Quick Thought on Desserts (again), and Many Thoughts on Books!

See? I’m not the only one ranting about desserts. Even Anthony Bourdain says “pastry chef always gets fucked in the process, because nobody wants to eat four types of desert at the end.” Well there you have it. Pastry chefs may finally get the respect they deserve. And check out the rest of the blogosphere, tons of commentary on this Bourdain/White panel.

On another note, I bought Marco Pierre White’s book “The Devil in the Kitchen” months and months ago, but up until now, it was sitting on top of a HUGE stack of books that I’ve been meaning to get to and was just collecting dust. I had promised myself I’d finish the other books I was reading FIRST, before starting yet another one (I am currently in the middle of “The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry”, almost done with “Babes in Beijing”, almost done with “Women Who Eat’” and just finished “Turning the Tables”). But after reading about the Tony/Marco debate/discussion at the StarChef’s International Chef Congress, I had to pick up the book and start reading right away. And it is an amazing book. MPW is actually really reflective in his book, and a lot of the information about his childhood is fascinating. Add him to the top of the list of people I want to meet!

And you all already know my love for books and cookbooks. I was walking to my friend’s house for dinner the other night, and in a neighborhood that I’m not normally in, and walked by this store:

Can you read the sign? "Books & Bookshelves"!

My dream! A place filled with book and bookshelves? I was running late, so didn’t duck in, but may try to next time.

See all the empty shelves in there? They’ve got a bookshelf for your every need. Amazing.

Rather than what I’ve currently got. Just a small bookshelf with two rows of books on each shelf—and then stacks of cookbooks and travel guides on my coffee table (that’s essentially turned into a second bookshelf!) Nuts!

Part of one stack of cookbooks...

Part of another stack of cookbooks, my ice cream books on this side...

Other books in my stack to read you ask?
The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food
Julie and Julia: A Year of Cooking Dangerously
A Thousand Splendid Suns
The Glass Castle
In My Mother's Kitchen
Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper
Running with Scissors
A Pig in Provence
French Women Don't Get Fat
A Year in the World

And other books on my wish list?
Service Included: Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter
My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals / Portraits, Interviews, and Recipes
Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip--Confessions of a Cynical Waiter
The River Cottage Meat Book
The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating
Beyond Nose to Tail
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore

Now you know all know what to get me for Christmas! Hee hee.