by Ruth Reichl
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Product Description
In this delightful sequel to her bestseller Tender at the Bone, Ruth Reichl returns with more tales of love, life, and marvelous meals. Comfort Me with Apples picks up Reichl’s story in 1978, when she puts down her chef’s toque and embarks on a career as a restaurant critic. Her pursuit of good food and good company leads her to New York and China, France and Los Angeles, and her stories of cooking and dining with world-famous chefs range from the madcap to the sublime. Throughout it all, Reichl makes each and every course a hilarious and instructive occasion for novices and experts alike. She shares some of her favorite recipes, while also sharing the intimacies of her personal life in a style so honest and warm that readers will feel they are enjoying a conversation over a meal with a friend.
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Ruth Reichl's first book, the autobiographical Tender at the Bone, disarmed readers with its droll candor. The former restaurant critic of The New York Times and editor in chief of Gourmet magazine told great stories about growing up and loving food. Comfort Me with Apples begins where the first book ended, tracing Reichl's evolution from chef to food writer while detailing the dissolution of her first marriage, the start of a second, and motherhood at the age of 40. The book also limns a sensual journey, Reichl's awakening to the pleasures of sex as well as food, and also to love. Reichl interweaves her diverse coming-of-age narratives with passion (especially on the subject of food), wit, and a no-nonsense grace, all of which add up to a wonderful read--entertaining, but moving, too. The story begins when Reichl, living in a '70s Berkeley commune, gets her first real job as a restaurant reviewer. Despite the incredulity of her in-the-movement roommates ("You're going to spend your life telling spoiled, rich people where to eat?" asks one), Reichl persists, traveling widely to polish her palate. In the doing she meets food luminaries such as Wolfgang Puck (a mad encounter in a produce market), M.F.K. Fisher (lunch and sweet reminiscences), and Alice Waters (a garlic feast), among others. Her trip to China, which includes clandestine dealings with a former chef, is particularly well handled. The ungluing of her first marriage is depicted in adroit emotional counterpoint to her soaring career, as is her discovery of love with her second husband, unspooled against her father's death. Reichl also provides recipes, such as Fall Mushroom Soup (made to comfort herself and her mother) that, unexpectedly and delightfully, deepen the narrative. --Arthur Boehm
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Average Customer Review:
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
 I was truly Comforted by this book!, 2008-05-08
The Truth: I'm a Girl, I'm Smart and I Know EverythingAs a positive psychologist who focuses on women and girls in my own books, my latest being The Truth, the diary of a 10-11 year old girl who is struggling to grow-up and yet stay true to herself, I have to say I love Ruth Reichl's books. I am not here to pick them apart. Rather I eat them up, from first course to last, as the most wonderfully delicious meals of a woman's life experiences, combined with the intimate reflections of her inner life. And Comfort Me with Apples is no exception. I enjoyed every page and wanted to know even more about her than she shared. For me, maybe the combination of being taken to places I have never been, both in terms of travel, and relationships, and also delighting in descriptions of cooking and eating foods, just is a perfect combination for me and I suspect many women. I wouldn't dare, even if these things happened to me, to put them into writing. I am glad that there are people like Ruth Reichl who are willing and daring enough to share of themselves with readers when they themselves are still in their prime and not just reflecting (although there is nothing wrong with that) about a life well lived toward the end of one's days. Carry on Ruth! May everyday for you be a treat. And don't forget to share some of it with me!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A feast for heart, body and soul, 2007-12-22
A wonderful second course to her first book, Tender At the Bone. Just like you anticpate great meals through aromas wafting through the house, each page wafts anticipation of her growing career in the world of gourmet dining. And as happens on occasion, the meals that don't turn out just right, despite following every iota of the recipe, so too her marriage fails to sustains and nourish. A great read for the foodie who loves to read or the reader who loves good food! Bon Appetit!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Delectable Memoir -- I loved it!!!!, 2007-09-11
Ruth Reichl has done it again -- completely mesmerized me with a book I found hard to put down.
The current editor of Gourmet magazine goes from food critic a New West Magazine to the LA Times in this, the sequel to her first memoir, Tender at the Bone. How she reinvents herself from a hippie living in a commune in Berkeley cooking for her housemates to being one of the most respected food critics in the country is told with her usual candor, intelligence, humor, and poignancy. Her essay toward the end about her struggle with infertility left me weeping. An unbearable heartbreak for Ruth and Michael had me so emotional I had to put the book down at one point. But then an act of extraordinary kindness on the part of some of her dear friends several pages later made me sigh.
Thank goodness I had already read her bio and knew that in the end things turn out well for her, but I was struck by how hard it must have been for her to write about some of these episodes and she addresses this in her acknowledgements at the end of the book.
I enjoyed the stories she shares of how difficult it is for one to open a new restaurant and was particularly interested in the story of Wolfgang Puck's wife Barbara (who we met briefly at her now-defunct Seattle restaurant several years ago).
Another excellent read from Ruth Reichl. Her third book, Garlic and Sapphires is next. I can hardly wait!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Deliciously Satisfying Sequel, 2007-08-26
Ruth Reichl currently serves as editor of "Gourmet" magazine, an exalted position for any foodie. She also was once the restaurant critic for the "New York Times," but her journey as critic emerged from a much bumpier, more interesting path at a commune in Berkeley, California. "Comfort Me with Apples" follows on from Reichl's first book, her childhood exposure to the wonderful world of food, "Tender at the Bone." That book was so outstanding, I had a hard time imagining how Reichl's sequel could be as good, but it is.
In "Comfort Me with Apples," Reichl's tales of fine dining, celebrity chefs, and the pursuit of a great meal are colored with stories of her own love life, marriage and divorce, travel, friendships, and her desire for motherhood. Her pursuit of adopting a child is perhaps the most life-changing and heart-breaking story of all. And all along the way, we are lured by the amazing, accompanying meals. This memoir will make your mouth water and your heart ache.
Don't feel that you need to read "Tender at the Bone" first. This book stands up on its own, but all of Reichl's writing is so engaging, why would you miss any of it?
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Writes with an open heart , 2007-04-09
Although Ruth has encounted her share of life's obstacles and heartache, she continues to embrace life with a sense of humor and an open heart, which I think is the key to her success. Pork Chops and Applesauce: A Collection of Recipes and Reflections
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