Appetites: A Cookbook: Anthony Bourdain

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Anthony Bourdain is aman of many appetites. And for many years, first as a chef, later as a world-traveling chronicler of food and culture on his CNN series Parts Unknown, he has made a profession of understanding the appetites of others. These days, however, if he’s cooking, it’s for family and friends. Appetites, his first cookbook in more than ten years, boils down Anthony Bourdain is a man of many appetites. And for many years, first as a chef, later as a world-traveling chronicler of food and culture on his CNN series Parts Unknown, he has made a profession of understanding the appetites of others. These days, however, if he’s cooking, it’s for family and friends. Appetites, his first cookbook in more than ten years, boils down forty-plus years of professional cooking and globe-trotting to a tight repertoire of personal favorites—dishes that everyone should (at least in Mr. Bourdain’s opinion) know how to cook. Once the supposed “bad boy” of cooking, Mr. Bourdain has, in recent years, become the father of a little girl—a role he has embraced with enthusiasm. After years of traveling more than 200 days a year, he now enjoys entertaining at home. Years of prep lists and the hyper-organization necessary for a restaurant kitchen, however, have caused him, in his words, to have “morphed into a psychotic, anally retentive, bad-tempered Ina Garten.” The result is a home-cooking, home-entertaining cookbook like no other, with personal favorites from his own kitchen and from his travels, translated into an effective battle plan that will help you terrify your guests with your breathtaking efficiency. [126]…more Appetites: A Cookbook by Anthony Bourdain – eBook Details Appetites, his first cookbook in more than ten years, boils down forty-plus years of professional cooking and globe-trotting to a tight repertoire of personal favorites--dishes that everyone should (at least in Mr. Bourdain's opinion) know how to cook. Once the supposed "bad boy" of cooking, Mr. Bourdain has, in recent years, become the father of a little girl--a role he has embraced with enthusiasm. After years of traveling more than 200 days a year, he now enjoys entertaining at home. Years of prep lists and the hyper-organization necessary for a restaurant kitchen, however, have caused him, in his words, to have "morphed into a psychotic, anally retentive, bad-tempered Ina Garten." Anthony Bourdain is a man of many appetites. And for many years, first as a chef, later as a world-traveling chronicler of food and culture on his CNN series Parts Unknown , he has made a profession of understanding the appetites of others. These days, however, if he’s cooking, it’s for family and friends. I like a cookbook that teaches me new words. From Anthony Bourdain in this book, I learned that certain terms to describe cuts of beef are marketing bullshit and "douche bait." That phrase right there is valuable knowledge I can use over and over. Each and every word is informed by his years in the industry and a life dedicated to food. This is a man who has declared the club sandwich as America's Enemy and wants you to understand the principles of Bad Sandwich Theory. He has distilled his views on dessert to this- it should always be Stilton.

I appreciate Bourdain as a voice in food, culture and their inevitable entwining, and am near certain to be unable to separate my bias as a result, but I found this cookbook engaging and interesting, drenched in his voice start to finish. The recipes are what you would expect from his personal collection, a mix of high and lowbrow cuisine from near and far. The chapters are separated by first course then type and a section all it's own for Thanksgiving dinner, in which he offers "practical" tips like buying a decorative turkey and a workhorse turkey, so no one has to see you actually carve the thing. This one's a keeper. There aren't a ton a recipes but there is a good representation of the basics and the comfort foods to the fancy to the international. Recipes are presented with some history and helpful hints. I think I would try most of these. Writing a cookbook has been a dream of mine ever since I can remember. It's something that I thought about often and mentioned to my family If freshness and hygiene is a question, generally it's tribal situations that are problematic, where the whole tribe, the chief is offering you something that's what they have. Often they don't have refrigeration, it's often old — their tolerance for meat that's even spoiled is higher than [that of] my relatively sensitive stomach. Often these dishes are eaten in one large bowl with the whole tribe jamming their fingers in. So yeah, rotten food, food that's clearly not clean, water that's clearly not good — those are a challenge. I read the recipe for scrambled eggs, which I've made a biggilion times and thought, I'll have to try it that way. I'm a good cook, but I'm not a Chef.The pictures are kind of ho hum … Bourdain goes into 'artsy' mode with the photos, which is something that could work … or not … depending on the photos. In one, he is carrying a severed pig's head on a tray. Others are close-ups of artfully arranged food or ingredients. Others are staged photos of himself or his friends. It has a delightfully 1990's vibe to it and is a fun book to read and leaf through. That means you get recipes for Sausage and Pepper Hero with a shot of Bourdain eating on the toilet (pants up; he’s no Zappa), and an explanation of how he can't resist this street food, "served at temperatures that would be probably be considered suboptimal by the New York State Department of Health, squashed on a dirty griddle and then piled into a squishy hero roll with some browned onions and peppers, the whole thing a greasy, soggy, unmanageable mess that generally falls apart in my hands before I can eat it. And within an hour of consumption, I'm s**ting like a mink." Written with the no-holds-barred ethos of his beloved series, No Reservations and Parts Unknown , the celebrity chef and culinary explorer's first cookbook in more than ten years--a collection of recipes for the home cook.

It's almost certain that as a cookbook, I am unlikely to make many of the recipes. While they do lean practical, it's still a time investment I'm not able to make very often and some of the ingredients, particularly in the seafood section, are not easily acquired. But it stands the reason that the audience for Appetites falls into two categories: the urban foodie, and/or the Bourdain fan, and whether you're in it for the eats or the prose, you'll walk away satisfied. The recipes themselves lean more practical than I expected - the kitchen experience is here as efficiency is the central component of each, as far as I can tell. Seafood is his kryptonite so it makes sense that's where the heart of the book lies, but he makes room for comfort foods like mac' n cheese and biscuits and gravy. No dessert, though, so if that's a dealbreaker you'll want to avoid this one. I've heard complaints that some recipes were so simple it insulted ones intelligence and some so out there who would make that? And I can only think, so Bourdain. Some years ago, I was watching "Turner Classic Movies", and the host, Robert Osborne, had celebrity guests on to recommend their favorite movies of all time. The celebrity guest the day I watched was Anthony Bourdain, and he said his all-time favorite movie was a British film called "Withnail & I". I had never seen the film before, and once I watched it, I just couldn't stop. I've seen the film over 200 times (and counting), and have subsequently begun a collection of vintage items seen in the film that I've dubbed the "Wall-O-Withnail" (it takes up an entire wall in my computer room), and because of the W-O-W I've become penpals with the film's writer and director, Bruce Robinson, and have also met the movie's star, Richard E. Grant, who recently invited me to his fragrance launch party in Greenwich Village this past Monday. Anthony Bourdain is a man of many appetites. And for many years, first as a chef, later as a world-traveling chronicler of food and culture on his CNN series Parts Unknown , he has made a profession of understanding the appetites of others. These days, however, if he's cooking, it's for family and friends.

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Bourdain explains in his introduction that this is his family cookbook. It should be noted that, as this book was published, Bourdain abandoned his family for his television work. "These are the dishes I like to eat and that I like to feed my family and friends. They are the recipes that ‘work,’ meaning they've been developed over time and have been informed by repetition and long -- and often painful -- experience.” Written with the no-holds-barred ethos of his beloved series, No Reservations and Parts Unknown, the celebrity chef and culinary explorer’s first cookbook in more than ten years—a collection of recipes for the home cook.

Each and every word is informed by his years in the industry and a life dedicated to food. This is a man who has declared the club sandwich as America's Enemy and wants you to understand the principles of Bad Sandwich Theory. He has distilled his views on dessert to this: it should always be Stilton. I'm just going to start with a disclaimer: I am not the target audience for this cookbook. I love reading books about food, but full disclosure: I am vegan, so I'm never going to make most of these recipes. Many of the recipes that could be easily made vegan contain huge amounts of oil (seriously, there are recipes that call for CUPS of oil!). Ugh. Whew! All of that, just to point out that it is no accident that Anthony Bourdain's new cookbook has cover art done by Ralph Steadman. Ralph Steadman also did the movie poster artwork for (you guessed it) Withnail & I! Appetites, his first cookbook in more than ten years, boils down forty-plus years of professional cooking and globe-trotting to a tight repertoire of personal favorites—dishes that everyone should (at least in Mr. Bourdain’s opinion) know how to cook. Once the supposed "bad boy" of cooking, Mr. Bourdain has, in recent years, become the father of a little girl—a role he has embraced with enthusiasm. After years of traveling more than 200 days a year, he now enjoys entertaining at home. Years of prep lists and the hyper-organization necessary for a restaurant kitchen, however, have caused him, in his words, to have "morphed into a psychotic, anally retentive, bad-tempered Ina Garten."The result is a home-cooking, home-entertaining cookbook like no other, with personal favorites from his own kitchen and from his travels, translated into an effective battle plan that will help you terrify your guests with your breathtaking efficiency.

I started working as a dishwasher one summer and it was really a big event for me, because up to that point I was lazy. I was the kid that if you hired me to shovel your walk in winter, I would really do a terrible job of it, probably find a way to weasel out. ... The response I'm looking for is to hear from someone from the neighborhood saying, "How did you ever find that place? I thought only we knew about it. It's truly a place that we love and is reflective of our culture and our neighborhood." Actually, this is a book I need to buy. It’s one of those book you get out of the library just so you can look through it and decide whether or not it’s something you really need on your shelf. I was one of the very first to review his previous book. I am always certain to have them immediately. Because I love him. This is Anthony Bourdain's interpretation of a normal cookbook. As a restaurant By: Anthony Bourdain Media of Appetites: A Cookbook. See larger imageAs a restaurant professional, Bourdain spent his life on the fringes of normality he worked while normal people played, and played while normal people slept. Since then he has settled (kind of) into family life and is cooking for the people he loves rather than people who pay. These are the recipes he turns to when called in for pancake service at sleepover parties or when preparing a violence-free family dinner.