Oct 7
I’ve written before about how much I like sneaking into One Girl Cookies kitchen and saw that they just announced their upcoming apple pie class for October 27. They make incredible cookies and pies so f you sign up for one of their upcoming classes, they’ll show you how they do it. Unlike a lot of demonstration based classes in New York, you really get to pound the dough at One Girl so if any one is interested they should reserve a spot soon.
I was as shocked as everyone else when I read this morning that Condé Nast was closing Gourmet magazine. Well, possibly a little more shocked. Even though I read the rumors on different sites, I thought the magazine could struggle on in some form till better days. Unlike other embattled titles in the internet age, I felt a a real attachment to my Gourmet magazines. Despite the growing piles, I couldn’t bring myself to throw them out. A few weeks ago, in an Ikea-inspired organizational fit, I brought home magazine folders and finally stored them away. It was obvious the magazine had gone on a reluctant diet. Lined up on my bookshelves, you could literally see it disappear as their ad sales dwindled. A few weeks ago, I came across an old issue in a thrift store from January 1961. It was their twentieth anniversary edition and included an article about champagne, quotes from Voltaire, a recipe for peacock, and Bach themed feature on preparing chicken breast in between vintage ads. Of course, I could find most of Gourmet’s old recipes online, but only if I already know what I’m looking for, and then they’ll all look the same. I thought this quote from the publisher, taken from the inaugural issue and reprinted in 1961, prescient:
To those who would like to share a gourmet’s joie de vivre, GOURMET will speak that Esperanto of the palate that makes the whole world kin…good food, good drink, fine living…the universal language of the gourmet.
-Earle R. MacAusland, Publisher, Gourmet Magazine, 1941
Oct 4
He turned round, and leaning upon his elbow, began to sip his chocolate. The mellow November sun came streaming into the room. The sky was bright, and there was a genial warmth in the air. It was almost like a morning in May.
– Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
There are always a few weeks in early Fall where it is colder in my apartment then it is outside. I leave the house ready to face a brisk New York, early frost and find a mild northern California day instead. While the season makes up it’s mind, I’ll just live in a bowl of hot chocolate. Read more
I’ve resisted the temptation to repost until now, but with the excitement of Friday’s Olympic announcement I wanted to link to my favorite Carioca. I can’t wait till 2016! Click here for the complete post.
Reading Melissa Clark column in this week’s New York Times Dining & Wine section, “It’s Autumn’s Hearth”, reminded me that I had just a couple of more weeks to take advantage of the few tomatoes and late summer vegetables left. I started looking at recipes for pisto manchego, a Spanish version of ratatouille. Just onions, tomatoes, and green peppers, sauteed in olive oil then cooked slowly till soft, it’s maybe served with a fried egg, maybe over bread, maybe both. I was tempted to play with the dozen variations I found online but contented myself to throw in zucchini but leave the eggplant, chorizo and ham for another day. So simple, it was exactly what I wanted.
Finalist for the 2015 James Beard Foundation Award in the International Cookbook Category for The Cuban Table
hungry sofia 