Friday Food Writers: Nora Ephron
Nora Ephron’s writing on food—well, Norah Ephron’s writing on anything, really, but since this is Friday Food Writers…—is hilarious. I’m not sure if it’s the slight touch of neurotic energy or the manic pacing or the sense that if you went to a dinner party at her house the best place to be would be [...]
The magazine least likely to be read by The Cheese-Hater
I hardly know what to say about this new endeavor, a magazine for foodie kids–apparently “koodie” is now a word–called Chop Chop other than to say that my first reaction upon hearing about it was to realize immediately and completely that it is without a doubt the publication that exists furthest from The Cheese-Hater’s heart [...]
Friday Food Writers: John McPhee
Long before there was Kitchen Confidential, or Bill Buford in the kitchen at Babbo, or me in the kitchen at applewood, for that matter, there was John McPhee’s brilliant essay about a restaurant’s owner-chefs and its kitchen, “Brigade de Cuisine.” Looking back, this may be the essay that, when I I first read it some [...]
A happy new year
Happy 2010! My year got off to an exciting start when my editor emailed me yesterday to say that Eating for Beginners was just put on Publisher’s Weekly’s list of “10 Most Exciting Food Books of 2010″. Considering the fact that no one (aside from me, my agent, above-mentioned editor and a few select friends [...]
Chesnuts, Food, Memory
I know, I know–I owe you a Friday Food Writers. Actually, I owe you many Friday Food Writers, and several hundred other posts, too. What can I say? Any excuse I could offer, though it would of course (of course!) be true, would probably just annoy you. So instead, I’ll just tell you what’s on [...]
Friday Food Writers: Shirley Jackson
This past week I re-read (for about the 8 millionth time–the pleasure of re-reading never dies for me) Shirley Jackson’s Life Among the Savages, possibly the most wickedly funny book ever written about raising children and family life. It’s quite a famous book, though Jackson is most famous for her short story “The Lottery” and [...]
Skill versus art: what do you think?
I’m in heavy editing mode, so again, apologies for not posting more frequently. One of the great things about editing, though, is that I tend to go back over all my original notes and transcripts as I search down facts or look for a few more details. Invariably, this leads to the discovery of good [...]
Cooking writer at work (and a recipe)
I’m trying to finish the last round of edits on Eating for Beginners this week, which is my only defense for posting so infrequently (though I’m sure my editor thinks it’s the best defense…). What this means is that in addition to working on the writing, I’m testing out all the recipes included in the [...]
Local favorites: Spargel (with recipe)!
It is Spargel season in Germany. “Spargel”, though it just means “asparagus”, tends to refer to white asparagus that are thicker and sweeter than the green ones we usually eat in the US and are much-revered in these parts. At this time of year, there’s as much Spargel here as there is cheese in the [...]
Local favorites: Stockholm redux–shrimp frenzy!
I’ve only been to Sweden twice, but if I could, I would move there just for the shrimp. On Friday, I told you I am a poet. Today, I confess something else: I am shrimpaholic. This makes Sweden the ideal place for me, because they serve these delectable crustaceans, called räkor, pretty much all the [...]
