The Joy of Reheating

I recently stumbled across a surprising entry into the frozen food marketplace: Joy of Cooking branded meals. In one of the odder developments in food marketing, it seems that the venerable American cookbook has licensed its name to a prepared food product. Its tagline is "the taste of homemade without all the work."

A website marketing the products (letjoyin.com) gives life to the cookbook by creating an actual character named "Joy," an iconic/ironic fifties housewife pitted against her fast-food loving dolt of a husband, nemesis, "the Kitchen Dragon of Dinnertime Stress."

New Books by Baby Bourdains

Russ Parsons rounds up the latest literary contributions to the chef memoir genre.

Ramen and Romance

The writings of the late instant ramen innovator Momofuku Ando have inspired a new book entitled The Ramen King and I: How the Inventor of Instant Noodles Fixed My Love Life. Via coldmud.

America Eats

Due out this week from Mark Kurlansky, author of Cod and Salt, is The Food of a Younger Land, an exploration of the New Deal writers project "America Eats," which sought to document American eating habits and traditions.

Writers including Zora Neale Hurston, Eudora Welty, and Nelson Algren contributed to the 1930s project which was eventually abandoned as World War II approached and never completed. The book recounts the breadth and diversity of American cuisine in this period "before the national highway system brought the country closer together; before chain restaurants imposed uniformity and low quality; and before the Frigidaire meant frozen food in mass quantities."

$18.45 at amazon.com.

Photo: Oysters and a political rally, No. 1 Gelatin silver print, ca. 1930-1941, Library of Congress.

Bruni Book Cover (and Face) Revealed

Frank Bruni's upcoming memoir, Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-Time Eater, features the restaurant reviewer's punim right on the cover (albeit as a grade-schooler).

Novel Eating

Sometimes, it's the most awful meals that make for the best moments of "literary eating," writes Geoff Nicholson.

A16 Cookbook Tops IACP Book Awards

A16: Food & Wine, which took the prize for "Book of the Year," topped the list of winners of the International Association of Culinary Professionals book awards. Via Eat Me Daily.

Million Dollar Book Deal for Wine Library Dude

The Book on Greek Cuisine

The latest in Phaidon's series of "culinary bibles" of European cuisines is Vefa's Kitchen, a compendium of recipes by cookbook author Vefa Alexiadou, who is apparently known as the "Julia Child" of Greek food. The new book comes on the heels of Phaidon's publication of the mammoth cookbooks 1080 Recipes, covering Spain, and The Silver Spoon, on the food of Italy. This door-stopper of a book (700 recipes, 704 pages), due out in June 2009, is currently available for pre-order at amazon.com for $29.70.

Food Finder

These unique spin and slide Food Wheels take a brand new approach to organizing and displaying culinary knowledge. The "Illustrated Guide to Forty Culinary Herbs" provides details on herbs and which ones pair best with certain foods. The "New York Area Food Wheel" details what types of produce will be in season in New York throughout the year (other regions are on the way). $11 each or both for $20 at Chew on this. [via swissmiss]