Appetites: A Cookbook

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He talked about each dish - and it’s like you’re sitting eating it with him and he’s just sharing stories.

Every once in awhile, I'm reminded of an exhortation I found in Guy Peellaert's "Rock Dreams" that was quoted from Revelations: "Be hot or be cold, or else God will spit you from his mouth! I don't have hours to make dinner, I don't have easy access to special ingredients, and I value health in my cooking above taste (although I absolutely believe you can have them both). Perhaps because I lived a deliberately safe and sheltered life, I can taste the textures and tones that went into his. We ate our sandwiches on plain white bread as pictured, with a ton of Sriracha, and were uncomfortably full but happy afterwards. teaspoons of cayenne pepper in and it wasn't enough, but to each, his own when it comes to spicy taste.Recipes range in inspiration from classic French to Vietnamese street food to homestyle Italian cooking, which will surprise no one familiar with Bourdain’s culinary explorations and predilections. I enjoyed reading some of his commentary on the recipes and on his food life and memories—but then suddenly there's his potty mouth coming into play, and I didn't enjoy his attitude about a lot of things—but, again, I don't think I'm the target audience here. This cookbook is actually not exactly what I expected as a huge Anthony Bourdain fan, but it's still great. I'm sure there are a lot of people who will treasure this book, and maybe even cook something from it. This book is his collection of his everyday comfort food recipes—some fairly straightforward, and others a definite departure from what we're used to.

Bourdain is not messing around when it comes to the quantity of garlic (12 cloves was 1 full head for me), but the result is undeniably delicious. I want to thank Anthony Bourdain, Harper Collins Publishers, and Edelweiss for the advanced digital copy. He drew Bourdain, small and at the bottom of the page, with a clown nose and his lolling drooling tongue of a congenital idiot, while behind him a large head explodes in various shades of red and pink, a ghostly Id with its brains blown out, like what Hunter did, only Bourdain does it sensibility, with macaroni and cheese and tomato soup with oyster crackers. When you live your life in the world, devouring all that you see, you're marinating in what you consume. This is Anthony Bourdain through and thorough, a man who finally created a family at age 50, with grungy photography (one of wine stains, one of bloody duck necks, one of garbage), and recipes that are his actual family staples.The taste has a slight tang in comparison due to buttermilk, making it perfect for both savory and sweet applications. I melted the whole two sticks right off the bat but only ended up using maybe 2/3rds of it, and I was being pretty generous with the amount I brushed on. Then, when it came time to cook, I was afraid of overcooking the chicken--you use a grill pan (in our case, a large skillet) on high heat and cook the boneless skinless thighs for a full 7 minutes per side before transferring to a hot oven for an additional 10 minutes. I did slightly burn the outside thanks to my electric stovetop - it’s hard to adjust when you’re used to gas! APPETITES, in addition to presenting an eclectic, expletive-laden portrait of one's family's fare, is also a really great cookbook.