Orgasmic Chef

for food better than sex

  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Beef
    • Bread
    • Breakfast
    • Candy
    • Casseroles
    • Cheese
    • Chicken
    • Cookies
    • Desserts
    • Drinks
    • Ethnic
    • fish/seafood
    • holidays
    • Ice Cream
    • lamb
    • Main Courses
    • Pasta
    • Pork
    • Preserves
    • Salads
    • Sandwiches
    • Snacks
    • Soup
    • Thermomix
    • Vegetables
  • Bucket List
  • Post Gallery
  • Great Blogs
  • EasyIndex
  • About Me
  • Contact

Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist

June 27, 2013 by Maureen 51 Comments

Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist

Recently I was given a book by Shauna Niequist called Bread and Wine, a love letter t life around the table.  Before I opened the cover I didn’t know much about it other than I was given a copy to review.  I like it that way because I don’t want anyone else’s opinion to color my own.  The book’s cover is filled with wine glasses and breadsticks and I suppose instinctively I thought it was just a cookbook.

It IS a cookbook but so much more!

Bread and Wine is as much a memoir of moments in Shauna’s life as it is a group of recipes to create wonderful meals from.  Through every chapter you realize that meeting at the dinner table is a ritual every family creates in their own unique ways.  We’re given a peek into her life only to realize how much alike we all are as we face troubles and joys.

As I read the book I could recall how my family did dinners and how it differed from my best friend Anne’s family.  (Anne had 9 brothers and sisters so I suppose that was different right from the start)

Shauna Niequist, Author

Shauna talks about her two boys, health scares and how she’d be perfectly happy if they never grew up.  In a totally selfish way, I think every parent has the same wish but knowing deep inside that we’re raising them so they can set off on their own one day.  I remember looking at my children when they were little and hoping they’d stay with me forever.  Then they turned 16 and I changed my mind.  heh

Weaved throughout the book is Shauna’s faith in God, wonderful recipes for food she shares with her friends and her overall attitude to life in the way she’s created a loving family.   The book is a collection of essays that show one woman and her journey through life with family and friends.  She shares profound joy in nurturing through food.  Each story is accompanied by a recipe and there’s always the backdrop of food and wine being food and wine by in a Christian sense it’s so much more to Shauna.

When you read this book, whether you’re curled up on an overstuffed sofa or sitting up in bed, you’ll see vivid images describing the wonderful meals Shauna creates.  Bread and Wine should be on your night table or have you already read the book?

Filed Under: Blog Reviews Tagged With: food and wine, shauna niequist

« Lebanese Green Beans
Sister’s Run Sunday Slippers »

Comments

  1. Alicia@ eco friendly homemaking says

    June 27, 2013 at 9:09 am

    Sounds like a great book and I really like the title!!

    Reply
  2. Alex says

    June 27, 2013 at 10:07 am

    “joy in nurturing through food”is a thought that really appeals to me. Eating food together as a family is such a great ritual. Shaunas essays sound very fascinating.

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      June 27, 2013 at 9:10 pm

      Hi Alex! I do enjoy that and after meeting you, I can see we’re a lot alike in that respect.

      Reply
  3. Denise Browning@From Brazil To You says

    June 27, 2013 at 11:41 am

    Gorgeous cover! I need that book too…

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      June 27, 2013 at 9:05 pm

      I liked the cover too and when I first looked at that I thought it was cookbook only.

      Reply
  4. Joanne T Ferguson says

    June 27, 2013 at 11:44 am

    Thanks Maureen! Sounds like a book I should put on my list to read, true!
    Love reading about the stories behind the food and wine too 🙂
    Cheers! Joanne
    http://www.faceboo.com/whatsonthelist

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      June 27, 2013 at 9:10 pm

      yes, it’s good to remind ourselves of what our own family rituals are. Sometimes we do things without realising that we DO have a ritual.

      Reply
  5. john@kitchenriffs says

    June 27, 2013 at 1:13 pm

    Sounds like a really good book! I still buy cookbooks that are only collections of recipes, but I’m usually looking for much more these days. Either I want something of the author, or some fairly extensive discussion of technique, ingredients, why things work, etc. Both are best! Anyway, this sounds like a good read – thanks.

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      June 27, 2013 at 9:09 pm

      This is memoir, stories with recipes 🙂

      Reply
  6. Eileen says

    June 27, 2013 at 1:37 pm

    Sounds like a great read Maureen. Thanks for bringing it to our attention. Did I mention I love both bread and wine – lol…

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      June 27, 2013 at 9:04 pm

      oh me too!

      Reply
  7. Roberta says

    June 27, 2013 at 2:07 pm

    Sounds like a great read as well as a perfect gift for mothers and mothers to be.

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      June 27, 2013 at 9:04 pm

      What a great idea, Roberta!

      Reply
  8. ChgoJohn says

    June 27, 2013 at 2:26 pm

    Sounds like a good cookbook with an interesting story. Thanks, Maureen, for pointing us in her direction.

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      June 27, 2013 at 9:04 pm

      Thanks John. It’s busy around here with my sister here 🙂

      Reply
  9. Mary Frances says

    June 27, 2013 at 3:03 pm

    Sounds just like my kinda book, Maureen!! I LOVE her “sharing joy in nurturing through food”!

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      June 27, 2013 at 9:08 pm

      I know just what you mean!

      Reply
  10. Lizzy (Good Things) says

    June 27, 2013 at 3:36 pm

    I love reading this kind of book, Maureen… sounds like Hilary Burden’s one that I have on my site. Love this post, thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      June 27, 2013 at 9:04 pm

      It’s a good peek into how one woman looks at life and how food impacts everyone around her.

      Reply
  11. Gourmet Getaways says

    June 27, 2013 at 8:17 pm

    It does sound like a lovely book 🙂

    Reply
  12. Gourmet Getaways says

    June 27, 2013 at 8:18 pm

    It does look like a lovely book, I will have to look out for a copy 🙂

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      June 27, 2013 at 9:07 pm

      I’ll let you ready my copy 🙂

      Reply
  13. Celia says

    June 27, 2013 at 9:40 pm

    Great review, Maureen! I can’t imagine what it was like growing up as one of 10! I’ll look out for it, thanks.. 🙂 xx

    Reply
  14. Glamorous Glutton says

    June 28, 2013 at 1:32 am

    I love food memoirs so this is definitely one for me. You make it sound very appealing and you’ve even found me a space to read it – curled up on our overstuffed sofa. GG

    Reply
  15. Choc Chip Uru says

    June 28, 2013 at 6:23 am

    Really want to put this book on my list it sounds fantastic 🙂

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

    Reply
  16. Hotly Spiced says

    June 28, 2013 at 10:32 am

    I always justify my glasses of wine by reminding myself that the first miracle Jesus performed in his three-year ministry was turning water into wine. This cookbook sounds like it has not only great recipes but some lovely stories to go with those dishes. xx

    Reply
  17. Suzanne Perazzini says

    June 28, 2013 at 12:00 pm

    No, I haven’t read or even seen it but that cover is gorgeous and if it is representative of the inside, then it would be a wonderful book.

    Reply
  18. Kitchen Belleicious says

    June 28, 2013 at 12:26 pm

    what a wonderful post. Food is one of those things that brings people together in a way that nothing else does!

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      June 29, 2013 at 11:36 pm

      Absolutely right… food brings us all closer

      Reply
  19. Minnie@thelady8home says

    June 28, 2013 at 1:08 pm

    I too don’t want the boys to grow up……I know I will change my mind eventually……but I am enjoying for now, so I can totally identify with her. Sounds like a great book. Thanks Maureen for introducing Shauna! Looking forward to it.

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      June 29, 2013 at 11:35 pm

      They aren’t 16 yet, right?? 🙂

      Reply
  20. Joanne @ Fifteen Spatulas says

    June 28, 2013 at 1:31 pm

    ” I remember looking at my children when they were little and hoping they’d stay with me forever. Then they turned 16 and I changed my mind.” LOL!!! This made me chuckle. I haven’t had kids yet, but I remember how annoying I was when I was 16 =)

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      June 29, 2013 at 11:35 pm

      LOL Joanne, I hope I haven’t spoiled it for you 🙂

      Reply
  21. Kim Beaulieu says

    June 28, 2013 at 3:13 pm

    What a stunning book, the cover is magnificent. And might I add how gorgeous Shauna is.

    And wow to your friend Anne’s family. My hubby’s dad has 12 in his, and his mom has 8. I just can’t imagine. How fun would holidays be though. It’d be a riot, in a good way.

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      June 29, 2013 at 11:33 pm

      Holidays (or any days for that matter) at Anne’s house were always hectic. I remember her mother was always pregnant or nursing when I was a kid. All her brothers and sisters had best friends and the house seemed like it would burst but it never did and there was always food for everyone.

      Reply
  22. Liz says

    June 29, 2013 at 12:29 am

    I adore reading stories along with recipes…sounds like a marvelous cookbook!

    Reply
  23. Donalyn@The Creekside Cook says

    June 29, 2013 at 1:01 am

    Maureen, I hadn’t heard of this book before, but now I think I would enjoy it. Love the stories behind the food, always!

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      June 29, 2013 at 11:35 pm

      That’s what I love about food blogs. The food is wonderful but the stories to go along with them keep me coming back.

      Reply
  24. yummychunklet says

    June 29, 2013 at 3:57 am

    I’ll have to check this out!

    Reply
  25. Anne ~ Uni Homemaker says

    June 29, 2013 at 5:29 am

    I love bread and wine so I’ll have to check this book out! 😉 Have a great weekend Maureen.

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      June 29, 2013 at 11:30 pm

      Thanks, Anne! I loved your warm crab dip.

      Reply
  26. The Café Sucre Farine says

    June 29, 2013 at 5:31 am

    Sounds like a delightful book Maureen! I LOVE the cover, so pretty!

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      June 29, 2013 at 11:30 pm

      I loved the cover too!

      Reply
  27. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says

    June 29, 2013 at 7:08 am

    What a fabulous review Maureen! I’ll check it out 😀

    Reply
  28. Sandra | Sandra's Easy Cooking says

    June 29, 2013 at 7:16 am

    What a great cover of the book and your review is fab, Maureen! Overall sounds to me like a great book worth having!

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      June 29, 2013 at 11:30 pm

      Thanks, Sandra!

      Reply
  29. Helene D'souza says

    June 30, 2013 at 12:01 am

    I would be happily turning the pages of shauna’s book, it sounds quite promising how you described it. =)

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      June 30, 2013 at 12:14 am

      I know what you mean!

      Reply
  30. Rhonda says

    June 30, 2013 at 3:05 am

    My family ate together every night until I was in about 8th grade and I really miss family meals but cherish the memories. This book sounds great.

    Reply
    • Maureen says

      June 30, 2013 at 8:45 am

      Our family had a rule that we couldn’t miss dinner for any reason. There were always exceptions but there had to be a darned good reason for missing dinner with the family.

      Reply
  31. Claire @ Simply Sweet Justice says

    July 25, 2013 at 6:53 am

    I’m adding it to my must-read list!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Subscribe

Subscribe by email
Got It!
Please check your email to confirm.
Email:

Oops! That doesn't look like a valid email
First Name:

Please tell us your first name
Go!
Please wait
 Twitter Google Plus Facebook Pinterest Email  RSS Instagram

Previous Posts

 More ...

I’m on…

The Noblys 121 ultimate food blogs for 2018

Good Food Links

Blogs I love

Most Popular Posts

  • Flakey, buttery, biscuits Best Fluffy, Flakey, Buttery Biscuits Ever 451 comments
  • Best Banana Muffins The BEST Banana Muffins EVER 221 comments
  • how to make licorice ice cream Licorice Ice Cream 163 comments
  • Homemade Bread and Butter Pickles Best Homemade Bread and Butter Pickles 152 comments
  • Eggless Sugar Cookies Eggless Sugar Cookies 143 comments

Our Other Projects

EasyIndex Plugin
EasyRecipe Plugin
Fooderific.com
Australia's Best Food Blogs
America's Best Food Blogs

Archives

Privacy

Orgasmic Chef Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress