Every summer, I rediscover my love of cooking. I bike to the local farmers market. I pick blackberries. I make everything from scratch. In short, it's lovely, and it serves to remind me that food can be many things: calorie-laden comfort, a sign of affection, or the start of something sensual!Not surprisingly, some of my favorite romance novelists seem to agree with me.
I'm sure I'm not the only one to appreciate Jennifer Crusie's food descriptions! Who could forget the chicken marsala in Bet Me--the "golden-brown fillets and huge braised mushrooms floating in luminous dark wine sauce" (44). And don't even get me started on Emilio's bread, or the Krispy-Kreme makeout scene...
Then we have Agnes and the Hitman, where food-loving takes a close second to Shane-loving. The food columns! The raspberry sauce! The trauma of evil fondant! And those fantastic breakfast scenes wherein suspicious individuals come together over buttery eggs, and the pancake syrup falls in sugary ropes... what's not to love?
Clearly, I am a fan of food in literature. I am hoping you have some recommendations for me. What are some other romance novels that get your taste buds tingling?
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7 comments:
It took me quite a while to realize I describe food an awful lot in what I write too. It's a part of life, after all. It became all too clear when I wrote a sci-fi romance, and I described nonexistent food!
I am a cook, always have been, it's the one gift my mother gave me that I cherish. I love to pick out amazing ingredients, and try recipes, and experiment. I love to nurture others with food.
I think I will always have food in my books! I love the way food, preparing food, eating food, serving food brings people together.
I love Cranky Agnes! I read Lisa Hendrix's Immortal Warrior last week, so the honey drizzling is fresh in my mind as well as the medieval banquets (pigeon pie and lots of almond desserts). Her Immortal Outlaw featured yummy toasted cheese bread. And they both had lots and lots of ale drinking, which inspired me to have a nice hefeweizen on the couch with my book. Lisa gave me a good sense of time/place with her food choices, without overwhelming me with her research. They did make me want to roast a nice bird in the oven but we grilled instead.
Eilis, you make me laugh! I'm also flashing back to my Star Trek TNG days. I always wanted the technology to make my favorite food materialize, without having to cook it and dirty up dishes.
I LOVED those Agnes and the Hitman breakfasts! Yum!
I love when authors take a moment (or a couple sentences) to describe the food.
Have you read "Appetite for Passion" by Jesse Blair Kensington? It's a hot foodie romance. The publisher is Ravenous Romance.
Hey, this just popped up on a Google Alert (why now and not last August, I have no idea), so I wanted to wave at Anna and say thanks for mentioning my Immortal Brotherhood books. Food is always a critical area of research - despite warnings about scenes over dinner, my characters all seem to enjoy their meals. A lot.
I recently signed for the next two books in the series, so you'll have more food, more hunky Vikings, and more magic in 2011 (January and October).
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