The great food writer M.F.K. Fisher once said that writing about food is writing about love. On this week's show, we explore culinary memoirs that reveal how our heart strings are connected to our taste buds.

 

We begin with award-winning writer Ann Hood. Her writings explore the human condition, frequently drawing upon her own life experiences, including her journey with grief following a terrible family tragedy. While none of her previously published eight books fall into the food genre, her most recent, Kitchen Yarns, explores her life through what she was eating (and cooking) during the most salient times.

 

Next, we speak with Mary Giuliani, author of Tiny Hot Dogs. As an awkward kid growing up on Long Island in the 1980s, Mary’s dream was to one day become a famous actor—preferably, a cast member on Saturday Night Live. Today, she plays a different kind of role: as caterer to the stars. Famous for her finger food recipes, she regularly works with A-list celebrities in the worlds of fashion, art, and movies. In her book, Mary weaves together a collection of memories from her life while offering a glimpse into the career of a celebrity caterer.

 

Then, we we’ll wash those memoirs down with some of Troy Ball's moonshine. Her 2017 memoir, Pure Heart, tells a very personal story of how a bankrupt mother bank with two

profoundly disabled sons found happiness and financial success while becoming the first legal female moonshiner in Southern history.

 

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