To Cook or Not To Cook? That's a Real Good Question

How American cooking, and not-only American, became a spectator sport, and what we lost and still loosing along the way.
1. JULIA’S CHILDREN
I was only 8 when “The French Chef” first appeared on American television in 1963, but it didn’t take long for me to realize that this Julia Child had improved the quality of life around our house. My mother began cooking dishes she’d watched Julia cook on TV: boeuf bourguignon (the subject of the show’s first episode), French onion soup gratinée, duck à l’orange, coq au vin, mousse au chocolat. Some of the more ambitious dishes, like the duck or the mousse, were pointed toward weekend company, but my mother would usually test these out on me and my sisters earlier in the week, and a few of the others ...
Full Story: ...
... Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch; By MICHAEL POLLAN


Food writing on VQROnline.org
I had the good fortune last week to spend the afternoon making gefilte fish with my former employer, the doyenne of Jewish food writing and an all-around great person, Joan Nathan. As the kitchen bustled with activity—the sputter of browning brisket and onions, the steady grinding of haddock, and the simmering of fish carcasses—I found myself thinking of the derided rise of cooking as spectator sport and the decline of home cooking. Nowhere is this trend more apparent than in food writing. ...
Full Story: The Cookbook Writer as Food Anthropologist; By Michael Lukas


Recipes on SeriousEats.com
Recipes worth preserving - Preserved lemons are tart, intense and can be eaten whole. Several recipes showcasing them are provided, including one for a taginelike chicken dish, and another for semifreddo with basil syrup.
My grandmother was born in Casablanca, Morocco, just in time for the era of Rick’s Café Americain. I think glamor must have been one of the components of Casablanca's municipal water in the 1940s, ...
Full Story: The Secret Ingredient: Preserved Lemons; by Kerry Saretsky


Science & Nutrition on the FoodNavigator.com
A new review from France has concluded that there are nutritional benefits to organic produce, on the basis of data compiled for the French food agency AFSSA. The conclusion opposes that of a UK study published last month. ...
Full STory: French study says organic food is healthier; By Jess Halliday


More Interesting Links!
~ A Good Appetite - Stuffed artichokes are full of memories. A Lasting Fondness for Artichokes; NYTimes.com

~ Uncorking new wine opportunities - A survey of the wine industry finds a marked slowdown in business, but the recession also is creating new opportunities. Finding Opportunity in Troubled Times; SommelierJournal.com

~ The science behind that chocolate-cake recipe- "BakeWise," a new cookbook by former research biochemist Shirley Corriher, explains the science behind the baking process. A Scientific Approach to Dessert; popsci.com





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