Home cooking and food essays
1944–1992 · United States
Laurie Colwin was born in Manhattan in 1944 and published novels and short stories before her food essays for Gourmet made her a beloved voice. She cooked in a tiny New York kitchen and wrote about it without romance or pretension.
Home Cooking (1988) and More Home Cooking (1993) argue for roast chicken, fried chicken, and baking for the people you love. The essays are funny and domestic and quietly wise, and they treat the everyday table as a subject worthy of real literature.
She died suddenly in 1992, and her food writing has only grown in reputation since.
Buttermilk-marinated chicken dredged in seasoned flour and fried until the crust shatters.
Thinly sliced potatoes baked in milk and cream with butter and a little onion until tender.
A dense, fudgy chocolate layer cake with a glossy chocolate frosting, the one Colwin baked for friends.
Home cooking in a small kitchen · 1989 · New York, New York
A summer supper at East Hampton · 1980 · East Hampton, New York
A tasting at the Silver Palate · 1986 · New York, New York
A long lunch on Long Island · 1988 · Long Island, New York