Reading this memoir is like eating an entire bag of potato chips in one sitting: it's crisp, salty and probably bad for you, but what fun! As a follow-up to her bestselling Natural Blonde
(2000), the columnist presents food gossip—timeless anecdotes of great meals and great appetites. An intimate of the Burton-Taylor ménage, Smith describes the two of them eating their way across several continents. She tells of fabulous food parties with former Texas governor. Ann Richards and Nora Ephron, two of her dearest friends. She writes whole chapters on foods like C.F.S. (chicken-fried steak), watermelon and eggplant. She writes about cocktails, etiquette and how to organize truly wonderful dinner parties. Homages to the unadorned Texan cooking she grew up on—biscuits, boiled greens, red-eye gravy, fried meat—crop up everywhere. Most chapters close with a recipe or two, ranging from unappealing (canned salmon soup) to intriguing (savory watermelon salad). While it's fun knowing what Dirk Bogarde liked to cook or what the Rothschilds served, what's really nourishing is Smith's liberated attitude toward food and entertaining. She loves to eat, and she isn't afraid of butter or bacon grease. And as for Rocky Mountain oysters or Montana Tendergroins, Smith—ever the backcountry Texan—declares, "[L]et's call a testicle a testicle." Eating can be fattening, Smith concedes, but she proves that "reading about food... setting tables in our minds" can be a guilt-free delight. 16 pages of photos not seen by PW
. Agent, Joni Evans. (Apr. 5)
Forecast:
An author tour combined with Smith's media savvy should add up to hearty sales. S&S plans a 100,000-copy first printing.
