A few months ago I covered one of the Saveur books in the series of three. I so loved that particular one I went online and bought the other two. So now I have the trifecta of Saveur America, France and Italy!
I believe it was in 1994 that Saveur Magazine began publication. I was in the midst of beginning to write a cookbook for Random House titled, “New World Cuisine”. While writing a book it is very hard to do almost anything else. It is simply way too time consuming doing one to allow for ‘extracurricular’ activities. But this magazine was different and it spoke to my cook’s heart. I would learn in time that the founders were Colman Andrews, Dorothy Kalins, Christopher Hirsheimer and Michael Grossman. I got to know Dorothy professionally somewhat but became long time pals with Colman, an early mentor to my cooking. Saveur was flat out pictorially beautiful! And the range of subjects, ingredients, countries and recipes was the best in the country I felt. So much so that I now have about 150 past issues on the shelves of my library. In time these smart folks began to put out a series of large format books that included many of their articles and photos. Did I say how beautiful they are? I mean really. This particular tribute is to the book titled as above. You can hear me say this in the video but this tome can be purchased online for less than a glass of Happy Hour wine. I would bring my copy to Happy Hour and bring a notepad and page tapes to mark what I’ll wish to make! You are never alone with a book. And who knows what conversations you might arise out of the curiosity of the others nearby helplessly gawking at these foods. And if you spill a drop of wine on a page. It adds character.