FoodWords Between Deadlines
Friday, August 13
Julia Child Dies at Age 91
It's true -- the woman who helped revamp cooking at all levels in America died in her sleep Thursday at her home in Santa Barbara, Calif. (Link points to a Chicago Tribune story; registration required).
Prepare now for an onslaught of eulogies from everyone who ever watched any of her PBS cooking shows (I preferred the ones she did with Jacques Pepin for their humor, banter and crosstalk about food and cooking), or bought one of her books, or attended a show, or sat next to her and had the effrontery to ask her for an autograph (like me).
I am lucky enough to be able to report on actually meeting her several times in the 1990s. She was tall, gracious, interested in everything and everyone, generous with opinions, even potentially unpopular ones and unflagging. She came to Wisconsin either as a guest of corporate entities such as the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board or heritage-food organizations. I met her in Madison as she toured the famous Saturday-morning Farmers Market around the Capitol Square and then cooked with Odessa Piper at her restaurant, L'Etoile, for one of her shows, then again when she went on a cruise dinner in Milwaukee and taught a cooking class at Jill Prescott's former school in Kohler.
The best thing to do now would be to make something from one of her books. I heartily recommend the chocolate-and-almond Queen of Sheba cake ( Reine de Saba, p. 677 in the original 1961 edition of Mastering the Art of French Cooking).
A faster alternative is the shrimp quiche from The Way to Cook (my copy of which opens right to the recipe on p 384).
If you're not up to that, go buy or borrow "Appetite for Life: The Biography of Julia Child" by Noel Riley Fitch, a gush-free examination of Julia's remarkable life.
Most people will remember Julia as the woman who made French cooking accessible to the American public, but she's also to be remembered as an apparently fearless woman who carved her own path in life, who reinvented herself in her early 30s and ended up with a husband whose life eventually centered around her own. She was able to create her life without the distraction of children, which opens up a small debate: If she'd had a child, or children, would she have become the Julia we know today? And, would they have been the best-fed children in town, or would the old cobbler's-children maxim have ruled (the cobbler's children are the worst-shod)?
Discuss amongst yourselves.
Bon appetit!
posted by Unknown11:29 AM
Tuesday, July 27
FoodWords Between Deadlines is back up and running!
If you're as old as I am -- the first generation of newspaper writers who worked solely on computers and never with typewriters -- you heard that phrase, "back up and running," a lot. Mainly because the mainframe computer system your company was using either crashed a lot (usually on deadline) or had to be taken down at least once a day for maintenance or whatever other secretive reasons the IT guys for interrupting your work routine.
It has been a long time -- 25 years, omigod -- since I first sat down at a desk in a real newsroom and heard that deathless phrase broadcast over the loudspeaker. But it sticks with me. So today, I proudly announce that FoodWords The Blog is back up and running after a lengthy hiatus. Is anybody out there?
I recently left a wonderful staff gig writing for Anne Holland at MarketingSherpa in order to deal with some family issues. But, seeing as I'm continuing on as an occasional contributor to EmailSherpa, and I'm at the computer, anyway, and I'm still getting all my usual food news via email, I thought I'd put my time to good use and see how we can build up the ol' blog.
Hey, guess what! Since the last time I posted here, I've acquired an RSS feed! Wahoo! We're totally out there now. Here it is: http://www.foodwords.blogspot.com/atom.xml
I am still hoping to revive my newsletter, but for now, start looking for new, notable, goofy or otherwise comment-worthy food news beginning Wednesday, July 28.
posted by Unknown
Tuesday, May 18
The Miracle that is Clamato
Chicago Tribune | Why is it consumers clam up when it comes to Clamato?
This is a great story, from the Chicago Tribune, about the red-juice drink Clamato, one company's major marketing missteps and how appealing to the core audience can boost sales. I've never had Clamato, but a hundred million Canadians and Mexicans can't be wrong, right?
posted by Unknown
Friday, March 5
Primer for Newbie Crockpot Users
The crockpot isn't just for your mom anymore. You might think it's a distinctly downmarket way to prepare a meal, not consistent with a kitchen full of the latest gadgets and high-end cookware from Broadway Panhandler. But there's a reason the humble crockpot has remained popular and not just as the classic middle American wedding present -- it works, it's convenient and you can make some fabulous food in it. Just think of it as really, really slow food.
This article from the Boston Globe takes you through the finer points. Read it soon because it will go to a paid archive soon and this link will vanish like the last little bits of sauce from the bottom of the pot.
posted by Unknown
Friday, February 27
2004 Food Trends via R&I
Looks like it's going to be a combination of frou-frou and updated homestyle comfort foods, according to Restaurants & Institutions magazine. Here's the lede:
"Something for everyone will be a dominant theme throughout foodservice. As diets go head to head with a continuing demand for indulgence, restaurants have been challenged to address both with equal aplomb. Kitchens accustomed to preparing foods with nary a thought to nutrition must now school chefs in the nuances of Atkins, organic foods and calorie counting, all with the aim of keeping customers happy— whatever their diet regimes."
posted by Unknown
Thursday, February 26
Newspaper 's Stupid House Ad Outs Its Restaurant Critic
Oh, this story will resonate with anyone who has to contend with a dopey publisher. The Nashville Scene, a weekly in Music City, published a house ad showing a bashed-in paper box and four possible culprits below it. One of the culprits was the newspaper's own restaurant critic. Another was a cartoon of a Mafioso, in bad taste on so many levels, but especially because the critic had just recently ripped an Italian restaurant whose name was a play on the word "Mafioso."
The Mafia is not known for its sense of humor, but then neither are restaurant critics who guard their identities and probably don't think it's funny when their own paper exposes them. D'oh!
posted by Unknown
