LET US EAT CAKE

In the mold of Ruth Reichl’s Tender at the Bone comes Boorstin’s own autobio/cookbook hybrid, the dense, layered Cake. The author — a food writer and sometime critic — serves up the sweet and the sour on her Miracle Whip-happy mom, her seafood purveyor pop, and her equally food-obsessed friends. She takes us on culinary adventures (sheep brains in Spain!) and recounts memorable meals like a Thanksgiving turkey taste-athon and a seder at Spago (starring Wolfgang Puck’s matzo). Plus, Boorstin shares recipes for everything from chicken to chopped liver to ”The Husband-Catcher Cake.” That one better live up to its name.