Okay, so i’m not literally cooking with an Oscar winner, but I am wildly in love with the new Gwyneth Paltrow cookbook, “My Father’s Daughter”. The cookbook is told from the perspective of how her father, a professional filmmaker and amateur gourmand, instilled a love of cooking in her.
Paltrow’s career has taken a series of odd turns over the past few years, and occasionally the star has a tendency to come across as a little… (pretentious? stuck up? judgmental? elitist?) clipped. However I always seem to enjoy her on screen (she is tons of fun as Pepper Pots in the Iron Man movies). Off screen I can typically get upset when she talks down to reporters or readers. While the book is full of elitist gems (“On Vegenaise: “My most often-used and beloved ingredient. It can be found at most grocery stores and all health food stores—unfortunately not yet in London.“ and “One evening when I had my wood-burning stove going I realized I hadn’t thought of dessert“) I personally feel that the content of the book and her general sense of humor outweigh any perceived pretension.
The tome has a focus towards the healthy working individual. I would guess that around 2/3rds of the book is vegetarian, many of which include instructions for converting the recipe to be more vegan friendly. All of her choices are naturalist friendly and usually organic. I initially purchased it for my father for Fathers Day, due to its focus on the tradition of food passed from father to child, but after flipping through it I fell in food love.
The books is divided into several categories, soups, salads, main dishes, sides, deserts, and breakfast. In the next few enteries in this blog I will write and review some of the recipes Joey and I have explored. Stay tuned.
This Brand New Colony 