Pen & Palate

March 28, 2016
No matter the distance between them, Madison and Nguyen have two decades of memories together, mostly involving food and friendship. They both felt like outsiders in high school, moved away from loved ones, scrounged for meals in college, and struggled to impress new bosses. As Madison and Nguyen check off these and other relatable growing pains, they offer countless delicious recipes and laugh-out-loud humor. When they met as teens in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., Madison discovered that “we had a mutual sense of respect for how the other ate.” Nguyen often felt like the odd one out with her elaborate Asian lunches; Madison thought she stuck out with hearty loaves of homemade bread and a lack of Capri Sun. They spent a couple of years apart, but were always only a phone call or recipe away. Then Nguyen reunited with Madison in Chicago to finish up her last couple of years at art school, and they ate their way through Chicago’s tasty neighborhoods. Madison later moved to New York to become a journalist, and Nguyen stayed in Chicago. Their mouthwatering recipes include pho-spiced braised short ribs; spicy lemongrass chili chicken wings; Thanksgiving tamales; and a beginner-friendly fried chicken. The book alternates sections written by the two talented, witty women with Nguyen’s illustrations and an array of clever recipes that readers will want to try immediately.