How to Cook a Wolf

By M.F.K. Fisher

Book Overview

"I do not know of any one in the United States who writes better prose." --W.H. Auden

Written to inspire courage in those daunted by wartimes shortages, How to Cook a Wolf continues to rally cooks during times of plenty, reminding them that providing sustenance requires more than putting food on the table.

M. F. K. Fisher knew that the last thing hungry people needed were hints on cutting back and making do. Instead, she gives her readers license to dream, to experiment, to construct adventurous and delicious meals as a bulwark against a dreary, meager present. Her fine prose provides reason in itself to draw our chairs close to the hearth; we can still enjoy her company and her exhortations to celebrate life by eating well.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0865473366
• ISBN13: 9780865473362
• Release Date: October 1988
• Publisher: North Point Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.49 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

What a read!

Ms. Fisher was writing in Europe during WW2; due to wartime rationing and shortages, the wolf seemed literally to hover near the door. Fine, she says, a wolf! Let's eat him! Ms. Fisher shows the best of the chin-up attitude one hopes we would all be disposed to display in hard times. She was in Europe during the war, and suffered the hardships thereof; she writes from a love of the food she had been exposed to before shortages,...

This is it! The First Edition of Wolf!

The famous and funny book by MFK Fisher. I love the title alone. (meant to refer to the wolf at the door!) Recipes & prose and graciousness - she wants everyone to live well, no matter the situation. This is the very rare first edition, grey covers underneath the dustjacket. Someone is going to be very lucky. Highly recommended.

Unusual writing for unusual times

M.F.K. Fisher was a superb writer. And she lived in "interesting times" in Europe and California. How to Cook a Wolf pitted her inate love of food and cuisine against some severe times when money might be short or food was rationed. Her strange sense of humor and practical outlook are interesting; for example, she gives a recipe for a sludge to keep body (if not soul) alive. The instructions begin with borrowing 50 cents to...

Overrated as a food writer?! Underrated as a writer!

I can't vouch for her recipes but I can speak for her prose. I picked up this book for pure entertainment and found it. Fisher's conversation is elegant, entertaining, and educational, and her advice is at times amusing, at times timeless.

Inspiring

Not only could she write with style, wit and warmth, she could also "serve it forth" -- the recipes really work! Especially the prune roast (it sounds dopey, but it sure is great!!). I'm hooked.