Food Memoirs: Food Memoirs: "Pig Tails 'n Breadfruit"

"The incontrovertible truth is that cou-cou, a dish made from corn that you grind-up, fine-fine-fine, into a meal and cook in water that have okras boil in it, was first cooked in Barbados. From there it spread all over the world." Austin Clarke's memoir Pig Tails 'n Breadfruit has a very loveable p…

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24Aug2010

CanniversaryCanniversary

Since Louise is not currently blogging edible celebrations, I felt I should link to an article in the Washington Post today about the 200th anniversary, said to be Wednesday, of the humble tin can (now made of aluminum, steel, plastic-lined metal or whatever).Evidently August 25 is the date in 1810 …

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23Aug2010

Food Memoirs: Food Memoirs: "Amarcord: Marcella Remembers"

Passion isn't a characteristic of Marcella Hazan's memoir Amarcord: Marcella Remembers. She mentions that at the age of 84, memories are fluid, sweeping over time and space in no particular order. (Despite this, the book seems well organized and not especially jumpy.) Maybe age also made her somewha…

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22Aug2010

Food Memoirs: Food Memoirs: "Tastes Like Cuba"

What are the limitations of a food memoir? Eduardo Machado's memoir Tastes Like Cuba: An Exile's Hunger for Home reads like an object lesson on what you can -- and can't -- do with this genre.The early chapters are delightful: the foods of Machado's childhood in Cuba effectively illustrate the relat…

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19Aug2010

Not the Cake DoctorNot the Cake Doctor

Cake mix would produce good results even if it was formulated with dried egg in the batter, but manufacturers have found that women feel more creative if they add eggs, not just water. Or so long-ago rumors said. This was part of the commonly-held, probably correct lore that told us that Betty Crock…

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18Aug2010

Michigan WineMichigan Wine

I normally don't have anything to say about wine -- I just like to drink it. But this morning's L.A. Times has an article on top of the front page (if that's what you call the home page of an online newspaper) featuring Michigan's 100 wineries! Also a few from Illinois, but mostly Michigan. The arti…

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17Aug2010

Black Orchids and Corned-Beef HashBlack Orchids and Corned-Beef Hash

Nero Wolfe had unusual taste. He grew orchids and experimented with recipes that by modern standards (and probably also those of his own time) were plebeian. In Black Orchids, exotic black orchids serve as a backdrop to murder, and excite a weak point in the sort-of infallible detective.I don't even…

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15Aug2010
 
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