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Journey to the Land of Prosciutto and Frico
TASTE
Travel is tamped down for the time being, but I’m daydreaming in my kitchen — Spain, and especially Italy, tempt me. So off I go with a raft of unfamiliar recipes to try, thanks to “Friuli Food and Wine: Frasca Cooking from Northern Italy’s Mountains, Vineyards and Seaside.” Frasca cooking? Frasca is a restaurant in Boulder, Colo., that features Friulian fare, and the book’s authors — Bobby Stuckey and Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson — are its owners, working with the writer Meredith Erickson.
Where Italian and Slovene Cuisine Meet
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Travel is tamped down for the time being, but I’m daydreaming in my kitchen — Spain, and especially Italy, tempt me. So off I go with a raft of unfamiliar recipes to try, thanks to “Friuli Food and Wine: Frasca Cooking from Northern Italy’s Mountains, Vineyards and Seaside.” Frasca cooking? Frasca is a restaurant in Boulder, Colo., that features Friulian fare, and the book’s authors — Bobby Stuckey and Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson — are its owners, working with the writer Meredith Erickson.
Fondue Is Just the Beginnings
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Yes, that’s the Matterhorn on the cover of this handsome, substantial cookbook and guide to the Alpine region of Europe. The book tours the mostly snow-covered terrain of Austria, France, Italy and Switzerland, with plates of mostly rustic comfort food at every welcoming inn and warming hut. Who knew there could be so many bread soups? It’s a book to enjoy when it blusters outdoors, even without a plane ticket to Europe or a pair of skis. A simple but classic dish of goulash from the Alto Adige in Italy, not Hungary, illustrates the reach of the Austro-Hungarian empire. A venison ragout can enrich a winter menu, as can Tyrolean hash with an egg, rösti potatoes, Savoie-style mushrooms and a Mont Blanc chestnut tart. But herbal Swiss Ricola (as in cough drops) ice cream? Think twice. The author, a Canadian and a skier, offers advice on visiting the area.
Why Après-Ski Is Passé
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
WHEN IT came to writing “Alpine Cooking,” the ambitious new recipe-collection-cum-atlas, Meredith Erickson knew what she was doing; she’d already coauthored a string of successful cookbooks. But this one really tested her limits. She began exploring the Alps in her late 20s. “I couldn’t ski and I was afraid of heights,” she said. “Great start.” But as she gained confidence and ventured off the well-worn runs of Switzerland, France, Austria and Italy, she learned what real mountain food is. “I was eating better at 4,000 meters than anywhere else,” she said. Recently she planted her ski poles long enough to share a few tips.
The Cookbook Author Who Thinks Dressing Up Is ‘Overrated’
THE CUT
Meredith Erickson built her career as a writer and a foodie, and with her most recent project, she can add solo traveler and Alps expert to the list. Following her breakout cookbook collaboration with the men behind Joe Beef, the groundbreaking Montreal restaurant famous for its hedonistic take on French food, Erickson has spent the past six years obsessively researching and writing her first solo book of recipes, Alpine Cooking. What started as a two-year long delve into authentic mountain cooking quickly turned into six years of traveling through Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and France in search of the best food and the most memorable stories. The cinematic, 354-page compendium reads like a travelogue with recipes that punctuate the narrative. We spoke with Erickson about her dream vacation, gin cocktails, and wearing a T-shirt until it falls apart.
How Meredith Erickson Became the Queen of Cookbooks
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Born in Windsor, Ont., Erickson catapulted to the spotlight in 2011 with the critically acclaimed The Art of Living According to Joe Beef, co-authored with chef-owners David McMillan and Frederic Morin. Named one of the best cookbooks of the year by Barnes and Noble and Publishers Weekly, the book was praised by both culinary legend Alice Waters and the editors of Bon Appétit.
Erickson's life hasn't been the same since. Now, she shares a literary agent with Anthony Bourdain and Lena Dunham. Her schedule is full until the end of 2019: recent publications include books for the Portland, Ore. restaurants Le Pigeon and Olympia Provisions, and a collaboration with the iconic London hotel Claridge's drops in early November.
The 10 cookbooks you’ll want to give — and get — this holiday season
LOS ANGELES TIMES
“Alpine Cooking: Recipes and Stories From Europe’s Grand Mountaintops” by Meredith Erickson excels at whisking its reader away to the chalets and cabins the Alps where rich, hearty meat and cheese dishes help sustain during the frigid temperatures. You can taste speck dumplings from the Italian side then learn the proper way to fondue over in Switzerland afterward. The ambitious but awe-inspiring Bonét Torinese, a towering chocolate and amaretti cake shaped to look like the Hotel La Torre in Sauze d’Oulx, is a top contender for the centerpiece of your holiday table.
Drinking with Joe Beef
PUNCH
Considering how hard it can be to get a reservation at Montreal’s Joe Beef, there’s really no such thing as a bad seat. Yet I’d wager that I’ve got the best in the house, tucked away in a back booth with chef and co-owner (along with Frédéric Morin) David McMillan, wine director Vanya Filipovic and Meredith Erickson, who started as a server the first day the restaurant opened, in 2005, and co-authored the group’s first cookbook, The Art of Living According to Joe Beef, and their latest, Joe Beef: Surviving the Apocalypse.
