Quirky is an adjective that people love to ascribe to others but take offense when called it.
B: Oh, you're so quirky!
A: Quirky? What do you mean?
B: Well, like eccentric. You march to the beat of your own drummer.
A: Eccentric like the homeless lady who feeds the birds or eccentric like an unappreciated genius?
B: You dress weird and you talk about cats like they're people.
So where do I get off calling these two cookbooks quirky? Well, they are written by spunky (another buzz word) ladies who do more than give you a list of ingredients, they entertain you. Recipes are weaved with larger stories about pirate themed parties with Wall Street executives or semi-psychotic threats to those who dare claim they have a better version of Chicken Tetrazzini. Let me be clear though, these ladies are the unappreciated genius kind of quirky.
I Like You, Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris
![]()
This book is beautiful; I love to lazily page through it. There are treasures to be found on every page, and you instantly want to be a guest at one of her parties. The book is definitely NSFW though, as Amy dons just a pair of panty hose on the back cover and appears passed out next to a mirror and some white powder.
Beat This! Cookbook by Ann Hodgman
![]()
Oh Ann, I am so happy I found you. Thanks to NPR, who boldly proclaimed "When it Comes to Food You Can't 'Beat This' Book", I now count myself among your followers fans.
This book is the opposite of Amy Sedaris' eye candy: there are no photographs, no doodles, not a self portrait made from cheese to be found. But Hodgman's colorful personality leaps off the page, making you smirk and salivate at the same time.
B: Oh, you're so quirky!
A: Quirky? What do you mean?
B: Well, like eccentric. You march to the beat of your own drummer.
A: Eccentric like the homeless lady who feeds the birds or eccentric like an unappreciated genius?
B: You dress weird and you talk about cats like they're people.
So where do I get off calling these two cookbooks quirky? Well, they are written by spunky (another buzz word) ladies who do more than give you a list of ingredients, they entertain you. Recipes are weaved with larger stories about pirate themed parties with Wall Street executives or semi-psychotic threats to those who dare claim they have a better version of Chicken Tetrazzini. Let me be clear though, these ladies are the unappreciated genius kind of quirky.
I Like You, Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris
This book is beautiful; I love to lazily page through it. There are treasures to be found on every page, and you instantly want to be a guest at one of her parties. The book is definitely NSFW though, as Amy dons just a pair of panty hose on the back cover and appears passed out next to a mirror and some white powder.
Beat This! Cookbook by Ann Hodgman
This book is the opposite of Amy Sedaris' eye candy: there are no photographs, no doodles, not a self portrait made from cheese to be found. But Hodgman's colorful personality leaps off the page, making you smirk and salivate at the same time.
Ok, so you've probably noticed I haven't talked about the recipes in either book. That's because I have yet to cook anything from them. But that's really not what a cook book is all about right?