Kitchen Yarns

Ann Hood's newest memoir--- ahhh! Touching, fun to read, and stuffed with lovely recipes, this will fit a niche for many gift-givers, lovers of sentimental memoirs, and libraries. Readers familiar with Ann's previous memoirs may wonder at the repeated mention of family tragedies. It seems the book was written as separate essays or articles, and thus background information was repeated. But I'm a fan. 4.5 stars

This is the kind of book you can imagine becoming lightly flour dusted and possibly sauce stained but holding its place on a kitchen shelf with other treasured cookbooks. While it is part memoir, part cookbook, Hood amplifies and interprets her memories through ingredients and memories and will inspire writers to do the same. This is a homey and sometimes confessional book that feels very personal. Hood's personality as a generous and sensitive soul shines through the recipes and narrative.

Funny how food captures so many of our life moments. Some of our recipes become cherished as heirlooms to be passed on, others are our goto comfort foods. I loved this book. Ann Hood's recipes color her life , as mine do mine. Kindred spirit! Food figures at every opening , and closing chapter of my life and I enjoyed reading about her life. Pour a nice glass of wine and grab some hearty Italian food, settle down with this book and enjoy. Great book!

I'm a sucker for any book about food and this one was no exception. Hood's latest is a dip into her life and her loves and this collection of essays and recipes will be sure to warm your soul. Make sure you don't read on an empty stomach or you'll come away from the page with a deep abiding hunger and a need to run to the kitchen and whip up a bunch of meatballs. Delizioso!

I loved everything about this book- from the stories about Hood's life to the recipes included in each chapter. A little gem of a book. Highly recommend.

Ann Hood is a master of opening up her heart and letting you in. I loved these family stories and the recipes included. A great light read for anyone who loves to cook.

Kitchen Yarns is a casual memoir with food. Ann Hood recounts her life through its phases of learning to cook and relationships connected to those times. It’s chatty and fun, as if you and she were sitting in her family room in two big cozy chairs, each with a glass of wine, something delicious to munch on and sharing stories of your lives.
She starts out describing her Italian Grandma Rose, constantly cooking heavenly, fresh meals, but never once letting Ann or the other kids into her tiny kitchen. The result, Ann never learned to cook any of these meals! (I on the hand, watched and learned everything my mother made; but did not become a writer or a chef.) Ann moves on to college trying out a few meals to impress a few boys. After college she lands a job as a flight attendant for TWA (remember them?!), flies everywhere and shares an apartment in Boston with five roommates. No one cooks anything, ever.
Eventually she has her first serious relationship and decides to follow a recipe, changing one key ingredient. What follows is a disastrous pesto meal for an understanding boyfriend. (Great story.) She moves on, thankfully, to the memorable, “Silver Palate” cookbook, super popular in the 1980’s. Of course, Ann marries, has two children who stand on stools and cook with her almost every day.
Here is where our walk “down the yellow-brick road” ends. At five years old, her daughter, Grace dies suddenly, from a severe case of strep throat. (yes, they did everything.) Life is not the same for a long time. I’ve read most of Ann’s books, but this is the first time she can really talk about the pain and grief she wen through losing a child. She worked through it, as mothers do, with seven-year-old Tommy, still at home to raise.
The family was living in an old, restored, Victorian house in Providence, RI, not far from Ann’s hometown. She talks a lot about her neighborhood. Before that marriage ended, they adopted one-year-old, Annabelle from China, which brought new challenges and new joy to the family.
Currently, Annabelle is fourteen years old living with the happily remarried Ann and her “sweetie” (her word), writer and chef, Michael Ruelman. Ann’s book is sprinkled with humor and many of her favorite recipes.
Look for Ann’s book Dec. 4, 2018 and wish her a Happy Birthday on Dec 9th!

Thank you NetGalley, W.W. Norton, and Ann Hood

I must admit I am a perfunctory cook, I don’t mind it, but I can’t say I love it. What I do love is reading about people who view cooking as a kind of art, a passion, something to be shared with others. I have long loved the stories Nigel Slater includes in his cookbooks and his memoir, Toast, now I add Ann Hood to my list of people that can make the preparation of food an almost religious experience. You don’t have to be a cook, or even enjoy cooking to enjoy this memoir of food as a backdrop to life

I picked this book to read on a whim and I am so glad that I did. Each essay focused on a life experience with a certain food and was then followed by a recipe or two. I loved reading the connection to a person or place with the cuisine. It also brought back childhood memories and experiences with family, friends, and food. Great book!