Empires, Cannibals, and Magic Fish Bones
Join us as we celebrate food, the dinner table, and quite likely empires, cannibals and magic fish bones!
Madame Babette Hersant composes the meal of a lifetime for Martinne and Philippa, daughters of a strict prophet who saved her from civil wars by taking her into their home. Her feast offers gratitude for their kindness and at the same time a defiant gesture displaying the glory of her culinary art. Babette’s Feast generously … Continue reading The Dinner Party 2: Cooking As Grace.
Jules-Alexandre Grün knew how to paint a dinner party. All the light, all the wealth, all the joy. Such a beautiful nineteen hundred and eleven, what could go wrong? I think of the word hospitality. Here’s a Walter Arnold photograph of the old Marine Hospital in the French Fort area of Memphis, Tennessee. … Continue reading The Dinner Party: Do I Amputate, Change Out, Or Kill The Guests?
Islay. The name conjures salt water-spray off the North Atlantic, peat bogs rich with all that decays, limestone, spring water, geese and thrushes. And whisky. Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg on the southeast shore of the island. Bunnahabhain and Caol Ila to the northeast. Bowmore, Bruichladdich and Port Charlotte around Loch Indaal in the middle of … Continue reading Terroir And Smoke: Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2007 And Smoked Catfish Étouffée With Readings From Sir Albert Howard, Aldo Leopold and Eliot Coleman.
I’m almost through reading Carl Safina’s seminal text Song for the Blue Ocean, which surveys the state of Bluefin Tuna in the Northeast of the United States, salmon in the Northwest, and coral reefs in the Pacific. More than fifteen years ago Safina’s voice artfully, evocatively raised an alarm about the real thought that needs … Continue reading Bluefin Tuna to Palm Oil: Sustainability is the Word: Three Books And A Blog.
The former Mrs. Putin’s Fish Soup Recipe! What’s not to love about this? Thank you Food Perestroika. Pair with vodka. Continue reading Kremlin Menu Watch, Part 4
We’re preparing for Brazil vs.Germany and I’m drinking a caipirinha as we cook a Moqueca. Why moqueca? It’s a signature dish from Bahia! Here’s where we are so far. I’ve halved, quartered several limes and added a spoonful of brown sugar. Also, the Rolling Stones on brown sugar. Next step, mottle. Add ice, cachaca, and … Continue reading Caipirinha, the Girl From Ipanema, And World Cup 2014!
This afternoon I’m drinking a Wasatch Devastator Double Bock (creamy, malty, yeasty and bananany) as I simmer diced onion and bacon (Revival Farms) in charred leftover bits of sirloin (Augustus Ranch). Grounded in the kitchen? Dwelling and being. I stir the pan and think through rural America, national parks, salmon on the Columbia River, returning … Continue reading Savoir-Vivre: Some Thoughts On Culture In A Bowl
The Hermetic science par excellence is alchemy; the famous Emerald Table, the bible of the alchemists, is attributed to Hermes Trismegistus and gives in a mysteriously compact form the philosophy of the All and the One. That which is above is like that which is below . . . . And as all things have … Continue reading “Dad, It Tastes Like Blood!” Alchemy And Briny, Smokey Crustaceans And Suids. Oh My!
Back in the winter of 2013 I traveled up to Michigan to see the family, meaning my daughter Kelsey and her husband Matthew Wisotsky and my son Nicholas Harvey and his wife Gerianne Ditto-Harvey. Whenever I’m up in the Great North with the kids, I like to cook; therefore, it was time to visit Eastern … Continue reading Winter and Summer at Eastern Market Means Two Stews And A Dog!
Two articles that dovetail with their concern over land, sea and sky–how we restore what has been damaged and how we farm what we’ve run into the ground. Ecological and agricultural concerns synchronized. http://www.drb.ie/essays/the-restoration-drama http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/07/01/327248504/the-great-fish-swap-how-america-is-downgrading-its-seafood-supply?ft=1&f=1053 Continue reading Forest, Farm and What Will Be Left.
