Does This Taste Funny?

June 17, 2024
The Late Show host Colbert (America Again) and his wife and business partner, McGee Colbert, present a bighearted collection of family recipes reflecting their coastal South Carolina roots. In the introduction, they explain how the book’s origins sprang from Covid lockdown, which found the family living, cooking, and producing the show out of their Charleston home. Family and friends play a big role in inspiring dishes, with contributions from McGee Colbert’s mother (Patti McGee’s Cheese Biscuits) and a digression into son John’s experiments baking sourdough bread. Classic Southern fare includes okra soup, buttermilk cornbread, and boiled peanuts (which Colbert deems a “local—and peculiar—food”), as well as rice and bean dishes reflective of the area’s West African influences. Seafood dishes are especially plentiful, including crab cakes and sea bass. Showing off his chops in the kitchen, Colbert demonstrates how to make his annual Christmas beef wellington, complete with detailed photos. Spousal banter precedes each recipe, sometimes cheeky (Colbert teases his wife for being a “very selective vegan”), sometimes informative, and often charming. Vibrant photos throughout show the couple cooking, serving, entertaining, and lounging with family and friends. Fans will eat this up. Agent: Dan Strone, Trident Media Group.

August 1, 2024

In their first cookbook collaboration, the powerhouse Colbert couple share their many stories through food. Their collaboration reveals their deep love for their heritage, specifically the low country of South Carolina (tipping a hat to the culinary influence of the Gullah Geechee culture and its West African roots) and to their close-knit families, who are honored and cherished throughout. The couple introduce each recipe with often-hilarious banter, giving readers a glimpse into their relationship, families, and close friends, many of whom make an appearance in the book. The chapters are well laid out, featuring the Colberts' Southern culinary influences in categories that show their clear love for party food, including starters, meats, seafood, soups, salads, desserts, and, at the end of the book, breakfast. The choice of recipes is clearly a collaboration between the authors, with notes illustrating their frequent opposing opinions which cleverly gives home cooks options for modifying recipes based on personal preferences and dietary needs. A highlight is a featured recipe for Kindergarten Soup, which Stephen's mother created based on a recipe he wrote out as a child. VERDICT A solid, well-thought-out cookbook sure to have wide appeal to cooks and Colbert fans.--Ron Block

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