OP: Simple Cooking
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Viking, New York, 1987. Hardcover. Very Good Plus. Signed first printing.
The first two portions of John Thorne’s inaugural full-length book, a collection of essays originally appearing in his newsletter of the same title, are Personal Passions and Perfect Pleasures. The passions include A Cup of Cocoa, A Bowl of Porridge, Macaroni and Cheese, and Strawberries and Cream. The Pleasures, slightly more demanding, include Lost Bread Found (French Toast, of course), Carpaccio, and Cheesecake.
All are truly iconic and, although not complex, explored in compact essays that lay out the fundamentals of the dish, touching on bits of history, meandering among favored variations, and offering recipes that focus on the basic ingredients.
Other sections of the book provide comfortable seasonal recipes, short opinion articles ( “In Defense of Picnics”), book reviews, and additional entertaining bits and pieces.
The writing goes down easily. It is informal, unorthodox, and occasionally zany, never pretentious. We can only call it refreshing as well as enlightening.
The copy we offer is a signed first printing in Very Good condition. The jacket is price-clipped, otherwise Very Good. Also available in paperback.
