Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Kim Boyce, What Are You Reading?

Last year’s winner in the piglet Tournament of Cookbooks on food52 was Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce with Amy Scattergood and with good reason. The book inspires the use of various whole grains in baking for added flavor and different textures, and I’ve been enjoying baking from it lately. It was also just listed among the finalists for this year's IACP Cookbook Awards. Boyce apprenticed as a pastry chef with Sherry Yard at Spago and then worked with Nancy Silverton at Campanile in Los Angeles. She later left professional baking to start a family and became interested in adding whole grains to what she prepared at home. After many experiments and eventually coming to appreciate what’s unique about each type of whole grain, she arrived at a collection of nutritious recipes resulting in Good to the Grain. These days, she and her husband are focused on growing a wholesale pastry business which produces recipes similar to those in the book for local cafes in Portland, Oregan. I had to ask, what are you reading?

Kim:


I've been reading Novella Carpenter's Farm City. Last summer I saw her speak and was captivated and moved by her often hysterical and touching stories of cultivating a farm and eventually a community on land that she didn't own. Her story was quite inspiring and I found myself putting the book down so that it would last longer and longer.





My staple cookbook that is always on my nightstand is Lindsey Shere's classic Chez Panisse Desserts. I like to find inspiration by just opening up the book and reading the page I turn to. Her flavor combinations are simple and clean, something that I admire and strive for in my own pastries.




Next up on my list of must-reads is Gabrielle Hamilton's memoir Blood, Bones and Butter.












Thank you for participating, Kim. Check back to see who answers the question next time and what other books are recommended.

Previous WAYR posts:
Jaden Hair
Michael Ruhlman
Monica Bhide
Michael Natkin
Sara Roahen
Andrea Nguyen
David Lebovitz
Rick Bayless
Tara Austen Weaver
Mollie Katzen
Deborah Madison
Soup Peddler
Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan
Robb Walsh
Kim Severson
David Leite
Dan Lepard
Carolyn Jung
Joan Nathan
Melissa Clark
Dianne Jacob
Zoë Francois
Yotam Ottolenghi
Lucinda Scala Quinn
Barbara Lynch
Addie Broyles
Cheryl Tan
Joanne Chang


8 comments:

  1. Hi Lisa, from one cookbook fanatic to another, this is a fabulous idea. I'm so glad I found your blog. I've also started digging into Heidi's library project at 101 Cookbooks, have you seen it?
    See you round,
    Angela

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  2. Interesting! I noticed that another person was reading one of the books too.

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  3. Kim's got a great reading list, Lisa!

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  4. How timely, Lisa! I just received her book. She sure has a great reading list. Just thumbed through Blood Bones & Butter last night at Costco.

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  5. What a great series! It is alwasy so telling to read other people's reading lists. I haven't read any of those, but now I'm intrigued by them all. Thanks for some new ideas to add to my reading list.

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  6. Now that's an awesome reading list., its great to see what others read isn't it.

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  7. I've been baking with whole grains a lot lately and wasn't aware of her book! Sounds like another one for my wish list!

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