“Endless Feasts: Sixty Years of Writing from Gourmet Magazine” Edited by Ruth Reichl

I simply could not resist this book and for that I am glad.

I don’t subscribe to Gourmet but may reconsider, now that I know what I’m missing.

This is a delectable collection of stories fromGourmet over the last 60 years. They encompass everything from fictitious musings and memorable lunches to outdated recipes and culinary biographies.

The settings travel from North Dakota to China. We have lunch in Swiss chalets and enjoy a midnight feast of venison i Maine. We see how the life of a foodie is formed and how gastronomy is integral to our well-being.

Once again, Ruth Reichl has found stories that reflect upon more than simply food. This is not a cookbook or a how-to, unless possibly it is a how-to-live.The preponderance of engaging pieces is a credit to both Gourmet and Reichl.

Some authors take us on personal journeys that shaped their lives and some capture the foods and wines that shaped an era. Others share the moments that make their lives worth living and the joie de vivre to be found in cooking.

I will not comment on every piece, but there are some that I just cannot resist.

As ever, M.F.K. Fisher is a gift. Her Three Swiss Inns is so vivid in detail and her ability to capture ambiance so clever that she sets the bar high. The tank of trout practically swims before our eyes. Start the book after lunch unless you are reading in Gstaad because a sandwich break will be truly disheartening.

Robert Coffin’s pieces are almost my favorites. In Night of Lobster and Night of Venison, his culinary escapades in Maine with hot biscuits, good friends, Scotch, and frozen tidal pools are concurrently corporeal and ethereal. Down East Breakfast is brawnily viscous and will forever make you scowl at your sad little bowl of Cheerios.

Annie Proulx takes the proverbial cake, however, in A Garlic War. Auntie Bella undertaking the de-transmogrification of her self-righteous son-in-law with cloves of garlic and puritanical sliced tomatoes is fabulously conniving.

A few Bons Mots have to remarked upon. I laughed out loud at some and smiled knowingly at others.

Lucius Beebe, an example of gracious living, sums his needs up quite concisely, as follows, “A hot bird and a cold bottle.”

Mary Cantwell enjoys dining alone because she knows when she leaves,” I’ll be going home happy.”

Traveling, “Back down the cone of time to (his) fifth year,” finds William Hamilton,” outraged by what jellied consommé turned out to be.”

It goes on and on. So many wonderful stories. There is a plethora of humor and insight to be had in “Endless Feasts.”

Some I will always remember and others I will not, but overall it is a masterpiece of editing and writing.