Talking with My Mouth Full: Crab Cakes, Bundt Cakes, and Other Kitchen Stories [Paperback]

Bonny Wolf (Author), Scott Turow (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2, 2007

"As reassuring as a big bowl of buttery mashed potatoes…a delicious read."

--Library Journal
 
What and how do American families really eat? Bonny Wolf writes about the great regional and family food traditions in this country--birthday cake and dinner party food, hearty American breakfasts and Fourth of July picnic dishes.  In Talking with My Mouth Full, she writes stories about food, and also about the people who eat it.
 
Many of the delightful national treasures Wolf writes about--bundt cake, barbecue, roast chicken, fair food--are timeless.  Each chapter, whether it's about true regional specialties like Minnesota's wild rice, Texas' Blue Bell ice cream or Maryland's famous crab cakes or about family favorites like noodle pudding or Irish raisin soda bread, ends with a perfectly chosen group of recipes, tantalizing and time-tested.
 
In the tradition of Laurie Colwin's Home Cooking, Talking with My Mouth Full is a book you will turn to over and over for wonderful food writing and recipes for comfort food, a great nosh, or the ideal covered dish to take to a potluck supper.
 
"Charming, lighthearted…refreshingly accessible."--Publishers Weekly
"Savory collection of essays."--Washington Post
"Delightful."--Austin Chronicle
 

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this charming, lighthearted collection of essays, Wolf, a commentator on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition Sunday, explores the foods we eat and the ways they bind us to one another. Much of the book is devoted to regional foods: a Minnesota native of Eastern European Jewish descent, Wolf has an abiding love of kugel as well as wild rice and state fair food on sticks. More than two decades living in the Washington, D.C., area has brought other edible joys, like products from the Eastern Market and a ritual shad roe dinner with friends. While not breaking any new journalistic ground, Wolf reports on popovers and pickled antipasto with enthusiasm, melding personal and culinary history, narrative and instruction. Her how-to pieces delve the difficulties that many home cooks struggle with, such as how to make the perfect roast chicken or rescue a dinner party disaster. Interspersed throughout these ruminations are the recipes she's collected from friends and family. It's clear that Wolf's sophisticated, well-traveled palate coexists peacefully with a predilection for the fuss-free, traditional foods that have never gone out of favor—ice cream with chocolate sauce and meatloaf. Readers will find both her writing and the cooking refreshingly accessible. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Listeners to National Public Radio will recognize Bonny Wolf from her weekly food commentaries. Here she assembles essays that cover a host of culinary subjects. Each essay has a recipe or two attached, ranging in complexity from a simple slice of toast to a grand aioli, an intricate creation from southern France that dresses fish, meats, and vegetables with an intense, garlicky mayonnaise. Essays reflect on Wolf's encounters with midwestern and eastern foods, celebrating state fairs and potlucks. She isn't too proud to include even a few Jell-O molds. But seemingly everyday shepherd's pie undergoes transformation from East Indian seasonings of turmeric and curry. A smattering of Ashkenazic Jewish favorites such as noodle pudding adds more variety. Most of her recipes feed large groups, in harmony with Wolf's aspiration to let food serve as the center of all sorts of events that bring people together. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (October 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312373856
• ISBN-13: 978-0312373856
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #556,681 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MOST YUMMISH!!!!, January 17, 2007

By 

Ace (East Coast) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Talking with My Mouth Full: Crab Cakes, Bundt Cakes, and Other Kitchen Stories (Hardcover)

What a delightful book!! A mouthwatering book with great "conversation", traveling tidbits, and recipes.

I will definitely make the Gas Company Candy -- too bad today's utility bills aren't "sweetened" with such welcomed inserts.

Since I live in the DC area, I really resonated with (and enjoyed) all the descriptions of the Lexington market, Eastern Market, the delightful La Cuisine, and of course, the inimitable Bawlmor - what great memories (culinary and otherwise) this evoked!!

My only disappointment came when the book ended -- it felt like I was in the middle of eating a GREAT meal and suddenly all the food was taken away from the table! Oh please, if you re-issue this book -- put a picture (in color) of one of those sweet creations you wrote about, like maybe Smith Island Cake, on the last page, so we do not feel such a let-down!!!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Even More Enjoyable Than Her Bits On NPR, January 12, 2007

By 

Notnadia (Currently upstairs.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Talking with My Mouth Full: Crab Cakes, Bundt Cakes, and Other Kitchen Stories (Hardcover)

This is a relaxing, satisfying book to read. It's full of nice stories about good people and fun times, and it goes a long way in covering the culinary variety America has to offer. Bonny Wolf seems like such a nice person, and she's written a book that's somehow part Charles Kuralt's road trips, and part family gathered in a warm Midwestern kitchen. I liked Talking With My Mouth Full, as you might guess.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WHO KNEW FOOD COULD BE SO INTERESTING?, December 6, 2006

By 

Ryan Michael Frank - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Talking with My Mouth Full: Crab Cakes, Bundt Cakes, and Other Kitchen Stories (Hardcover)

For years I've enjoyed Bonny Wolf's food commentary on NPR (which, by the way, is much better than the SNL parody). Her new book captures the wit and personal touch of her radio pieces along with recipies and more in-depth background of the foods we eat. By examining how various people throughout the country enjoy and value the cultural act of eating, Wolf manages to show us the diversity of the nation through the unique foods we consume. It's a fascinating story and well worth reading.