Helpful Score: 4
So I couldn't wait to get my hands on another Mary Kay Andrews book and my wish list finally came through for me! Very quick read and enjoyable characters as her other books. But then came the mention of Tomato Soup Chocolate Cake and I thought okay that's different. And there it was in print at the end; the recipe for Tomato Soup Chocolate Cake. Don't you know it....in the a.m. there I am in my kichen pantry pulling out a can of tomato soup, coco powder, flour, sugar and oh boy am I excited...I actually have all the ingrediants in my pantry. I stirred and I mixed and popped it in the oven. Patiently I waited for it to cool on the rack on my counter while I whipped up some frosting. An hour later it's frosted and ten minutes later it's cut and put on small paper plates for my hubby and I. With mounted anticipation I bring the first bite to my lips while my hubby keeps repeating "tomato soup huh". I made it through about three bites wishing that I could relish in my new find, wishing that somehow the next bite will be better. The more I ate the more I tasted tomato soup and finally I stood up and said, "I cannot do this anymore!" Moral of my story....some things are better left to the imagination.
Helpful Score: 3
âEvery girl needs a little chick-lit brain candy once in a while,â my friend Erin wrote, passing to me her advance copy of âDeep Dish,â which came out Feb. 26. âAnd since it's all about cooking, I thought of you.â
I'm glad she did â" as I'm not the book snob my pal had me pegged for, I dove in and found that author Mary Kay Andrews has the recipe for another best seller in âDeep Dish.â Her last book, âHissy Fit,â spent some time on the New York Times Best Seller List.
âDeep Dishâ ($24.95, HarperCollins) tells the story of Gina, a shadow-swearing, pork-rind sneaking, somewhat-naïve host of a public television cooking show. She's a young up-and-comer in the food world, having edited a major newspaper's food section before moving to TV. But when her producer-boyfriend gets her show canned she faces losing her career, her lovelife and worse, her freedom, if she has to sell her condo and move home with Mama and Daddy and her hard-partying sister Lisa.
When Gina gets an audition for a spot on the national cooking network, the potholders come off. But in the midst of a fight for her professional life, Gina's looks take a hit thanks to her usually skillful esthetician D'John, pronounced, I assume, like the mustard. Will she wind up with the hot job and the hotter man, her competition: a tasty outdoorsman named Tate?
âDeep Dishâ isn't a cookie-cutter romance novel, nor is it over-processed. It's as real as the cream in the gravy.
Andrews took pains to make it so. She visited Paula Deen's set to see firsthand how a cooking show is made.
She is also well-schooled in human behavior and that comes through in her vivid descriptions: Her characters don't simply answer their cell phones, they roll onto one hip and fish the phones from their pockets before flipping them open. They don't merely sweat when they're nervous; perspiration beads in the small of their backs. Peppering the dialogue is a little âlanguageâ that Southern belles would scold but the text isn't overly salty.
Andrews knows cooking â" what's more she knows from sharing kitchen space with her husband how sparks can fly when two hard-headed cooks get in each other's way. âDeep Dishâ isn't the first time she has drawn a plot from personal experience. Nor is it the first time food has played a role her novels.
In âDeep Dishâ, food is in the spotlight.
And that's where Andrews is a tease. She whetted my appetite for more than the three recipes included at the back of the book. Her descriptions of shrimp remoulade, Granny Smith apple and mint slaw and lemon pound cake had hungrily flipping to the back of the book to find them not there. Instead Andrews serves up grilled peaches and Brunswick stew, barely mentioned in the story, and a chocolate tomato soup cake.
Nonetheless, âDeep Dishâ is a delicious diversion. But if you can't stomach the thought of people finding out about your indulgence, just tell them you only read it for the recipes.
I'm glad she did â" as I'm not the book snob my pal had me pegged for, I dove in and found that author Mary Kay Andrews has the recipe for another best seller in âDeep Dish.â Her last book, âHissy Fit,â spent some time on the New York Times Best Seller List.
âDeep Dishâ ($24.95, HarperCollins) tells the story of Gina, a shadow-swearing, pork-rind sneaking, somewhat-naïve host of a public television cooking show. She's a young up-and-comer in the food world, having edited a major newspaper's food section before moving to TV. But when her producer-boyfriend gets her show canned she faces losing her career, her lovelife and worse, her freedom, if she has to sell her condo and move home with Mama and Daddy and her hard-partying sister Lisa.
When Gina gets an audition for a spot on the national cooking network, the potholders come off. But in the midst of a fight for her professional life, Gina's looks take a hit thanks to her usually skillful esthetician D'John, pronounced, I assume, like the mustard. Will she wind up with the hot job and the hotter man, her competition: a tasty outdoorsman named Tate?
âDeep Dishâ isn't a cookie-cutter romance novel, nor is it over-processed. It's as real as the cream in the gravy.
Andrews took pains to make it so. She visited Paula Deen's set to see firsthand how a cooking show is made.
She is also well-schooled in human behavior and that comes through in her vivid descriptions: Her characters don't simply answer their cell phones, they roll onto one hip and fish the phones from their pockets before flipping them open. They don't merely sweat when they're nervous; perspiration beads in the small of their backs. Peppering the dialogue is a little âlanguageâ that Southern belles would scold but the text isn't overly salty.
Andrews knows cooking â" what's more she knows from sharing kitchen space with her husband how sparks can fly when two hard-headed cooks get in each other's way. âDeep Dishâ isn't the first time she has drawn a plot from personal experience. Nor is it the first time food has played a role her novels.
In âDeep Dishâ, food is in the spotlight.
And that's where Andrews is a tease. She whetted my appetite for more than the three recipes included at the back of the book. Her descriptions of shrimp remoulade, Granny Smith apple and mint slaw and lemon pound cake had hungrily flipping to the back of the book to find them not there. Instead Andrews serves up grilled peaches and Brunswick stew, barely mentioned in the story, and a chocolate tomato soup cake.
Nonetheless, âDeep Dishâ is a delicious diversion. But if you can't stomach the thought of people finding out about your indulgence, just tell them you only read it for the recipes.
Helpful Score: 2
I could not get interested in this book. The premise was cute but I grew tired of the whining main character. All I wanted to do was yell at her to grow up!! I'm setting this book aside for now and moving on to reading something else--not sure if I will pick it back up again.
Helpful Score: 2
I usually love Mary Kay Andrews' books, especially the Savannah series. I really didn't enjoy this one. I never got a real connection to the characters and the language about drove me crazy. Read it if you are lacking anything else but don't put it on the top of your list.
Helpful Score: 2
I love Mary Kay Andrews! The characters in this book have a great chemistry. And the south is portrayed accurately (not always the case in books about the south and southerners). Another winner!
