InterCourses

by Martha Hopkins

January 1, 1997 · Terrace Publishing

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Intercourses is a fun cookbook about the link between food and sensuality that is sexy enough to make a good romantic gift but is also full of really good, practical food. I love this cookbook and although I can’t say that it has done much for my love life, it has provided me with some fantastic meals. It’s a beautiful book to look at, a fun book to read, and full of great things to eat.

This cookbook works on two levels. On one level, it’s a romantic, slightly sexy book that is PG enough that you can have it out on your shelf all the time. It has some lovely photography that is more or less safe for work, but also sexy. Most of the recipes come with a little story about a real couple and a memory they have about food, like this one, from a section on black beans (they aid fertility):

“He made me a margarita, fluffed up my favorite chair, put on some Ruben Blades, and brought over a bowl of black bean salsa and chips. That’s why I love him.”

– Amy on her husband Steve who still, after 11 years, manages to surprise her with his kind heart.

 

Or this one, from a recipe for strawberry sauce served over grilled fish:

“My husband couldn’t get enough of it. He liked the sauce, too.”

The book includes recipes for edible flowers, plus recipes for massage oils, a guide for what to serve at any hour of the day, a seasonal guide, and suggested recipes for different stages of a relationship, complete with a playlist. Recipes for food include obvious choices like chocolate, oysters, and strawberries, and surprises like asparagus, basil, and pine nuts. Every section has an introduction that addresses why particular foods were chosen. Let’s just say that I’ll never look at an artichoke the same way again.

The book also works as a basic cookbook. I’m a terrible cook and I’ve still have success with “Pasta With Grapes” – it’s super easy to make, it has a delightful mix of flavors, it’s healthy, and it looks elegant even though it only takes about ten minutes to make. I pretty much live off it all summer. If you want to be romantic about it, it’s great riverside picnic food, especially if served with “Summertime Cucumber Sandwiches” and “Strawberry Empanadas” for dessert. I’ve also made the “French Toast Baked in Honey Pecan Sauce” and it made me look like a much, much better cook than I actually am, although it also has enough calories to fuel a person for a month. At 140 large, glossy pages, the book is a manageable size and a joy to look at – it’s beautiful and practical. It’s not a vegetarian cookbook, but there are a lot of vegetarian options.

I’m officially reviewing the 1997 version of this book. There’s a revised version that came out in 2007 that I didn’t even know about until I started writing this review. It has more recipes and a new appendix. I can’t vouch for it, because I haven’t actually seen it.   But I can tell you that the 1997 version is just delightful as an art book, a playfully sensual book, and as a cookbook with a wide variety of recipes, most of which aren’t too complicated to make. Writing this review reminded me that I need to open this book up again and try some new things from it. Or at least make that French Toast again, because DAMN.  Note – the models don’t come with the food.  Sorry.