Customer Reviews

I Like Food, Food Tastes Good: In the Kitchen with Your Favorite Bands

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"I Like Food, Food Tastes Good: In the Kitchen with your Favorite Bands" is an indie-rock cookbook that features recipes from groups like the Violent Femmes, They Might Be Giants, Calexico and Death Cab For Cutie. (These four bands also happen to be the only contributors I'd heard of, but people much cooler than I will likely recognize the other musicians.) The 105 recipes in this book are varied and range from "Big Apple Quiche Muffins" in the "Breakfast" chapter to "Wild Boar Ragu" in the "Main Courses for Carnivores" chapter. I've had the book for a little over two weeks and have made an adapted version of the <a href="http://www.bakingandbooks.com/2007/04/29/i-like-it-simple-sweet-savory/">"Asian Stir-Fry for Vegetarians Who Hate Vegetables,"</a> the oatmeal cake pictured above, a pear and goat cheese panini, and eggplant parmesan, which I baked instead of frying as the recipe recommends. I was pleased with how these meals turned out and was especially grateful for their "easy on the effort" approach. Other recipes range from down-home comfort food like mac and cheese, to playfully titled drinks like "Patriot Act Mojitos," made with fresh mint, sparkling water, Cuban rum and sugar, among other things. For the health-conscious there are several 'healthy alternative' recipes, for instance, cookies made with powdered green tea and vegan chocolate chip cookies. And for the adventurous, the "Strawberry Pop Cake," which is made with strawberry soda and Jell-O, promises an interesting afternoon in the kitchen. Overall this is a good little cookbook with recipes that can be made when you're short on time and that can easily be modified to suit your tastes. It also begins to answer the question: What do musicians eat when they're on the road?

There are two things about this book that I wasn't too thrilled about. First, a handful of recipes are plagued by some of the worst writing I have ever seen - ever. I understand that the musicians who wrote them are artists and infinitely more hip than I will ever be, but I ask you, who publishes instructions like this: "...add a little bit of cream!! And STIRRRRRR!!!!... SIR LAWRENCE OF ARABIA!... THEN, put it on the frying pan!!!! let it get GOLDEN!!!" I mean, seriously, either this guy was on something or the recipe is so out-of-this-world that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._E._Lawrence" target="blank">T. E. Lawrence</a> came back from the dead to try it. (That's the only way I could get my head round the Arabia connection.) Thankfully recipes like this are few and far between, and the one quoted above, for "Africanitas Ricas," was the worst offender. The only other thing I wasn't too keen on was the inclusion of a recipe for a bologna sandwich, but if part of this book's purpose is bringing the artists to the people then I suppose it isn't so bad. "Rock can get complicated," the text reads, "but this sandwich isn't. Feed to those who are living the dream." I can dig that.

In addition to the aforementioned chapters, sections include: "Soups, Sides and Starters," "Sandwiches," "Main Courses for Vegetarians," "Drinks" and "Desserts." Whatever your musical tastes this book has something for everyone and is worth checking out. And if you happen to be an indie-music lover? All the better.

What do our music stars eat? Good question. This book features over 100 recipes with clever notes about the food (and drink) preferences of some of our favorite cutting edge music types.

My Morning Jacket offers up their "You can care if ya wanna" sandwich. The Long Winters show us Alaska-style macaroni soup al carne. Mojave 3 has a nifty recipe for leek and potato soup.

I'll confess, I hadn't heard of half these bands, they are that trendy. The food is good and the notes are so precious. Worth checking out.

This cookbook has something for everyone. It combines the best aspects of cookbooks and album liner notes, with the emphasis on wide-ranging foods for every occasion, with recipes easy enough for me, challenging enough for my auntie, and tasty enough for anyone you care to cook for. Above all, it's very broad, both in the breadth of musicians and the types of food represented. I wish it had an accompanying CD, but that's what iTunes is for. Buy it for me for christmas! Yummy!

This book includes a comprehensive selection of vegetarian, flexitarian, vegan, and other dishes. I love the selection an creativity of recipes. This is defiantly a good buy if you love food just as much as music.

Also, seller was prompt and honest.

I naturally haven't tried every recipe in this book, but those that I have, I've enjoyed. Pear and brie sandwich was great, gourmet mac and cheese was too. I think my favorite thing so far though are the seven layer bars! They're incredibly sweet but suuuch a good dessert and really simple to throw together and shove in the oven. They really melt in your mouth (and all over your hands, haha) if you eat them warm too.

My complaints? Many of the dishes which have meat seem to rely on heat (as in spiciness, not physical temperature), and as a beginning cook who doesn't always know what to edit out to tone down spice without completely destroying the taste of the dish, I really would have liked to see more meat options with different flavor styles. Actually, I would have liked to see more meat in general--the book was very heavy in vegetarian fare, it seemed like. But I suppose that's what I get when I buy a cookbook featuring recipes from a bunch of bands who tend towards the vegetarian or vegan lifestyles.

Kara Zuaro isn't your usual chef/home cook author; she's followed rock bands from Violent Femmes to Death Cab for Cutie to find out what they cook while on the road, and I LIKE FOOD, FOOD TASTES GOOD: IN THE KITCHEN WITH YOUR FAVORITE BANDS comes packed with specialty dishes, from adaptations of standards to innovative new cuisine. No photos but the easy dishes don't need them - and the introductions packed with rock star insights are also enlightening and intriguing reads, making this a cross-pick for both music and culinary collections.

really enjoyed the concept behind the book, having indie artists supply their favorite 'on th road' recipes. lots of recipes, for both good food, and drink as well. accounts from the bands themselves was a nice touch.

Although I have to confess that I've only made one recipe in this book since I got it several months back, its an incredibly entertaining read. Kara Zuaro is a really great writer and has clearly done her homework on the bands she includes here. The beauty of this collection is that it can be functional if you want it to be, but purely entertaining if you're not one that spends alot of time in the kitchen. It unfolds much like a series of shortstories or band interviews, allowing the reader a glimpse into any artist's idiosyncratic eating habits - usually much more interesting conversation than that of a band's obscure influences. On the other hand, if indie rock's not your bag, this would also fit nicely on the bookshelf next to your other treasured culinary guides.

This is a rare cookbook, one a music nut and food fan can sit down wtih on the couch and read page by page. Some of the recipes will make you want to cook. Others will make you want to go on the net and download some new music from an artists you've never heard of. Some recipes are as bizarre as the characters that contributed them. Some are braindead, again not a suprise. Most are mouthwatering and solid, and complimented by funny and thoughtful bios to create a cookbook more Lollapalooza than Racheal Ray.