Dirty Sugar Cookies: Culinary Observations, Questionable Taste Book

This is the story of the culinary awakening of a picky eater. I spent a lot of time going, "I AM (WAS) EXACTLY LIKE THAT!" I am also a former picky eater. Like Halliday, I cook for a kid with peculiar food preferences, albeit not as limited as Inky. I, too, spent time in college dabbling in hippie foods. Some might make the case that I still dabble in hippie food, and to that, I say, I challenge you to a duel.

I love Ayun Halliday's zine, the east village inky, and I have to give her big extra credit for not just rolling old material from the zines into this book. This book is as funny, witty, clever, and charming as her zines and every David Sedaris book you ever read. It's a quick, enjoyable read with a few recipes scattered through. Some of the recipes sound genuinely gross. They are part of the story, however. The mise en place is more important than actual taste tests. I did convince my wife that we should try Ayun's chili verde recipe, though. The ingredients are waiting at my house, tomatillos and all. I have high hopes that it will magically be done in time for dinner. *sending psychic messages to my wife*