Around the Table - Diana Henry

I've been knitting a lot and not reading as much as I should; some of my reading has been re-reading at that (Gaudy Night again), but I have finished Diana Henry's Around The Table after having it on the go for a while. 

Around the Table is a collection of 52 essays on Food and Life and not really designed for reading cover to cover in one go - much better to dip in and out of I think, and really savour in the process. It is not a cookbook although there are plenty of tips and suggestions in here for the cook to consider.

I have a long-standing love for Diana's books, which I have successfully managed to share with my husband who is now also happily cooking his way through A Bird In The Hand and from Oven To Table. These are practical books full of the kind of food that we both like and recipes that have proven to be reliable time after time. For husband, who could and did cook for himself, and us, for years, but with a limited repertoire both titles have been significant confidence boosters. He likes that things turn out very much like the pictures. 

I would be well served if he would read Around The Table too, for the extra hints and food philosophy. For anyone familier with Diana's articles and cookbooks there will be familiar territory here - her thoughts on the quality of pork and the virtues of a good butcher bear repeating - it really does make a difference. If we ever manage to leave Leicester, the butchers on the local market will be one of my biggest misses. 

In Cold Kitchen Caroline Eden talks about books to have to hand, the sort perfect to browse or read through whilst waiting for something to cook. Around The Table is exactly that sort of book. The essays are short enough to fit well with the need to give something an occasional stir, or until the next thing needs to be added. As it's also a book that might inspire your next meal or project - citrus season is at it's height right now, do I just enjoy the blood oranges whilst they're here and as they are, or do I go and buy seville's and make some marmalade? Or help you make a better salad dressing, its physical as well as spiritual home is very much near the kitchen table too. 

In short a deeply enjoyable book that feels like the best sort of conversation between reader and author. It builds on previous books, feels chatty and warm without being overly intimate (sometimes biographies can be too revealing; this isn't that, or a biography). I love the essay format and generally could stand to see a lot more books of this calibre around.