I Like You
Hospitality Under the Influence
by Amy Sedaris
Warner Books, 2006
$27.99, cloth
304 pages
I Like You brings to mind an image - an up-to-here housewife, lying on her back on the kitchen floor, surrounded by silver dragees, a confusion of cupcakes on the counter above her. Frosting is smeared on the walls. She's crying, tears are running into her ears and she's thinking that she really liked being an English major in college, and all that time spent reading.
That mad housewife character is more than a bit outdated. Women today have options - the full Martha or leave it to take-out. But if you appreciate that whatever is going on, a martini couldn't hurt, you'll want to be in Amy Sedaris' kitchen.
Sedaris embraces housewifely anomie to turn the insanity of homemade decorations and chiffon aprons into funky fun. Her book is an affectionate spoof of 1950s cookbooks with their sidebars in scalloped borders, happy table arrangements, and slightly strange but strangely appealing food concoctions like hamburgers with pimento olive faces (looking more concerned than cheery), or a tower of "Cold Cuts Anytime" artfully arranged with pimento flourishes.
Sedaris lives in her own world, and for your amusement, it's all here in this book. Her obsession with pantyhose crafts, her tips for entertaining the elderly (thoughtfully written in large-type), her advice for being a guest (keep your parasites the yourself), suggestions for hosting out-of-towners (hide your stash), and an appropriate lumberjack lunch (they appreciate a hot, hearty meal), and advice for a successful first date (don't wear a wedding dress).
Her voice grabs you from the very first encounter, from the weirdly hectoring flap copy to the odd asides. Her lists of party tips and entertaining advice are almost normal. She's right, their birthday parties can teach your children to be good hosts, but setting up the attic as a punishment area? I'm not so sure.
The pages have a fever dream quality, jammed with information and pictures and with bizarre bits of information floating forward amid recipes. On one page, Two Fishhook Incidents, on the next, broiled red snapper and red wine steak butter sauce. She presents everything with underlying irony, but she lives her irony with such conviction that it becomes sincere.
But here's the thing, Amy Sedaris is a good cook. If you can find the recipes amid the frenzy you'll find they are eminently cookable and more that just edible. Crosscut Stump Stew (for the lumberjacks) is quite nice, with red wine, cinnamon and cloves. Her desserts are great - brownies, genoise, and lemon cake. She's called on creditable family recipes including Greek specialties like kourambiethes cookies, spanakopita, taverna stew, and rice pudding.
We can all follow the directions and aspire to Martha or we can join the take-out multitudes, but only Amy Sedaris can pull off these parties. Get this book anyway, and just go along for the wild ride.
© 2006 Claudia Kousoulas
