Product Description

Written to inspire courage in those daunted by wartimes shortages, How to Cook a Wolf continues to rally cooks during times of plenty, reminding them that providing sustenance requires more than putting food on the table. M. F. K. Fisher knew that the last thing hungry people needed were hints on cutting back and making do. Instead, she gives her readers license to dream, to experiment, to construct adventurous and delicious meals as a bulwark against a dreary, meager present. Her fine prose provides reason in itself to draw our chairs close to the hearth; we can still enjoy her company and her exhortations to celebrate life by eating well.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #44145 in Books
• Published on: 1988-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 216 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780865473362
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"I do not know of any one in the United States who writes better prose." -- W.H. Auden

"I do not know of any one in the United States who writes better prose."--W.H. Auden

"Poet of the appetites."--John Updike

"She writes about fleeting tastes and feasts vividly, excitingly, sensuously, exquisitely. There is almost a wicked thrill in following her uninhibited track through the glories of the good life."--James Beard

"She writes about food as others do about love, but rather better."--Clifton Fadiman

"M.F.K. Fisher ... brings onstage a peach or a brace of quail and shows us history, cities, fantasies, memories, emotions."--Patricia Storace, The New York Review of Books

"M.F.K. Fisher is our greatest food writer because she puts food in the mount, the mind and the imagination all at the same time. Beyond the gastronomical bravura, she is a passionate woman; food is her metaphor."--Shana Alexander
-- Review

"M.F.K. Fisher ... brings onstage a peach or a brace of quail and shows us history, cities, fantasies, memories, emotions." -- Patricia Storace, The New York Review of Books

"M.F.K. Fisher is our greatest food writer because she puts food in the mount, the mind and the imagination all at the same time. Beyond the gastronomical bravura, she is a passionate woman; food is her metaphor." -- Shana Alexander

"Poet of the appetites." -- John Updike

"She writes about fleeting tastes and feasts vividly, excitingly, sensuously, exquisitely. There is almost a wicked thrill in following her uninhibited track through the glories of the good life." -- James Beard

"She writes about food as others do about love, but rather better." -- Clifton Fadiman

Review

About the Author
M. F. K. Fisher (1908-1992) is the author of numerous books of essays and reminiscences, many of which have become American classics.

Customer Reviews

Unusual writing for unusual times
M.F.K. Fisher was a superb writer. And she lived in "interesting times" in Europe and California. How to Cook a Wolf pitted her inate love of food and cuisine against some severe times when money might be short or food was rationed. Her strange sense of humor and practical outlook are interesting; for example, she gives a recipe for a sludge to keep body (if not soul) alive. The instructions begin with borrowing 50 cents to buy the ingredients; hamburger, wilted vegetables. The resulting mush can be used as a nutritious dog food, or a staple to survive on. She even claims it can be quite acceptable fried as scrapple, but then you'd have to have some cooking fat (and even that could be hard to come by.)

In these times of plenty, it's hard to relate to this book except to read Fisher's ideas and fantastic prose; the section on "Sue" (really California artist and etcher Nel Coover) who survived and entertained her guests with wild ice plants, seaweed and stolen eggs and potatoes is captivating.

If you have never read any M.F.K. Fisher, start with "The Measure of My Powers", but if you have read her, and if you have developed a taste for her marvelous writing, this is one of her famous works that is unique and interesting.

Inspiring
Not only could she write with style, wit and warmth, she could also "serve it forth" -- the recipes really work! Especially the prune roast (it sounds dopey, but it sure is great!!). I'm hooked.

Overrated as a food writer?! Underrated as a writer!
I can't vouch for her recipes but I can speak for her prose. I picked up this book for pure entertainment and found it. Fisher's conversation is elegant, entertaining, and educational, and her advice is at times amusing, at times timeless.