It Must've Been Something I Ate - Jeffrey Steingarten

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Category: Non-fiction. Acquired: Christmas present Read: Jan/Feb 2009 Briefly: a collection of 38 columns by Vogue food editor and Iron Chef judge Jeffrey Steingarten, on topics ranging from the physics of grilling to the search for the ultimate hot chocolate.

Comments: What to say - this is totally enjoyable reading for anyone interested in food. Just a cookbook, you say? Not at all. Think of it as more like a diary, where Steingarten records his diverse adventures in foodology. He tracks down myths and rumors, experiments with cooking techniques, tries to reproduce dishes he's eaten, and gives the occasional lesson in science, sociology, politics or psychology - all as related to food topics. All are delivered with the dry sense of humor and semi-cynical attitude that Iron Chef viewers have come to expect and appreciate.

Some of my favorite chapters included:

• his first Turducken meal, followed by a description of his attempts to assemble his own.
  
• his search for a practical way to duplicate pizzeria baking techniques at home.
• the day he spent helping his French friends slaughter a hog and make blood sausage.
  
• his research into MSG - where it comes from, how it affects taste, plus some history behind the long- disproven "MSG headache" myth. (This informative chapter is entitled "How come everyone in China doesn't have a headache?")

This book is of essentially the same style as Steingarten's other title, The Man Who Ate Everything. I can recommend them both.