Apart from the black and white illustrations, the colour combination of black, white and red caught my eye. However these aren't the only reasons why I glanced throughout these pages. There was something seductive yet simple with this cookbook. True, the front cover gives the first impression however that isn't this cookbooks only impression. The humour is dark, the mood is eclectic and the recipes salacious.
There are recipes for everyone here which reflects back to the author's poverty-stricken days of the late 1970's and early 1980's when she lived in New York's Lower East Side, Spanish Harlem and Brooklyn. When she would host dinner parties and Sunday brunch with whatever she managed to scrape together. She cooked and fed starving artists and struggling musicians like, Sonic Youth, Henry Rollins, Suicide, Joe Coleman, Butthole Surfers and some rambling reprobates. She was feeding some of musics most influential acts. Combine food, music and spirited conversation and one has a scrumptious culinary overload.
Lovely quotes, inspiration, personal stories and approximately a 5 song roster start each chapter. The chapters have suggestive undertones which leaves much to the imagination... the culinary imagination. With titles like, Feed Your Head, Make 'em Beg for More, This is Going to Hurt You..., Do Me a Quickie, Who You Calling a Puta?, The Killer Inside Me, Sweet Freak, Party Monster, and Weekend Detox. Very tongue in cheek!
Most of what she says resonates with me however I found this paragraph very culinary forward and a sign of the times - "We need to eat. But more that that we need to feed - to feed our bodies, brains, and psyches with energy-enchancing, soul-soothing nutrients that nourish our life force. Great food is not only fuel, but also high-grade ammunition that can bolster our chances of surviving the battles we are forced to fight every day." Definitely food for thought!
Enjoy your weekend everyone! - JW