To give you a feel for her here is a short extract dealing with the scrambling of eggs.

'You scramble the eggs and add a tablespoon of cream.  You then put a lump of butter into the top of a double boiler and when it melts, add the eggs.  Stir constantly, remembering to have your blood cholesterol checked at the soonest possible moment.  Stir as in boiled custard until you feel either that your arm is going to fall off or that you are going to start to scream uncontrollably.  It is wise to have someone you adore talking to in the kitchen while you make these eggs, or to be listening to something very compelling on the radio.  If you have truly mastered the art of keeping a telephone under your chin without its falling to the floor, a telephone visit always makes the time go faster.

The resulting eggs are satiny and creamy and do not need anything at all, although if your palate is jaded, these eggs can be made with cheese.'

Unfortunately Laurie Colwin died in 1992 from a heart attack aged only 48.  Gone much too soon.