Cooking With Ideas

Where Have I Eaten Lately?

Yes, I have been traveling, which is always a good excuse to eat out -- or a reason to suffer through bad meals. Turns out that this recent spate of trips has involved a variety of tasty tidbits -- including some very good hotel food! And, while the airplanes themselves are utterly hopeless (ok, I occasionally buy snacks but the "free" things, even on cross-continental flights are truly bad). So, here are a few places I have eaten lately in absolutely no meaningful order (ok, maybe alphabetical is meaningful?):

Marriott Detroit Metro Airport: I wandered downstairs to the hotel restaurant simply because I was not ready to face room service. It was cold, but otherwise a nice venue with a menu that was surprisingly wide ranging for an airport hotel. (Ok, it was a Marriott rather than a Courtyard Marriott. Maybe that explains it?) In any case, I ordered a lovely organic chicken dish and was disappointed when the waitress returned to inform me that the chef was sorry but they were out of that dish. So: I went with lamb shepherd's pie as an entree to follow a salad. I was delightfully surprised. The meat was tender ground lamb, not gamey at all, and the gravy was subtle in a way that brought together a range of flavors from cinnamon-y to I don't know what. The potatoes were whipped rather than mashed, which was ok, but I always think that makes them a bit too soft to hold up to the fork (as it were) and wish restaurants would tell you whether you are getting whipped/pureed potatoes or truly mashed ones. Other than that, the other very pleasant surprise was the chef's apology for the absence of the chicken dish -- which involved paying for part of my meal. Yes, service and attention to the customer still lives -- and does to in unexpected places. Finally, the bread pudding, which I took back to my room for dessert, was light and the raisins soaked in brandy. I had half for a late dessert -- and half for breakfast with a pot of coffee. Overall -- this was a top of the line restaurant meal in many ways. It was not chi chi or snobby, but the food was well prepared and very good; the service was amazing.

Hotel Grand Pacific Room Service: The Hotel Grand Pacific is on the Inner Harbor in Victoria, British Columbia. I wish I had had a chance to try their dim sum afternoon tea, but instead had room service the first night I was in Victoria. I ordered hazelnut gnocchi and a salad. The gnocchi were reasonably light, the sauce itself not too nutty but nutty enough, and the meal fine. I ate it too fast and thus was not at my best to assess the meal. But I would order it again. The combination of crunchy hazelnut and al dente gnocchi was nice. My one complaint? When I asked room service for suggestions on something to drink that was non-alcoholic and without caffeine, the person at the end of the phone was baffled. Alas. I ended up giving up and just asking for cranberry juice.

Moe's Grill and Bar in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport: Some airports have spectacular food (Minneapolis for example). Others have terrible food. And Cinncinati? Well, I wanted to sit down and be served. And I confess I did not want Cincinnati's chili, served on spaghetti. The fact is, this just seems weird to me. So, Moe's it was: a sit down place where I could get pretty traditional pub fare. (there is one in Concourse A and I ate in Concourse C.) I had a blue cheese burger, one of my favorite things. It came with waffle fries. My review: the bun was just chewy enough. The 1/3 poundburger was a bit big for me (though I did finish it) and the blue cheese was actually cheese rather than the mayo/blue cheese mix offered by some places). The service was pretty darn good and they let me sit there for my oh-too-long lay over. For those who care (and I do not), they also serve Canadian smoked meat sandwiches. For an expedia article on being stuck in this airport, click here.

Niche was recommended to me by the concierge at the Hotel Grand Pacific. It is on Quebec Street and in a smallish building that looks like someone's home. The ambience was perfect;a fireplace in the middle of what might have once been the parlour. Not too many tables, it was very quiet when I arrived (circa 6 pm maybe) but got progressively noisier as it filled up. The waiter was attentive and informed. What did I have? Well, first I had the amusee bouche which was a crispy wonton with pork inside and a smear of jerusalem artichose puree served on what semed to be a slate tile. (The serving on slate turned out to be more widely true.) Then along came bread; not bad --but with a spread that was great -- squash and beans of some sort, right between savoury and sweet. Mmmmm. Then a salad -- a beet salad with a local blue cheese and arugula. The beets were of various colors -- and tastes --and at least some sliced so thinly I thought of a mandoline. For my entree I got the special: a duck breast with a chocolate and cherry theme. And then I had dessert. And it too came on a slate tile; on the left, a smallish chocolate cake-y bit, in the middle a fruit-y compote (which I think was the same cherries as in the duck), and on the right a spoon with sorbet (very berry, very purple, and very tasty). I thought I wanted the chocolate, but actually I liked the sorbet and cherries even better. The service was pretty good -- especially in what became an increasingly busy restaurant and I was a table of one. plus, I was reading, which I think is pretty out ofplace sometimes but I never know what else to do with myself when I am on my own in a restaurant. Anyway, Niche was a real hit. The best meal away from home I have had in ages.

Oak Bay Marina Restaurant: Oak Bay is near Victoria BC. The setting wasbeautiful, looking out over beautiful boats in the marina and into the harbor. And, the food was swell.KNown for its sushi bar, that is not what I had. I had tuna, done rare. Sometimes these days this is pretty standard fare. Not here: the tuna was indeed rarebut it was also soft, definitely sushi quality and beautifully presented. Dessert: a spicey pumpkin creme brulee was less exciting but also tasty. One great thing about this place: they participate in the Ocean Wise program and have a clue where their seafood comes from. In these days of wildly overfished waters, this is important.

Pescatore's Seafood and Grill: I was tired. I needed a walk but not too long a walk. And I was in Victoria. So, dwn Government Street I went -- and then I wandered into this place. It was dark, and it was late-ish for lunch. But, yes, they said, you can have lunch. So:I was hte only person in there. I had trout and potatoes and green beans and coffee (lots of coffee, very dark and very hot). The trout meuniere was very good and so was everything else. The potatoes were halved and roasted. I have no idea what the sauce on the beans was -- shallots, I am sure, and it was very dark and salty. I rubbed everything on the plate into it and ate every last drop of that sauce. I loved it. It was like the little nuggies I consume when I cook at home of things that absorb all the tastes of cooking. Wow. As for the service, well, considering I was the only person there it was fine, but the waiter did hover just a bit more than I like and it was a bit dark to read. But then again, who am I to complain when a whole restaurant is feeding just me?

Phillips European in the Rochester (NY) Airport: I end up getting sandwiches from this place a lot, since airplanes do not feed us anymore. What do I get? A french bread sandwich with some combination of roast turkey, provolone (only sometimes), jalapenos, and either spinach, sprouts or something else. Sometimes I get coffee, sometimes just my bottle of water for the flight and, when desperate, a coke and/or chips. (I am trying to cut down on calories and cutting down on coca cola has been my number one effort.) The sandwiches are made for you while you wait, and they are pretty predictably good. I admit, I am traveling so much though, they are starting to bore me. Maybe I will branch out; they have wraps and other sandwiches. One caveat: htey do not take airport vouchers so if you are stuck there and get a voucher, they are no help. Alas. There is a restaurant away from the airport. I have never been.

So: some options for you!

Victoria
Airport Dining
niche
BC
Detroit
Cincinnati
food and airport

The Omnivore's Religion

Ok, everyone in the blogosphere that cares about food read Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma when it came out in hardback. And they commented on what he had to say when his chapter on corn appeared in the NY Times – or when his Walmart worries intersected with our own as Walmart move(d) organic. (For examples, click here or here (the latter complete with a link to an interview with Pollan.) Yes, I know he has a new book out -- in hard back no less. (The title: In Defense of Food.)

Not being a slave to fashion, I just read The Omnivore's Dilemma a month or two ago. I started it even longer ago, and got stalled by the realities of life and being so over extended that I would open it and fall immediately asleep. But I did read the full book while traveling in November. I folded down loads of corners and thought about what to write here. (I would have included more quotations, but the book is at home and I am traveling once again in lovely beautiful wonderful Alberta. That is, I am traveling while writing this -- though it will come out after I am back. . . )

On The Omnivore's Dilemma: I enjoyed the book; I loved some of the sentences. And I learned a lot – about, for example, Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms who Fred Forsburg of Honeyhill Farm mentioned in a recent interview here on Cooking with Ideas. Turns out Salatin brings Christianity to bear on his stewardship of the earth through his farming processes. The entanglements of Christianity with environmental degradation -- and more progressive arguments for stewardship are, for those of us puzzled by religion, fascinating. A sort of bi-polar cultural phenomenon. That's, of course, not the only reference to religion in Pollan's book -- it makes an occasional, but repeated, appearance in The Omnivore's Dilemma. It appeared in at least the following ways, beyond Salatin’s Christianity . . . .

Throughout the book, Pollan addresses the ways humanity is and has been shaped by the "omnivore's dilemma" (hence, of course, the title) -- the fact that we can, in fact, eat a whole lot of things, even things that are pretty harmful to us, some of which might even kill us. What renders humanity unusual is that we can actually learn and build continuity about what we learn to eat -- and possibly more importantly, what we learn to avoid. What we do in order to accomplish this, in Pollan's argument, is create and sustain culture. And, in particular, we build rituals and religion and traditions of various sorts. Passover seders appear in Pollan's discussion of his foraged meal, for example. Also appearing throughout: the notion of grace. Both grace as a practice of offering thanks for what one eats -- and grace in the more widely theological sense of the wonderful possibility of a generous, hopeful world within which we are embedded (ok, for some, a generous, hopeful transcendence which reaches out to us). In many ways, The Omnivore's Dilemma is an ode to secular grace. The book, of course, is also about the appearance and reappearance of morality (or ethics?) in culture's relation to food. (and yes, Janet Jakovsen and Ann Pelligrini, among others, have traced historic links between American conversations about morality (and values) and our historic connection to religion. See their book Love the Sin.) So, kshrut and seders, morality and grace. "The omnivore's religion"?

Yep, I thought of that on my own. Then I googled the phrase and discovered some interesting things, including this rabbi's review of The Omnivore's Dilemma and this somewhat odd (in my view) Christian discussion of omnivorousness and Pollan. Hey, he was even featured at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco in Fall 2007. Hmmm. And, as a final lovely thing, I discovered a blog called "The Jew and the Carrot" which has an entry "What Would Michael Pollan Do?" Try it. You'll like it.

For some other dandy reviews (perhapsa bit mroemainstream) of Pollan see:

Josh Ozersky at Newsday.com

and on Pollan's new book (oh no now I am really behind!), In Defense of Food click here.

And, for some NPR interviews with Pollan himself, click here. And listen away.

Michael Pollan
The Omnibore's Dilemma
food and religion
religion

State of the Onion

There should be a limit on the use of food-based puns for the titles of murder mysteries. I have not quite reached it, I guess, or the title of this mystery, State of the Onion would not have attracted me. Punny. Punny. Punny. And, I confess that what seems like a compulsive need for (heterosexual) minor romantic subplots in mysteries also gets on my nerves sometimes. Will she/won't she break up with whomever? These, though, are minor gripes about a fun book by an author new to me -- and a book labeled "first in the new White House Chef Mystery series" on its cover. Of course, the main character is an assistant chef at the White House; her name is Ollie.

State of the Onion is a good title/pun for 2008 with presidential primaries and puzzlement about who will eventually land the title "POTUS" (President of the United States as all of us who ever watched West Wing know). Julie Hyzy (an author also new to me; she has other mysteries and a blog) offers here a book with a little more action -- secret service, amateur and otherwise -- than some food-based mysteries with chefs as the amateur investigator. While some of the White House trivia is obvious -- at least to me, loads of it is not. I liked the bits on the presidential china patterns -- and the obvious-if-one-gives-it-a-moment's-thought details of what it takes to do so many dinners and meals for so many people from such diverse cultures and with such diverse individual and protocol needs. Ok, halal is NOT the same as kosher! (For some details, click here. And for a picture of the "koshering of the White House Kitchen, click here.) And, of course, the security needs mean vetting vendors in a serious way. Now that must be a job. I think I would prefer the traditional (at least as represented by Hyzy) First Lady duty of taste testing; I wonder if Hillary did that and if Bill will if she is elected? On a less political note, I also enjoyed the characterization of television food personalities through one character. Watching food television, one sometimes forgets that the presence of cameras likely skews everyone's behavior --and that the cameras are also very likely to be quite a pain in the neck in small kitchens. (Who knew how small the White House kitchen was?) I confess to also being intrigued by the details on Camp David, originally named Shangri-La but renamed Camp David by President Dwight Eisenhower after his grandson David. And, on sheer gossipy notes, the everyday food preferences of various presidents is funto consider; FDR serving hot dogs to the king and queen of England got a chuckle from me. Nothing to fear but fear itself!

On an unrelated note, the gendering of chefs and kitchen is a fascinating topic --and has intriguing impact in this story. Among other things, it comes up around cultural taboos of those who visit and eat at the White House. POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT: I did not know until I started working on this entry that the book follows on the appointment of the first female executive chef in White House History. The story (found here) parallels a bit what Hyzy offers for Ollie -- who struggles throughout the book with the possibility of becoming the new executive chef. Does this mean the first Lady in the book is a fictionalized Laura Bush? Or that Laura Bush had a draft of State of the Onion? Hmmmm.

On recipes: they appear at the end of the book labeled "A Presidential Menu" and preceded by some musings offered by the main character/chef. The choices are prettty main stream. Though the book itself refers to the need to research other cultures, not much in the way of foodie information is offered on those other cultures -- maybe that will be in the next book! One dish mentioned in the narrative itself -- which actually has a minor plot role -- does not appear! Alas, I love brussel sprouts and would have loved to have that recipe.

So, the book was fun. In my first draft of this, in fact, I used that word 8 times. It is a fun, quick read with loads of plot twists and interesting characterizations. She uses the politics of the Middle East (very lightly disguised) reasonably well, though it could use a bit more depth. So, I liked State of the Onion despite the currently dismal State of the Union. It has more substance than some truly gimicky food-related mysteries -- and I hope Hyzy manages to make sure the plots are as thick as the stews!

For some background on the White House, click here. And, for pictures of cooks and chefs in the kitchen at the White House, click here. For an interview, complete with recipes, with a fired White House chef, click here.

murder mystery
Julie Hyzy
Hyzy
White House

Biscotti for Everybotti -- Caroline Ravines Interviewed

So, I was wandering the Rochester Public Market in December 2007 and discovered some incredible biscotti! Yes,it was Caroline Ravines from "Biscotti for Everybotti." We bought several kinds -- but sent most off as holiday gifts and only tried the ginger. Wow. Since then she agreed to this interview! Hurrah! The food for thought is as wonderful as the biscotti themselves.

Bibliochef: I love the name "Biscotti for Everybotti!" Where did it come from and how did you come to be making and selling biscotti?

Caroline: My youngest son, Amos, came up with the name last year when he was 15. (He just turned 16 in December.) He and I were brainstorming about possible names for my biscotti business. I wanted a name that would convey the message that biscotti can be for every day and for everyone and not something exclusive that is only saved for special occasions or select people. Amos heard me kicking around names like "Every Day Biscotti" or "Biscotti for Everyday". This had been going on for a while, then one day he said "How about Biscotti for Everybotti"? This name struck a chord with me and I liked it right away. I like the playfulness of it and the way it makes people giggle. This lifts people's spirits and creates a joyful positive connotation upon first encounter with the product.

Sometimes Amos gets tired of me telling people that he came up with the name so I have toned down my excitement about his contribution a bit but I still like to give him credit for it.

Bibliochef: Am I right that you are also a student? (I have a vague memory of reading that somewhere.) How is that (if it is at all true!) related to your business?

Caroline: My answer to this question ties into the second part of your first question. In January 2006 I began as a doctoral student in the Warner School at the University of Rochester and began working towards a doctoral degree in Counseling. In October 2006 I was taking a class called Life Course Studies with Professor Paul Stein. As part of the class the students were asked to prepare a presentation on some aspect of Life Course Studies and tie it to the class readings. Another student in the class, Janice Resnick, and I teamed up to do presentations on life course studies of our mothers. My mother had passed away and Janice's mother is alive in her 80s. My mother was an avid journaler and had kept journals for about 70 years of her life. Originally, I am from Seattle, Washington. When my brother, Anthony, heard about the project I was working on about our mother he sent about 150 pounds of my mother's journals from Seattle to me here in Rochester. This has proved to be fascinating reading for me and has allowed me to get to know my mother, father and siblings during years before and after I was born. Janice was able to interview her mother in person. While Janice and I were working on the presentation together we discovered that we both loved to cook and we had gotten this love of cooking from our mothers.

Janice is from Italian descent and when I found out that she knew how to make biscotti, which is a traditional twice baked Italian cookie, I asked her to teach me how to make biscotti the next time we got together at my home to work on our presentation. She obliged and brought me some of her recipes. We talked as we baked and I was thrilled to learn how to make biscotti. Janice was a very good teacher and I was an eager student. After my initial lesson I began experimenting with my own variations of the recipes and creating new ones. I would bring the results to class with me for Janice and other students to sample and I solicited their feedback. This continued and my circle of volunteer samplers expanded. From the enthusiastic feedback I was getting I decided to see if I could sell my biscotti in cafes around town. Eventually I got my DBA (Doing Business As) in March of 2007 and my first customer was The Coffee Connection on South Avenue in the South Wedge neighborhood. This expanded to other cafes in the South Wedge and other parts of Rochester.

Many of the things I learned in my classes have helped me in starting up and maintaining my business such as creating a research study which is very similar to preparing a business plan. Both of these have a lot of trial and error which results in modifications along the way. As of this term I have withdrawn as a doctoral student at the Warner School. My energies are now focused on developing my baking business.

Bibliochef: Can you say what a general definition of a biscotti is? And describe how you go about making them?

Caroline: Biscotti is an Italian word for 'twice baked cookie'. The biscotti dough is first baked in a loaf shape, then cut into slices and baked once again until they are quite dry. Making biscotti is a labor intensive process but for me it is a labor of love. I enjoy the whole process.

This drying process makes them great for dunking in coffee, tea, milk, hot chocolate, apple cider etc....... The drying also gives them a long shelf life. I understand Christopher Columbus brought them aboard his ships for his crew because they keep so well.

Bibliochef: As I said in the opening, I bought several flavors from you at the Rochester Public Market –every last one of them for presents! But I must confess – not all of them reached their intended recipients. I ate most of the ginger ones. Wow. I loved them. I'd guess you used various forms of ginger in them! What other flavors do you make – and what's your favorite?

Caroline: I like them all and make them according to what tastes good to me but Ginger is my favorite. And you are right, I use both powdered ginger from Stuart's Spices that I find at the Rochester Public Market as well as organic sugared ginger that I get through the Abundance Food Co-op. I like promoting and supporting other local businesses with my business.

Some of the other year round flavors I make are Coconut using organic shredded coconut from the Abundance Food Co-op, Espresso Chocolate Chip using Fair Trade organic coffee from The Coffee Connection and Double Chocolate Chip.

Some of the seasonal variations I have created during the past few months are; Pumpkin Spice, Cranberry Pecan, Cranberry Almond, Maple Pecan, Cranberry White Chocolate and Cranberry Pistachio. I am open to other flavor suggestions too.

Bibliochef: I know you make vegan biscotti as well. How did you come to do so? Is there much demand for vegan biscotti?

Caroline: Along with the theme of "Biscotti for Everybotti" I strive to respect various dietary preferences and requirements so I have educated myself about making vegan as well as gluten-free biscotti. Many of the cafes and restaurants that I sell to like to have these options available to their customers too. I consider the vegan diet as more of a philosophical lifestyle choice whereas gluten-free needs can be a serious health issue. When I was selling biscotti at the South Wedge Farmer's Market this last summer I would give away samples of biscotti which went very well with the coffee samples offered by The Coffee Connection. I loved the look on the faces of gluten-free customers who would stop by our table, we'd offer them samples of biscotti and they would say "No, I can't eat that.". We'd inquire as to why they couldn't and they'd say "I need gluten-free.". When we'd respond "We have gluten-free.", their faces would light up with such enthusiasm and appreciation. I wish I had a photograph for that initial expression on every person's face when they discovered we had gluten-free biscotti for them.

Bibliochef: The flavors I found at the market were all sort of sweet. And yet, I do know of savory biscotti – do you make any? If not, why not? If so, can you tell us something about those?

Caroline: I have made savory biscotti that go very well with soups and salads but most people are used to expecting biscotti to be sweet so there has not been much demand for these yet. As people become more familiar with savory biscotti I think there will be more demand for them.

Bibliochef: What do you use for ingredients? Do you use natural or organic products?

Caroline: I use mostly organic along with natural ingredients. Customers who care about the quality of the food they eat is the niche I am targeting. I say that my biscotti are goodies you can feel good about.

Bibliochef: In addition to making the biscotti, I assume you also do most of the marketing and pricing, etc. Can you tell us a bit about the experience of retailing something you make yourself?

Caroline: I make a good high quality product and I feel it can sell itself when people have the opportunity to try it. I need to be proactive about creating and/or seizing those opportunities. Let me know of local businesses that would be interested in having a Biscotti for Everybotti tasting event.

Bibliochef: I know you sold your biscotti at the Rochester Public Market on recent Sundays. Can you tell us where else you sell your products and something about those places? How did you choose them? Do you also sell on line?

Caroline: As mentioned earlier, my first customer was The Coffee Connection in the South Wedge neighborhood. Last winter a friend, Diane Garga, took me to The Coffee Connection and introduced me to Nancy who is the owner of the cafe. Nancy was open to trying samples of my biscotti and selling them in her cafe. I am impressed with what Nancy is doing with her efforts to break the drug cycle at both the grower and consumer ends. Also, Nancy and I both have Peruvian husbands and strong ties with Peru where much of her coffee comes from. Collaborating with her has been a good fit.

Nancy encouraged me to meet Joe Ferrara who was in the process of opening the New Health Cafe on Gregory and Ashland Street also in the South Wedge. I took him some samples which he enjoyed. Since he and I are targeting the same niche of customers, he became my second customer and began carrying my biscotti when his cafe opened, where they have been well received.

The South Wedge neighborhood has been quite receptive. Daily Perks, which is now House of Hamez, and Boulder Coffee are other South Wedge venues that carry my biscotti.

I've expanded beyond the South Wedge neighborhood to Bodhi's at Village Gate on Goodman Street, The George Eastman House Cafe on East Avenue, The Little Green Cafe which is part of Pilates Plus on Monroe Avenue across from Pittsford Plaza and The Abundance Food Co-op on Marshall Street. I am continually meeting new proprietors and this list will continue to expand.

Our website is in the works for on line business and I'll let you know when it is up. (Editorial note: The second I receive it, I will post it on my links!)

Bibliochef: Do you also bake – and/or sell – other products?

Caroline: So far I am focusing on variations of biscotti for my business. I love to bake and do create many other things for family and friends. Eventually I may branch out to other products for my business.

Bibliochef: And now for some of the questions I ask all of the people I "speak" with! What's the absolutely best meal you have ever had? What made it the best meal?

Caroline: The first meal that comes to mind is a meal prepared by my middle child, Eli, a few years back for my birthday when our family was living in Haifa Israel. At the time he was 16 and enrolled in a cooking school that he attended in the evening after his high school classes. He was excited about what he was learning there and sometimes he was able to bring his creations home after class.

I told him that my birthday wish was for him to create my birthday dinner that year. He granted my wish and took the execution of the meal very seriously. I loved everything about this meal which included shopping for the ingredients. One of our most memorable shopping adventures for this meal included going to an Arab neighborhood in Haifa called "The Wadi Nisnas" to buy the fish. A lot of our favorite eating took place in this neighborhood.

Finding someone to buy the fish from required us to inquire at a number of vendors until someone yelled to someone else and eventually an older woman in a house dress appeared and opened her small fish store for us. Eli is fluent in Hebrew and was able to ask all the appropriate questions about the type of fish he was looking for. He wanted what is called Denise Fish which is a meaty white fish. He inspected it and poked it the way he had learned in his classes to determine its freshness before we bought it.

The first course of my memorable birthday meal was Blanched Asparagus with Coconut Cream Sauce. This was followed by the Stuffed Denise Fish that was cooked including the head and propped up in its belly by a small potato. Dessert was Apple Streudel and Chocolate Mousse. It was all delicious and very lovingly prepared and served. Love is the best ingredient in any meal. It brings happy tears to my eyes as I recount this memory. Eli is now a student of the Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island. He was home during the winter holidays and just left yesterday to return to his studies.

Bibliochef: Wow. I get it why that meal was special. What music, films, books related to food would you recommend? Why? (These could be about food generally or about biscotti!)

Caroline: I like to listen to music while I am cooking and working in the kitchen. When I want the energy to get a lot done I listen to Aretha Franklin, especially "Who's Zoomin Who?". When I want to feel inner strength I listen to Bonnie Raitt. Her latest CD "Souls Alike" really strikes a cord with me about the challenges our family has faced in moving to the United States a couple of years ago.

Recently I read the book Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl which I enjoyed. Before that I read Heat by Bill Buford. (Editorial side note: For a Cooking with Ideas review of Heat, click here!) Before that was Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. I love the "Fine Cooking" magazine and always find something I'd like to cook in it. I enjoy the book What Einstein Told His Cook by Robert L. Wolke.

As far as the film medium, there is a movie originally in German called "Mostly Martha" about a female chef. An American version of this film was recently released. (Editorial note: I think this is where to click for information.) I enjoyed the first television season of "Kitchen Confidential" in 2005 and am sorry it did not continue. I would much prefer it over the numerous crime TV shows that are currently on the air which I find unwatchable. I have enjoyed Anthony Bourdain's series about his worldwide travels and encounters with international cuisines.

Bibliochef: What do you eat for comfort food?

Caroline: Thanksgiving Food is my true comfort food; turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, wild rice etc...................

I also love Peruvian Beans and Rice with Fried Onions and Tomatoes.

I find hearty soups very comforting too.

My mother was a wonderful cook. Once her six children were grown and Julia Child came on the scene she became much more adventurous with her cooking. I loved her cooking and her love came through in each dish she prepared.

Bibliochef: Do you have a favorite restaurant in the Finger Lakes? (If not, maybe go for a Rochester example?)

Caroline: I really like my own cooking and don't go out to eat very often. When I do go to a restaurant I like to order food I wouldn't tend to make myself. For a special treat our family likes to go for Dim Sum at the Cantonese House which is in the Winn-Jeff Plaza on Winton.

Bibliochef: What am I not asking that I should? What question have you never been asked that you have always wanted to be asked? What's your answer?

Caroline: Two questions come to mind:

What prompted you to become an entreprenuer?Well, the depressed job market of Rochester has not been welcoming to a woman in her fifties who has been out of the U.S.A. job market for about twenty years. I got frustrated and discouraged with my job search and decided I needed to create a job rather than look for one. I have received much more encouragement and support for pursuing the route of entreprenuership than I did in the mainstream job market or as a doctoral student.

Who has helped you along the way to this point? Here's my answer: I have been very blessed with many wonderful people in my life beginning with my parents and siblings, my husband and our children and loving friends who have become like family. My mother instilled in me a love of cooking and I have enjoyed baking since I was a child. My husband has been supportive in more ways than I can innumerate. Janice Resnick first taught me how to make biscotti. Diane Garga introduced me to my first biscotti customer, Nancy of The Coffee Connection. Diane's husband, Julius, went with me to the Federal Building and introduced me to the SBA, Small Business Association. (Editorial Comment: For the Small Business Association, click here. For Rochester's Small Business Council click here.) Dash Douglas accompanied me to my first meetings with SBA counselors. Kathy of The Coffee Connection gave me the contact info of George Gotscik of the South Wedge Planning Committee who has been instrumental in guiding many of the new businesses in the South Wedge. He has been a wealth of information, encouragement and reality checks. My daughter, Grace, has accompanied me to meetings and added her enthusiasm. She has also helped sell biscotti at the South Wedge Farmers Market and the Rochester Festival of Food. Chris and Vicki Hartman of the South Wedge Farmers Market have been wonderful to work with. My mother-in-law has created many beautiful ceramics that I love displaying my biscotti on. Jennifer Posey of Hedonist Chocolates has been fun to collaborate with. My loyal and enthusiastic customers keep me going. Wendy Heppel has been good to talk things over with. My friend Taraneh Vargha helped develop my business logo. The workshops through SCORE in the Federal Building have been very informative and helpful. There have been more people along the way who have been valuable sources of encouragement and support but I want to make the point that it would have been near impossible to get as far as I have without the support of many people in my life.

Bibliochef: Wow. Thanks for the chat and the inspiration to all of us 50-somethings (and younger -- and older)! I look forward to more biscotti!

biscotti
Rochester, NY

Magazine Heaven

One of the things that happens when I go to Canada is I encounter wonderful magazines that are new to me. This time: maisonneuve. Their winter 2007 issue is entitled, you guessed it, "The Food Issue." And it is a great one, filled with delightful quirky wonderful nuggets. In fact, the magazine had enough on religion to figure into that interest of mine as well.

First: the cover. Yep. Maisonneuve won the "Newstand Cover of the Year" for this delightfully rendered depiction of tiny little fire fighters (ok, I thought astronauts) on top of some lovely carmelized sugar topping (no, not the surface of the moon) creme brulee. The cover is by a husband and wife team, Akiko Ida and Pierre Javelle of minimiam fame. I would have bought the magazine for the cover alone! But then I read the editor's letter which answers the question: "What kind of food makes me happy" with three words that sung to my heart (ok, my stomach): macaroni and cheese. And, when it comes to the letter, it was not merely my agreement that macaroni and cheese is a major food group that demanded my attention. In fact, I did have one hesitation about the whole thing -- a hesitation that in fact confirms how brilliant the editor of Maisonneuve actually is. What is the title of the editor's letter? Eat Drink Write Read. Hmmm. Sounds eerily familiar. Oh, I know why! Cooking with Ideas uses the phrase Eat Drink Read Think. Great minds think similarly?

Anyway, there's much more to the magazine's 26th issue than the cover and the editor's letter. For perhaps the first time ever (except in my long standing relationship with Ellery Queen) I really really liked every article in a magazine. And, i liked the art, including the discussion of Nicholas Kashian's work under the rubric "The New American Gothic" and the poem by Lorna Crozier entitled "Onions." (As a side note, the poem, "The Light in My Mother's Kitchen" on Crozier's site is delightful too.)

Here are some ruminations on the 26th issue of Maisonneuve , both longish and shortish:

One theme throughout has to do with spirituality/religion and food. This is particularly the case in the piece by Mona Awad on Mormons and food, Mark Mann's one pager called "Methodists vs. Quakers," the oddity entitled "Crusty Monk: A Recipe" and the article by documentary film maker Tadzio Richards entitled "Spirit Food." It is also an implicit theme in an essay called "Catch and Release" by Taras Grescoe which focuses on Haida beliefs in relation to fishing. Awad, to quote the Maisonneuve web site is "a lowly Maisonneuve intern. She spent her summer staring at flash cards, drinking steadily. Whatever she learned, she soon forgot. Including Latin." Well, she certainly has not forgotten how to write; her piece on Mormons and food was very intriguing with a good analysis of the relation between Mormon food preferences and their situation in American culture. The authors of the other pieces focused on food and religion/spirituality are as quirkily identified in the magazine in bios that answer the question "What is your favorite midniight snack and why?" Whether one pagers or longer more relfective/analytic/investigative, the articles too are quirky. Mann captures loads of cultural difference (and similarity) in a very brief comparison where, yes, "Quakers win!" And the "crusty monk," also a one pager, captures both visually and in prose a fasinating aspect of the discipline which is (or might be) ascetic buddhism. "Catch and Release" reveals that this solution to the spiritual and environmental challenges of fishing is a mere pretend solution. Alas.

A second theme, running through a few of these as well, is more prominent in "The Family Recipe" by Maria Francesca LoDico and "Cooking Animals" by Marko Sijan. The theme: personal experience and self development. Family recipe begins with Mollie Katzen of Moosewood fame, an upstate NY reference with the best of them, and moves through the many ways we inflect our cooking with our histories and our own reflectiveness. Marka Sijan's piece "Cooking Animals" offsets every foodies fantasy of workign in a restaurant (those of us who do not) with somerealism about how hard it is (though his sense of humor is a bit over the top). The intertwining of experience and self reflection theme also appears in a brief memoirish bit on prisoner fudge authored by Sam Kean. (What's prisoner fudge? A recipe for fudge made by the author's father -- who worked in a prison. As a result, Kean raises, as well, the tensions of charity and work, secrets and honesty, prisons and so-called freedom.) Diana Wilson writes about "My Vegetarian Affair" in just the right tone of voice when she conjoins the focus on vegetarianism we all associate with Katzen with the personal in narrating her move into -- and out of -- vegetarianism. Here, too, we learn that not all self development is easy -- obvious -- or in a trendy direction. Nor is it, necessarily, seriously thought through. Thanks goodness.

Two additional articles entitled "Bugs: A Culinary Guide" by Jared Young and "Kitchen Scientists" by Rina Palta also fascinated me -- in their anthropological and scientific modes of talking about food. No, I do not intend to eat the bugs Young describes and pictures, though I am glad he did. I am tempted a bit more by the molecular gastronomy describes by Palta. I don't think, though, I am likely to begiin creating foams to serve to my guests. I do, though, love thre phrase "molecular gastronomy."

Last but not least, there was a bit from a new book, The Last Supper, which was actually one of my Christmas treasures this year, and which I read shortly after finding the magazine. I had not heard about the book and it is just the right thing to receive for Christmas -- a sort of coffee table meets food obsession complete with recipes. The premise: a game some foodies includiing chefs play late at night: what woud you want for your very last meal on earth. The book offers answers to this -- and a few related questions -- from 50 or so chefs ranging from Gordon Ramsey and Thomas Keller to . . . well, loads of wonderful chefs. Each is accompanied by a photograph. And, a review/response to the bookwill appear here one of these days in more detail. WHo can resist a book entitled The Last Supper?

So: Maisonneuve. Wow. I have not done the writing or the visual great service justice really. So you will have to find a copy and read it. I was surprised at how great its discussion of religion was; and the varied approaches to environmental themes and to loving food. I'd pick it up again, even if it were not the food issue! I may even subscribe. Next issue? No, not food again. An issue on Quebec. They say they'll accept submissions until mid-January and hint at the possibility of later. So if you think you have something, click here and send them a query. Hey, why not? You Eat Drink Read Think. Why not try Eat Drink Write . . .

maisonneuve
magazines

Tort -- Or Torte?

Diane Mott Davidson's thirteenth novel, Dark Tort, continues in her series with caterer Goldy and her food/murder related adventures accompanied by her friends, son and law enforcement husband. And the setting remains Colorado's Aspen Meadows -- a beautiful, if murderous mountain village. As usual, there are occasional references to Episcopalians -- and recipes (though this time the recipes are collected at the end of the novel rather than scattered throughout). And, as usual, the mystery is a fun one. I have read (and written about here on Cooking with Ideas -- see below for links) her work before, and learned a while ago that she is a Wellesley graduate. Today, despite the recent Iowa Caucus Democrat results, it's worth mentioning that Wikipedia reports during her college years she lived across the hall from presidential contender, Hillary Clinton. The same Wikipedia article notes that the author lives in a small town in Colorado which closely resembles Aspen Meadows (though one hopes with fewer murders).

A tort, of course, is a legal wrong, not a type of cake or pastry. For background on the notion of tort in law click here for basic Wikipedia or here for the 'Lectric Law Library or here (if you are smart and the name Stanford does something for your legal bones). On tortes, though, try elsewhere -- here for Wikipedia on torte rather than tort. Yep, Wikipedia covers everything -- sort of. Where else? What else? Linzer Torte, it turns out is the oldest cake recipe in the world (or so the web says here and the site also has a recipe!). And, the most famous torte is the Sacher Torte (again, according to the web, here). But for just a list of recipes, try here or enter the word "torte" at www.epicurious.com where 105 recipes will come up involving the word. (Of course, you could go to Dano's on Seneca Lake and try my favorite Mohn torte. . .) Of course, there is a recipe for Dark Torte on pages 424-427 of the novel!

SPOILER ALERT -- IGNORE THIS PARAGRAPH IF YOU INTEND TO READ THE BOOK! Having said all this, the mystery turns more on tort than torte, and more on Journey Cake than on torte. What's Journey Cake? It is a form of cake associated with travelers moving West to the frontier -- and is sometimes known as Johnny Cake and loads of other synonyms. Or so says Dark Tort if I remember correctly. (For an alternative history and details, click here.) Yes, there is a recipe in Dark Tort. Indeed, the novel turns on its ingredients -- and on some links between food-related art and murder. Having no idea if the artist portrayed in the novel (named Charlie Baker) mirrors someone in real life or, for that matter, is a real artist, I decided to investigate. In the novel, Baker paints things he cooks -- and lists the ingredients below in gold calligraphy. Thinking about this led me to the web. Wikipedia (yep) lists 12 Charlie Bakers. One, Charles Henry Baker Jr. is "an author best known for his culinary and cocktail writing." There's a 13th actually named Charlie who is a NASCAR driver; click here. And loads of others. But no artist that paints food a la Dark Tort. The search also led me to food-related art sites. Some favorites? A blog called Artist Food Network whcih features a daily recipe and a daily painting. For more on food and the visual arts try here. No, you will not find Charlie Baker -- but you'll find much else!

If you feel like cooking from Dark Tort, it may in fact be blue cheesecake that does it. But, in the meantime and if all else fails -- read Dark Tort and have a blast!

For a Cooking with Ideas note on Wellesley that includes Diane Mott Davidson, click here. For an earlier review on Cooking with Ideas, click here.

tort
torte
murder mystery
Diane Mott Davidson
Dark Tort

Sisters in Crime

I "met" Sara Paretsky when I was in graduate school, reading her very first book and learning that her husband was a physicist (is that right?) at the University of Chicago. No, I never met her in person. I met her by reading Indemnity Only when it came out in 1982. The book had a scene set in a coffee shop in the basement of the University of Chicago Divinity School where I spent loads of time. (The coffeee shop is now called the Ground of Being and extremely chi chi-ed up. Alas.) And the murder was ostensibly in a building in Hyde Park that I also knew well. I have read many of her books since then, and have also read the collections of short stories published as Sisters in Crime. Only on reading the most recent one, Sisters on the Case which features stories by the past presidents of the organization (Sisters in Crime), did I discover that Paretsky was a founder (perhaps the founder?) of the organization which is described in Paretsky's introduction celebrating the organization's 20th year. (Perhaps I used to know about her involvement in the organization -- of which she was president in 1987-88 in its first year -- but even the memory of the memory is lost to me.) Sisters in Crime is an organization (now of 4,000 or so members) which originated because women authors of murder mysteries -- despite the historic importance of, say, Dorothy Sayers, had "from 1960 to 1985 . . . a better chance of winning the Nobel Prize in Physics than she did of winning the Mystery Writers of America's prize for best novel of the year" (p. x). Moreover, women mystery authors "stayed in print about a third as long as [their] male colleagues; they were reviewed ... with a seventh the frequency" (p. x). Their success is evident, in some ways, by a mere perusal of the shelves of bookstores and libraries in the mystery section. On the other hand, though Paretsky does not say this, in these times of antifeminist backlash, you never know. And Paretsky does have a book out I have not yet read on literary and political dissent, entitled Writing in an Age of Silence -- and I intend to find it and read it. (See here for some information on it. As Paretsky's web site puts it, Paretsky looks at art's responsibility in the face of the challenges to civil liberties in post-911 America.)

But what does this have to do with food? Absolutely nothing -- though there is a great story in Sisters on the Case which is food-related. Entitled "Steak Tartare" Barbara D'Amato offers a tale with a twist (possibel spoiler alert) which certainly depends on assumptions that men make when they are having affairs with married women -- assumptions about both the women themselves and the men to whom they are married. And, the story plays very well with the many varied uses of theatrical training to entertain and delight. Other tales feature food-related themes less centrally -- Carolyn Hart offers, for example, "Murder for Lunch" and, Patricia Sprinkle's story "For the Common Good," opens with the sentence: "I first met Dr. Randall McQuirter in 1965 over a kosher TV dinner" (p. 233).

There is, of course, more to the stories collected here --including somelovely set pieces about the 1960s -- even a tale of how V.I. Warshawski came to her detecting early in life during the riots around the Democratic National Convention in 1968 Chicago. Another era whose politics were in large measure shaped by a disasterous foreign policy, and feminist demands for a better world.

A quick read, and even the non-food-related tales are worth it for the reminder of how crucial feminism continues to be in this new year, 2008.

Sisters in Crime
Sara Paretsky
murder mystery