Category: Links

Sudoku

A comment on a recent Mark Bittman NYT blog post:

“ I love to hear that I’m not the only one spending my commute home thinking about how to best use what’s sitting in the bin of my fridge. I’ve thought about that as a form of culinary sudoku.”

Me and Tamara on Daily Candy

dailycandyHere we are!

I think I was meant for radio. I can’t seem to keep my eyes open when I talk. If that’s not really a symptom of autism, it probably should be.

Behind-the-scenes gossip: We spent five hours taping this. Who knows how long they spent editing it. Result: two minutes. It makes me feel much better about the rate at which I write.

The Food Obstructions

I’ve been talking about constraints and creativity and cooking off and on for years, especially after I came out of the theater from The Five Obstructions, leaping with glee.

Now Lars von Triers’s devilish little setup has finally been applied to the Brooklyn cook-off sensibility, in an event called The Food Obstructions. I face the five obstructions (at least) nearly every night in my kitchen, and I’m not one for competition, but this does look like fun. I’ll be out of town on the book hustle, though. Perhaps I can recreate the hilarious scene where Jorgen Leth is lying on his hotel-room bed in Cuba, sweating and panicking about his ridiculous challenge…

Look at This Fucking Bacon

I don’t have time to do it, but I feel like someone should (and credit me with the brilliant, so-au-courant idea):

Look at This Fucking Bacon, the blog.

First entry could be this.

Except, of course, I really like MEM’s blog. And I think I would be very happy to eat bacon jam. (I realize it’s not his original idea, but I am too lazy to track down the source. But the photo is very pretty. Which makes it perfect LATFB material.)

Another problem: my very own cookbook has a recipe for candied bacon. To be put on top of a cake, even.

I do wonder if people will look back and think of bacon as a food fad, like sun-dried tomatoes….

PS: Someone I know said the first time she looked at LATFH, she scrolled down and saw her ex-boyfriend. In a love connection, no less. Oh, and wielding a knife.

Cook to Bang

cooktobangI may be complaining bitterly on a daily basis about how much freakin’ work I have to do before the cookbook comes out, and how I am crushed under pesky admin and promotion tasks, etc., etc.

But one of those tasks was trawling the tubes for like-minded bloggers. What fun! I found some bitchin’ gals in St. Louis and a charming fellow traveler in Seattle, among others.

And then I found Cook to Bang. Recipes to get you laid! Duh! Of course! I mean, that’s really the whole point, on a Darwinian level, no? And the best part is: the food is great! This is not your standard bachelor angle, talking down to you and telling you how to transform Doritos.

I had the pleasure of meeting Spencer while he was visiting New York. While I sucked down a Bistro burger, he told me about his upcoming book (spring, St. Martin’s!) and his plans for world domination. Totally wunderbar. Trust me, come spring, you will be thinking what a fabulous coolhunter I am, already knowing about this guy. (Except, er, his blog has been going for quite some time…)

Very much looking forward to meeting other bloggers as we traipse around the country in October!

It’s Not Just Me–Judith Jones Agrees!

judithjonespleasuresofcookingforoneJudith Jones, who’s just about the queen of cookbook editors, has written a little book I’m very much looking forward to picking up. It’s called The Pleasures of Cooking for One.

I’ve been preaching this pleasure for years, but since I am not the queen of cookbook editors, I haven’t had quite the same impact this book will likely have. But truly, truly, truly, take mine and Judith’s word for it: cooking for yourself is one of the simplest ways of improving your day.

And you’re probably thinking, “But you’re married! It doesn’t count!”

Oh, but it does. Yes, there is someone else in my house, who often eats what I cook. And, to be honest, I have never lived completely alone. But I have enjoyed many, many solitary dinners, where I’ve had the satisfaction of cooking just exactly what I was hungry for. Developing the ability, and the inclination, to do this has been one of my great accomplishments. A good meal gives a perfect calm point to my day, and I suspect my life would be a shambles without it.

If you’re not sold on the book, you can listen to the eminently sensible Ms. Jones in a podcast here, at The City Cook. She shares a bunch of good tips for setting up a solo kitchen and the like.