Appetites: A Cookbook by Anthony Bourdain

Appetites: A Cookbook Reviews

• 
  Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile

  The talented Mr. Bourdain was such a fascinating individual. Even though most of these recipes weren’t anything I would cook or eat, mostly being meat based, I still loved his snippets of backstories and cooking tips, and most of all, his humor. I’m not a TV watcher by any means, but I may be tempted to binge watch his show after I finish his books.
• 
  Jenny (Reading Envy)

  This is Anthony Bourdain through and thorough, a man who finally created a family at age 50, with grungy photography (one of wine stains, one of bloody duck necks, one of garbage), and recipes that are his actual family staples. Nothing fancy, lots of meat, a few dishes from other lands. Throughout is Anthony's dry sarcastic jabs, and I started laughing and reading recipes out loud starting with scrambled eggs, which includes the phrase "fuck nuts." Also- no desserts. But if you know this guy you would never have expected any. I almost think this is the cookbook that best accompanies his memoirs, starting with Kitchen Confidential, because there are recipes that date from his seafood slinging and poor brunch making days.
  
  Also, this is worth it just to see a picture of Eric Ripert dribbling from the mouth and looking tortured by southern biscuits and gravy.
• 
  Bill Peschel

  Every once in awhile, I'm reminded of an exhortation I found in Guy Peellaert's "Rock Dreams" that was quoted from Revelations: "Be hot or be cold, or else God will spit you from his mouth!"
  
  That's "Appetites" in a nutshell. It's disgusting, ugly, pretentious, nasty, and uncompromising. It reminds you that humans are gross destructors of the world. We tear, rend, chop, eviscerate, mangle, and slice living, thinking, loving creatures, even the unborn, for our dark pleasures.
  
  You’ll either adore this book or hate it.
  
  Anthony Bourdain is the temptation angel of our better natures, an unblinking guide to the deep pleasures of seared flesh, cooked muscle, boiled intestines, fried brains, and sauteed livers.
  
  But no dessert. He @$#%@#$% hates dessert.
  
  Think I'm kidding? This is probably the only cookbook sporting a cover by Ralph Steadman, who iconized Hunter S. Thompson. He drew Bourdain, small and at the bottom of the page, with a clown nose and his lolling drooling tongue of a congenital idiot, while behind him a large head explodes in various shades of red and pink, a ghostly Id with its brains blown out, like what Hunter did, only Bourdain does it sensibility, with macaroni and cheese and tomato soup with oyster crackers.
  
  Bourdain explains in his introduction that this is his family cookbook. It should be noted that, as this book was published, Bourdain abandoned his family for his television work. "These are the dishes I like to eat and that I like to feed my family and friends. They are the recipes that ‘work,’ meaning they've been developed over time and have been informed by repetition and long -- and often painful -- experience.”
  
  That means you get recipes for Sausage and Pepper Hero with a shot of Bourdain eating on the toilet (pants up; he’s no Zappa), and an explanation of how he can't resist this street food, "served at temperatures that would be probably be considered suboptimal by the New York State Department of Health, squashed on a dirty griddle and then piled into a squishy hero roll with some browned onions and peppers, the whole thing a greasy, soggy, unmanageable mess that generally falls apart in my hands before I can eat it. And within an hour of consumption, I'm s**ting like a mink."
  
  This is probably the only cookbook in the world which namechecks Peter North. Don't Google him at work.
  
  The chapters are idiosyncratic: "Salads," "Soups," "Pasta," "Birds," "Hamburger Rules," "Party 101," "Fight!" (about Brazilian martial arts, his now ex-wife's passion), and "Dessert" (one page, which begins, as I said: "F**k dessert.")
  
  The photos are of a piece with the author. You don't get food porn, with colorful pretty set-ups of perfectly prepared dishes in warm wood-and-tiled, copper-pot displaying kitchens. You get torture food porn. Black-and-white pictures of precisely placed and shot godknowswhat. Turning the pages at random, there's a two-page spread of a dog lunging for a piece of tossed meat (appetites, remember?), a boned seabass, its skeleton holding the tail and head (blanked-eyed, shocked expression still on its face), a Macau-style pork chop sandwich with a bite taken out and tossed on the floor, a partially deboned veal chop stood on end amid a pile of sliced mushrooms, a plate of seasoned cauliflower with inexplicable dark stains on the tablecloth next to it (the sesame sauce; or something much worse?). Many of these images are deliberately abused, out of focus and off-center. It wouldn't look out of place at an art school showing of first-year photography students.
  
  I must admit I enjoyed the egg yolk surrounded by small dried fishes, an obvious and unsettling egg-and-sperm reference. Not so much seeing the author, drooling white sauce like a perverted Guy Fieri, next to his recipe for buttermilk biscuits and gravy sauce.
  
  Underneath its carefully curated punk aesthetic and ripped-from-the-(now ex-)family recipes, "Appetites" is also unintentionally a meditation on life and how it should be lived. Reading Bourdain's commentaries, you get the sense that “Appetites” reflects the man and his experiences. Perhaps because I lived a deliberately safe and sheltered life, I can taste the textures and tones that went into his. When you live your life in the world, devouring all that you see, you're marinating in what you consume. You are what you eat, literally, emotionally, and figuratively.
  
  And to Bourdain, unapologetically.
  
  (Book gifted from HarperCollins as part of a blogger event.)
  
• 
  Elysia Fionn

  I can't even get hold of this book before it's available, but I just wanted to point out a fact about this book that many people might miss.
  
  Some years ago, I was watching "Turner Classic Movies", and the host, Robert Osborne, had celebrity guests on to recommend their favorite movies of all time. The celebrity guest the day I watched was Anthony Bourdain, and he said his all-time favorite movie was a British film called "Withnail & I". I had never seen the film before, and once I watched it, I just couldn't stop. I've seen the film over 200 times (and counting), and have subsequently begun a collection of vintage items seen in the film that I've dubbed the "Wall-O-Withnail" (it takes up an entire wall in my computer room), and because of the W-O-W I've become penpals with the film's writer and director, Bruce Robinson, and have also met the movie's star, Richard E. Grant, who recently invited me to his fragrance launch party in Greenwich Village this past Monday.
  
  Whew! All of that, just to point out that it is no accident that Anthony Bourdain's new cookbook has cover art done by Ralph Steadman. Ralph Steadman also did the movie poster artwork for (you guessed it) Withnail & I!
  
  So there it is... hold hands, and all together now... "It's a small world after all, it's a small world after all...."
  
  If you'd like to see the Wall-O-Withnail, you can Google it! (Or go to double-you double-you double-you daht wall-o-withnail daht blogspot daht com)
• 
  Dianna

  I'm just going to start with a disclaimer: I am not the target audience for this cookbook. I love reading books about food, but full disclosure: I am vegan, so I'm never going to make most of these recipes. Many of the recipes that could be easily made vegan contain huge amounts of oil (seriously, there are recipes that call for CUPS of oil!). Ugh.
  
  I have no doubt that Anthony Bourdain is a talented chef. He obviously has a huge amount of very unique experience and has put so much work into his talent and career. This book is his collection of his everyday comfort food recipes—some fairly straightforward, and others a definite departure from what we're used to.
  
  I enjoyed reading some of his commentary on the recipes and on his food life and memories—but then suddenly there's his potty mouth coming into play, and I didn't enjoy his attitude about a lot of things—but, again, I don't think I'm the target audience here. I found these crude displays off-putting enough that I couldn't make it through more than half the book. Many of the pictures were fairly off-putting too. I almost felt like he was trying to gross us out. But why would you want to do that in a cookbook? Seriously, even the cover is off-putting. It reminds me of
  Mr. Twit's disgusting beard that he never washes and gets bits of food stuck in that go moldy.
  
  Let's look at the recipes. Mr. Bourdain writes that these are his tried-and-true everyday recipes, the sort of things he likes to cook for his family. Well, he might enjoy cooking octopus stock and making his own mayonnaise, but . . . well, once again, I guess I'm just not the target audience. I don't have hours to make dinner, I don't have easy access to special ingredients, and I value health in my cooking above taste (although I absolutely believe you can have them both).
  
  Sorry Anthony, you're just not my thing!
  
  I received a review copy of this book.
• 
  Alafair Burke

  I confess I haven't cooked anything from this yet, but just reading it is a joy. Multiple uses of f--- to describe scrambled eggs makes this my favorite cookbook of the year.
• 
  Mary C

  I bought this cookbook for well, many reasons. One, I miss Anthony Bourdain, two, The Tasting Table Cookbook Club on Facebook is using this cookbook this month for us to try recipes and post our results and pictures of our meals. I love this page, don't post a lot of the meals I make, but I have found wonderful, honest cooks there, and so enjoy knowing a few of the cookbooks they suggest I have had for decades!
• 
  KC

  I want to thank Anthony Bourdain, Harper Collins Publishers, and Edelweiss for the advanced digital copy. I actually really enjoyed this book. Not just because the recipes were yummy and simple, but also because Bourdain uses wit and humor in his writing. I loved the Bodega Sandwiches in which he suggests having "shitty coffee" with it!
• 
  Mary

  I don't know what happened. I was such a fan of AB. Has he changed? Or is it me who has? All I know is, I didn't enjoy this book one bit. Aside from his snarky little stories and potty mouth tidbits, (which kind of get old after a while), there wasn't much else of interest. I like simple, homey, rustic food. I already make a lot of what he is offering. Really, now...who needs to be taught how to make tuna salad or grilled cheese? I make my own version of "Sunday gravy" just about, well, every Sunday. The majority of his recipes didn't intrigue or inspire me. I'm sure there are a lot of people who will treasure this book, and maybe even cook something from it. It just wasn't for me. And I'm really glad I didn't buy it. Thanks, library, for saving me 30 bucks.
• 
  Laura

  If you've ever wondered what Tony Bourdain cooks and eats with his family and friends, here it is. The recipes vary quite a bit in terms of cuisine (totally expected) and difficulty and number of ingredients. But there is something in here for most people. I particularly enjoyed his chapter on Thanksgiving prep. And there's a lot of biographical text, so you feel like he's talking to you, or talking you through the book. And the photos are funny.
  
  This is a must for any Bourdain fan. It's kind of a rock n'roll cookbook; not great for vegans and there's not a ton of quick prep stuff in here. However, I really enjoyed reading it and I think that my family will enjoy the recipes from it.
• 
  Penmouse

  Appetites has so much potential that's been lost due to the minimal profanity, and a photo of the author eating a sandwich while sitting on a toilet. I found that really, really tacky.
  
  The writing is often pithy and funny while the recipes sound good.
  
  Recommend with caveats given.
  
  Review written after downloading a free galley from Edelweiss
• 
  Jim

  This is super sad.
  
  I picked this up from the library the day I heard Anthony Bourdain died.
  
  I picked it up because the cover was cool.
  
  But this book is a recipe book about food he makes with and for his wife and daughter.
  
  This is our family cookbook.
  
  And it reads like a narrative. He talked about each dish - and it’s like you’re sitting eating it with him and he’s just sharing stories.
  
  Caesar salad is of Mexican origin. I didn’t know that! God does not want you to put chicken in your Caesar.
  
  On New England Clam Chowder: There is only one chowder. All else is soup. And I’m a purist. YES! I’m going to have to try this recipe.
  
  But I’ll pass on the Hot Borscht:
  
  The ham hock and pig’s foot make this a particularly full-bodied and satisfying version of borscht, a soup you might have previously equated with dishwater. The addition of the finely grated beet at the end of the cooking process is the key to getting that violent, almost bloody color in the bowl.
  
  His rant on the club sandwich is pretty fantastic.
  
  Actually, this is a book I need to buy. It’s one of those book you get out of the library just so you can look through it and decide whether or not it’s something you really need on your shelf.
  
  I really need this on my shelf.
• 
  Adam

  I'm not a natural when it comes to cooking (although my wife is) so when I first skimmed through some of the recipes when my wife got me this book for my birthday I was somewhat intimidated. Once I had the chance to actually read through the recipes however and tried my hand at a couple I was hooked.
  
  This is the first cookbook that I have actually stuck with through more than one recipe. Even the recipes that I will almost certainly never try, like anything involving wild boar, were worth reading to understand more about Bourdain's approach to cooking and food. Even my wife, who normally eschews recipes, found the cookbook very helpful in preparing for our first time hosting Thanksgiving. I highly recommend this book.
• 
  False

  He writes as he speaks, so reading the cookbook you hear a familiar voice. The recipes include a few that could be considered global. Several call back to his early days as a young chef in Provincetown, Massachusetts. There is an entire chapter devoted to Thanksgiving. Sections on how to cook steak, hamburger, Eggs Benedict, bacon, and other common and popular choices. Many good stories behind each recipe. Overall, a solid offering with sections for appetizers, souprs, sandwiches, meat, vegetables, giving a party and dessert--although Bourdain makes it clear he is not a dessert lover and could do without.
• 
  Beth Meredith

  I absolutely love Bourdain. I think he's the guy that you love or hate. I'm on the live team. This cookbook was supposed to be about what he cooks at home for his family.
  
  Really??? This is not your average "let me whip something up for dinner" kind of cookbook. I guess I expected normal - and maybe this stuff IS his normal. I mean he throws in scrambled eggs and maybe grilled cheese but we can all do this. The commentary was interesting but typical of what you'd see on a show. Nothing unique and, while worth checking out at the library like I did, not worth owning.
• 
  Susan

  I loved the cover of this cookbook. It's just cool. I enjoyed Bourdain's commentary on each recipe and appreciated his advice. I enjoyed the glimpse into his home life. BUT, I am not going to cook wild boar. A few of the recipes had ingredients I'd seriously have to hunt down. But really, what did I expect? It's Anthony Bourdain. So 4 stars for presentation and 3 stars for actual recipes. Why can't we do half stars? 31/2 stars.
• 
  Anne

  I think Anthony Bourdain is kind of a jerk. Well, no, I think he is a jerk. But, man, am I crazy about him! I really enjoyed this book, although I am sure I won't use a single recipe from it. And I respect his stand on trying to keep his daughter's image private.
• 
  Addison

  I ate a whole sleeve of crackers for dinner last night because I honestly didn't have the energy to microwave something dignified like pizza rolls but at least now I know how to make a sauce that will pair excellently with boar.
  
  "Toast your goddamn muffins" is excellent life advice though.
• 
  Lynda

  I am an Anthony Bourdain fangirl. Have read all his books, articles and seen all his tv shows. As far as I am concerned this the best book he has written. His guide to preparing Thanksgiving dinner is well worth the price of this book.
  
  Reread because I needed to "hear" his voice again.
• 
  Connie

  I like a cookbook that teaches me new words. From Anthony Bourdain in this book, I learned that certain terms to describe cuts of beef are marketing bullshit and "douche bait." That phrase right there is valuable knowledge I can use over and over.
  
  Other than that, it's rare that I read a cookbook and actually want to save a recipe or two for future use, and I'd go a step further with this one and consider actually purchasing it (versus just taking it back to the library and forgetting all about it, which is what I usually do). It's not a particularly practical cookbook (he calls a noodle recipe with eighteen ingredients "the ultimate dorm food"--what kind of dorms has he been in?) but it's got lots of solid ideas on how to cook good things and cook them well.
  
  Lots of recipes are what I'd call high-end "recipe knockoffs." You know those "knockoff" cookbooks that teach you how to duplicate things like Twinkies and Kentucky Fried Chicken? This is like that, except with cool foods you might have eaten from time to time at really good regional restaurants around the world. As a result, the likelihood that you'll have the ingredients and proper tools lying around are practically zero--and in my part of the world I'll have to plan a special trip to a large metro to even buy some of them at all--but the instructions are clear, and based on my culinary knowledge (which is profoundly limited but I do cook a lot and have a pretty good idea when a recipe actually includes all the information I need to make it work), they seem authentic and likely to turn out well. In other words, Bourdain is unapologetic about telling you exactly what you need to make a recipe for Fantastic Sandwich He Found at Obscure Foreign Food Cart, so don't come crying to him if you substitute something else and it doesn't taste quite so fantastic. So, bottom line is that there are lots of sort of impractical things in here, but those impractical things are probably super magically delicious and you wouldn't have a flipping clue how to make them without this book. Octopus stock, anyone?
  
  Plus, how can I not like a cookbook with a dessert chapter like this one?
• 
  Eddy

  If you had told me a year ago that I would enjoy reading a cookbook, I would have called you a damned liar. And yet Appetites isn't just a cookbook. It's an opinion piece, an autobiography, and a beautifully artistic photo book, all in one. And for every complex, world-class dish, there's a home recipe that I easily envision me making on a weeknight. Highly recommended.
• 
  Carey

  In total Bourdain fashion, this cookbook is straight to the point.
  I need a personal copy.
  
  and Fuck Desserts
• 
  Eva Sanchez

  Precious photos, wish there were more photos of the recipes because they sound too good to visualize.
• 
  Kristin

  i love cookbooks that are a good read. this is one of those. and written in perfect sarcastic Tony fashion. you can hear his voice as you read.
• 
  Ali

  I appreciate Bourdain as a voice in food, culture and their inevitable entwining, and am near certain to be unable to separate my bias as a result, but I found this cookbook engaging and interesting, drenched in his voice start to finish. The recipes are what you would expect from his personal collection, a mix of high and lowbrow cuisine from near and far. The chapters are separated by first course then type and a section all it's own for Thanksgiving dinner, in which he offers "practical" tips like buying a decorative turkey and a workhorse turkey, so no one has to see you actually carve the thing.
  
  The recipes themselves lean more practical than I expected - the kitchen experience is here as efficiency is the central component of each, as far as I can tell. Seafood is his kryptonite so it makes sense that's where the heart of the book lies, but he makes room for comfort foods like mac' n cheese and biscuits and gravy. No dessert, though, so if that's a dealbreaker you'll want to avoid this one.
  
  
  It's almost certain that as a cookbook, I am unlikely to make many of the recipes. While they do lean practical, it's still a time investment I'm not able to make very often and some of the ingredients, particularly in the seafood section, are not easily acquired. But it stands the reason that the audience for Appetites falls into two categories: the urban foodie, and/or the Bourdain fan, and whether you're in it for the eats or the prose, you'll walk away satisfied.
  
  Two small notes:
  
  -This is not an inexpensive book, and considering its purpose, it's impractically bound in off-white fabric. Attractive, but good lord, what genius thought that was a smart idea?
  
  -If you, like me, were raised on biscuits and gravy, our gravy this ain't. Both the sausage and the redeye gravy in this book are a strictly meat and dairy/broth affair, no roux to be seen. My head exploded and I wandered around in a daze for days, trying to make sense of it all. Gravy without flour? What? What?! So I tried the sausage gravy recipe and while I'm not a flourless convert, if you're into deeply concentrated sausage milk for your biscuits, by all means, give it a whirl.
• 
  Ariel (BookHermit)

  Fantastic photos and delightfully snarky commentary. Very interesting to see what the king of food travelogues enjoys to cook at home. I love Bourdain, his TV shows, his writing, his cynicism. He is my celebrity comfort food. My parents gave us this book for Christmas and I quite enjoyed reading it over the break. The photography is spectacular. If you like Ralph Steadman's illustrations, you will love the punk-rockish quality of the layouts. As for the recipes, well, not exactly easy-peasy home cooking. I appreciate Bourdain's sensibility but not sure how many of the recipes I will attempt. I did make the Buttermilk Biscuits and they turned out quite well. I have a similar recipe that I prefer but this one is much quicker and makes the perfect quantity for a single meal. If you are adventurous and have access to an above-average (i.e. big city) grocery, give it a whirl. A must have for Bourdainistas ;)
• 
  Bree

  Filled with his trademark... let's call it wit, as well as a ton of recipes, none of which I would call simple, but all of which definitely waft off the page as ones refined over years, decades even, of fine tuning and perfecting. You may not agree with all his thoughts on what food 'should' be (I'll take cheddar on my burger over American any day, thank you), but his experience and knowledge cannot be denied. And even then, he'll admit that there are those who know even more and we should be learning from them, too. Or, in his words, "If Jacques Pepin tells you this is how you make a fucking egg? The matter is settled, fuck nuts."
• 
  Anne

  I loved this, and after discovering it on the "new books" library shelf, I want to go out and buy my own copy. First of all, the cover art, which is what captured my attention. Ralph Steadman's art is brilliant. In this cookbook, which Bourdain calls his family cookbook, he takes you into his home kitchen, sharing recipes that he prepares for those he loves. I envy his daughter. Bobby Fisher's photography is beautiful and contains the edginess that one would expect from an Anthony Bourdain cookbook. The dessert section is very brief, and he sums up his thoughts in two words. This is a visual and culinary feast and nothing less than one would expect from the man. Kudos.