I like books about disfunctional families. They are strangely voyeuristic and comforting at the same time.
I didn't know that Tender at the Bone was one of these. I liked the cover, and it was on the new- in- paperback table. What a great ride! This is a journey on which the author takes you using food as a vehicle. Her family was a melange of eccentricities, but she had a grandmother that would teach her to cook, thus offering her a safe haven as she grew through her difficult years. She had already developed a knack for things culinary as a small child, saving her father and guests from certain death by her
mother's home-made botulism,(although she suspected that her Father's devotion to her Mother made him immune.) Her chapters are laced with actual
recipes from Devil's Food Cake to real Ceasar Salad to Mohammad's Bisteeya. The book Chocolate used recipes as a vehicle to move the story line, and Reichl's use of recipes is no exception as she takes us all over the world, weaving them through her life like brightly colored threads. Here's the clincher...I've tried a couple, (the Ceasar salad and the oysters), so not only will you get a good read, but you'll also have a great cookbook as a reference. Tender at the Bone...I highly recommend it.