Women's History Month at A Chef's Table

This month, Jim Coleman is featuring women-- chefs, cookbook writers, and photographers-- on his weekly radio program. Yesterday, Coleman interviewed several women, including Laura Schenone , the author of A Thousand Years Over a Hot Stove: A History of American Women Told through Food Recipes and Remembrances.

I was particularly struck by one thing she said while talking about the many roles-- personal, charitable, and political-- that cookbooks have played in women's lives. Schenone is working on a theroy that women have often written cookbooks in order to deal with difficult situations in their lives. One example was Erma Rombauer, author of The Joy of Cooking, whose family suggested that she write a cookbook to deal with the death of her husband. And out of her grief was born "Joy."

If you would like to hear the program, you can find it here for now, until it is available in the archives for March 25th.

Other featured books include:

Putting Meat on the American Table: Taste Techonogy and Transformation, byRoger Horowitz

The Cooking of Southwest France: Recipes from France's Magnificent Rustic Cuisine, by Paula Wolfert

A Thousand Years Over a Hot Stove: A History of American Women Told through Food Recipes and Remembrances, by Paula Wolfert

Daughter of Heaven: A Memoir with Earthly Recipes, by Leslie Li

Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals:Featuring 200 Recipes for Quick and Easy Dinners, by Sara Moulton, Dana Gallagher, Photographer

More Retro Diner: A Second Helping of Roadside Recipes, by Randy Garbin and Terri Dunn

Lidia's Family Table, by Lidia Bastinach

Meat Me in Manhattan: A Carnivore's Guide to New York, by Josh Osersky, photographer Kate Gardner