Yesterday evening around 5:30, hard at work in the studio, I realized that I needed to go in the house and make dinner or there would be hell to pay. I was not pleased about it, so I was grouchy, and the relative shortness of time made it even less relaxing. Fortunately, a well-stocked pantry came to the rescue as it so often does.
I just finished a long article, so I haven’t had any time for this recently. Regular posting should resume shortly, with some cool stuff on tap as the week unfolds. Get it? Meantime, a few links I have found interesting to keep you informed and entertained. It’s been out for a bit, but this piece on addictive junk food is a must-read. Advertising this kind of crap to children should be a felony. I find…
On assignment, I have been privileged to spend some time with Zak Pelaccio, his wife Jori Emde, and their crew as they prepare to open Fish & Game, their new restaurant, in Hudson. As part of my diligent, thorough, and extremely professional research, just like a real journalist would I went ahead and obtained a copy of his recent cookbook from the publisher, because getting occasional review copies of cookbooks from publishers is one of the few perks in the fast-paced, glamorous world of food writing; they’re the in-flight reading as I flit and glide through the rarified atmosphere of culinary relevance like Dumbo one of those dinosaur things the Nazgûl rode a wounded TARDIS.
I like his book a lot; it’s personable, usable, and does a good job of communicating his unique and prodigious gifts for turning good ingredients into the kind of great food that makes a person want to have a lot of sex. If you read this blog, especially more than once, you should buy it.
There is no more useful thing to have on hand at all times than good homemade stock. Witness this meal, a hurried response to lingering sickness and general wintry malaise that no cardigan can allay. I have written a lot about risotto, because I make it pretty often, though not because I love it particularly more than other things. I make it often because it is so easy; all it requires is rice, stock, and a condimento: an herb, a flavor, a vegetable or three for color, depth, and direction.
So far this winter I have made four separate arrangements with a babysitter so we could go out and enjoy ourselves like people with lives and social skills are wont to do, and I have had to cancel four out of four times due to illness of child. It’s frustrating, to say the least, so I’m giving up hope of going out and doing anything fun other than by myself until summer rolls around.
Though this is another paean to leftovers, hear me out. Everything about this meal was spot on; the various components had been transformed beyond recognition from their original preparations, and to excellent effect.
For the first Chronogram of 2013—which marks four years since I began writing for them, which is kind of terrifying—I profile Glynwood, a non-profit doing innovative and influential work helping sustainable agriculture become a central part of the Hudson Valley’s economy and identity.
I also forgot to mention that I have two articles, with photos, in the current issue of Edible Hudson Valley: one on homemade vinegar and the other on Tuthilltown’s new gin as well as other products they’re developing in the aftermath of the explosion and fire that destroyed their distillery. And you can read Meredith Bethune’s article about homemade charcuterie, featuring many pithy quotes from yours truly, in the current issue of Urban Farm magazine. (Neither Edible nor UF have the current issue online, unlike the digitally savvy Chronogram, which has a sparkly new site).