blast off

on npr today, the fabulous kitchen sisters visit the hidden kitchen at nasa for this story about space food.

fresh and delicious... and on paper.

maybe I need to 'fess up and change the focus of this blog to the culinary arts. there's just so much to think and say and read and do when it comes to cooking right now... last week, I got a ton of amazing food-related books in the mail - I am currently salivating over the flexitarian table: inspired, flexible meals for vegetarians, meat lovers, and everyone in between, a few new ones from jane and michael stern, how to pick a peach: the search for flavor from farm to table, and the fascinating looking african american foodways: history and culture. I'm also eating, eating, writing up some food stuff for the memphis flyer's annual summer food issue, watching the new spate of prime-time food competitions on TV, and worrying about my daddy, who's back in the hospital...

all hail the sushi king

the zen of fish- which is about the history of sushi in japan and the US - inspired me to pitch a story to the memphis flyer about
jimmy ishii, the south's sushi king. the indomitable justin burks (who took the "octotower" photo at left) and I sat in on ishii's sushi-making class at the viking cooking school last thursday, where I learned how to make regular rolls (spicy tuna and cucumber and crab) inside out rolls (california rolls), and hand rolls. it felt incredibly satisfying to eat my handmade creations - now I've got to shadow ishii at one of his restaurants next week, and interview "zen of fish" author trevor corson.

happy dairy month

according to this article in the food section of today's new york times, june is national dairy month - and dairy alternatives month as well!

as kim severson writes, "we are, each and every one of us, standing together on the threshold of national surimi seafood month. june is also the month to celebrate papayas, iced tea, frozen yogurt, candy, soul food, steakhouses and applesauce cake. and whether you eat turkeys or simply admire them, prepare to party. june is turkey lovers’ month, too. at least 175 days a year are set aside in recognition of some form of food or drink. this puts a lot of pressure on the average eater. the week of july 15 alone starts with tapioca day, moves into fresh spinach day, national caviar day and national daiquiri day, and ends with national junk food day."

happy eating!

and for more reading, check out the indispensible chase's calendar of events.

were you a teenage popsicle?

I decided that tonight's the night to break out these tovolo popsicle molds and try 'em out. I've got a pineapple and lots of fresh berries, and, after reading this recipe at chowhound, I'm gonna get out the blender and get to work so that I have a freezer full of popsicles ready for memorial day. in the meantime, doesn't this book look good?

farmers market

I love the farmers market! last weekend, after eric, amie and phoebe and I wrapped up our yard sale shopping, we headed to the memphis farmers market to watch the crowds and buy some treats. I picked up some radishes, a bag of arugula, a box of baked goods from the pie lady (!!!), and some homemade goat cheese. now I'm pouring over the san francisco ferry farmers market cookbook to see what I should get this week... the fennel recipes look great, and fennel is the only thing that seems to be growing well in my front garden! how are your vegetables faring this year?

reading to eat and eating to read...

I've got food on my mind. who can blame me, with the number of insane cookbooks, over-the-top food books, and crazy-good sounding recipes that are teetering on my desk right now. let's see... there's extreme barbecue: smokin' rigs and real good recipes (dan huntley and lisa grace lednicer, chronicle books), the exquisite pork & sons (stéphane reynaud, phaidon press), the june issue of martha stewart living, and moonshine (matthew rowley, lark books), the first food book I've seen to come with a disclaimer that it's merely an informational source, not a "how to" guide on making your own liquor still... also, a pamphlet for 1080 recipes, touted as "spain's best-selling cookbook for over 30 years," which is slated to be published by phaidon this fall, and, on my computer, an email touting an upcoming food tour sponsored by the southern foodways alliance.

why, oh why, did I pursue music writing instead of food?

last week, I did manage to catch up with lisa grace, co-author of extreme barbecue, who, as I mentioned in a memphis business journal article about the memphis in may world champion barbecue cooking contest (held last weekend in downtown memphis), logged some 30,000 miles traveling the highways and backroads of America to chronicle the grills and pits built by boundary-pushing barbecue aficionados.

“it’s my first trip to the memphis in may contest,” lednicer told me, confessing that in her new jersey childhood, barbecuing involved a weber grill and a bag of charcoal.

in her adult life, she’s hauled a butchered lamb from portland, oregon to the san juan islands in washington state to watch chefs david and yolanda stegman do their work. the trip took two days, and involved transporting the lamb from her car to a motel room to a ferry. “everything was still attached, including the head and organs,” lednicer recalls. “it had big, brown soulful eyes, and I told myself to pretend, ‘look, honey, we’re in a david lynch movie!’ I eventually christened it larry the lamb.”

such herculean feats are becoming commonplace for lovers of slow-cooked meat.

case in point: french chef stéphane reynaud, whose magnum opus pork & sons was translated into english for publication by phaidon press this month. the 350-pages plus, lavishly illustrated tome includes details of reynaud’s first slaughter (he was seven years old, and the 400-pound pig yielded six-and-a-half feet of blood sausage, 44 pounds of paté, 18 pounds of roasting pork, two hams, and an additional 200 pounds of regionally prepared sausages), beautifully photographed portraits of the villagers who partake in the process, and hundreds of recipes, running the gamut from genuine charcutier’s meatloaf to glazed pork hocks.

in pork & sons, no part of the pig goes unused. cheeks are browned and baked with fennel and olives, and ears are stuffed with carrots, leeks, sweetbreads, and foie gras. feet and tails are breaded and served with herbs. even the liver is set aflame with muscatel and then refrigerated until it becomes a porky parfait.

my favorite part of the pig? a smoky shoulder, rendered to perfectly chopped goodness by the crew at payne's bbq.