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Hidden Kitchens: Stories, Recipes and More from NPR's The Kitchen Sisters
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Product Description
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #171726 in Books
- Published on: 2006-08-22
- Released on: 2006-08-22
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 304 pages
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
NPR listeners are probably familiar with Nelson and Silva's radio program, "Hidden Kitchens," in which they interview amateur cooks who use improvisational methods to prepare food in unconventional places. This book expands on that concept, with Nelson and Silva offering expanded commentary and a handful of recipes from their interview subjects. While the cooks profiled use everything from George Foreman grills to makeshift fryers to whip up their meals, the recipes assume the reader has a conventional, working kitchen and are fairly straightforward and easy to make. But it's the stories behind the food that comprise the book's soul. The Sisters solicited tips from listeners in researching this book, which provided them with plenty of leads, though the verbatim transcripts of phoned-in tips that appear on nearly every page, and sometimes several times on a page, can make for a frustrating read. However, Nelson and Silva's mini-expose on the popularity of the George Foreman grill among the homeless is a solid piece of reportage that blends in the narrative of Foreman's life with that of the people who depend on his countertop appliance for their meals. The Chili Queens of Texas, women who sold tamales, chili and tacos as unlicensed street vendors at the turn of the century, also receive an in-depth profile, as do cooks on the NASCAR circuit. The book isn't so much about Rube Goldberg-like contraptions used to cook food (although there is some of that) as it is about American ingenuity and people making the most of what they have.
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Review
"The Kitchen Sisters are my favorite storytellers. Their offbeat and heartfelt kitchen stories make me want to walk through my neighborhood, go on a road trip, and eat the food of family." —Francis Ford Coppola
"The Kitchen Sisters have done some of the best radio stories ever broadcast."—Ira Glass, host and producer of This American Life
About the Author
Customer Reviews
The Joy of Cooking in Unlikely Places
This was a membership gift from NPR. I thought, of all my choices, it would be most interesting. I'm glad that I didn't buy it. The book focuses more on the narratives of the different cooks in unlikely places than on the recipes that they use. All of the stories are excellent reminders that all people love food, and that we are quite clever in inserting good food in our daily life, wherever that might be. The most inspiring to me was the first story of the homeless and nearly homeless who use the George Foreman grill on the streets or in SRO hotels where cooking is forbidden. This is contrasted with Foreman's life as a child, where hunger was a constant presence. I am sure that I will try some of the recipes, but cannot recommend the book unless you like The Hidden Kitchens on NPR, which I had never heard of until now.
PURE DELIGHT !
Someone has said that a kitchen is the heart of a home - it's certainly the heart of this delightful audio book splendidly read by Academy Award winning actress Frances McDormand. Few who saw "Fargo" will forget her command of the screen; few who listen to "Hidden Kitchens" will not be enchanted by her command of the stories, whether they're funny, moving or absurd.
Renowned chef Alice Waters contributes a special commentary in which she notes: "The curious and wonderful thing about the stories in this book is how much they resemble good things to eat. They can be surprising and they can be reassuringly familiar and they can be comforting and they can be outrageous."
How true!
The audio is taken in part from NPR's Hidden Kitchen Hotline, which hundreds of listeners have called with a plethora of messages regarding recipes, kitchen happenings, and cooking successes and failures. There is also a good deal of new material which Nelson and Silva have gathered from a variety of sources.
Listeners will be amazed to hear of the doings in a San Francisco cab yard, or by the lakes of Minnesota, or in a NASCAR kitchen paralleling a race track. And, there's more.
"Hidden Kitchens" is pure delight.
- Gail Cooke
Random selection of phone messages !?!
A selection of quirky pieces. Most are phone message left for the kitchen sisters. Some good, some just ramble on and on. I am a fan of the show so I was expecting more.
