Karen Resta

I'd love to have a pig's head. If I ever make it to DC The Great Wall is now an early-morning priority. I actually tried to get a (fresh) pig's head from the vendors at the Farmer's Market here and (after a few startled looks accompanied by stutters of 'Wh wh what? You want the head? WHY?') I finally got a lead. (The reason I wanted the head was to make headcheese ha ha ha which of course sounds repulsive but I was just in the mood . . .) So I e-mailed the guy who was supposed to have a pig's head since he has pigs, and this is part of the e-mail I received in response: No pig's head found yet.

How has another year gone by since the last Saveur 100? Somehow it did. I still do not believe in the soul-enhancing qualities of hand-washing the dishes, but still very much like to see the idea when written as an essay full of charm rather than as a sound-byte on a page as a recommendation for a way to bring joy to life through things gastronomic and clean. It looks to me as if the format of the 100 has changed slightly, but I'm not certain about that - and I did not save last year's issue to double-check. I didn't run out to eat or buy anything based on last year's list. I might this year - the mention of some of the books I've thought of buying before might edge me towards clicking that special button on Amazon to buy them. One friend told me this 100 bored her, and wondered if it is her or if it is the list itself . . . (And at foodvox Moira Tuscanaro did a food zodiac write-up of it all, if you are prone to being interested in that sort of thing.) I'm curious as to what people think about the list this year. Did you find it delightful? Or - like my friend - deadly dull . . . .

"Roulade taxonomy". Love it, Poivrot Farci. ................................... Great definition of both (or of all, if we are looking at the category as one taxonomable group) but I'd just like to add one more thing. In terms of the process of making one or the other, you have to think about what you are going to end up with. Will it be eaten hot or will it be eaten cold? In this sense a ballontine is not 'just' a galantine served hot (without the glaze and little fussy cube-y decorations of course for if you stuck the galantine in the oven that would be a sad day) but a thing unto itself. They look and feel similar. They are related, particularly in the French eye. Of the beholder. But the cook must think of the taste and the texture and proceed for hot or for cold, adding seasonings (and timing too sometimes) to fit. Am I quibbling? Of course. But that little bit of thyme or nutmeg, that half-egg or extra two minutes in the oven, can matter. I hate/love these meaty things.

Yes, 'Asian' as a catch-all term is much too catch-all indeed. I thought about that before posting but then couldn't find a way to post what I meant in the length of a subject title. The word 'ethnic' is even worse. And of course in any category of definition with words one runs into problems. 'American'. That is too catch-all and entirely confusing, if looked at for the briefest moment. Even 'redhead' has severe problems in terms of categorizing. But thank god for words, anyway. For as confusing as they may be, they are a thousand times (exactly a thousand I believe it to be - there must be a study on it somewhere) better than numbers. I was throwing a wide net to see what would come in. Some good stuff did! Exactly. Happiness when you walk out the door. A perfect phrase. And a different thing for each of us, and even for each of us at different times!

The scent of Axe plus burnt meat and cheap cheese. Who could ask for more? I believe this scent has its place already marked out in the Musk Oil Hall of Fame.

Yes, that is an extensive list. I wonder if most of those shops have survived since the posts . . . (?) I might try the supermarket place. Not little and cute, but maybe effective. Besides, there's a good chance I could actually find it in a day trip. (You may not be aware of this but DC and its surrounding areas have a specially devised force-field that purposely repels and confuses all ex-New Yorkers, sending them into driving their car in endless circles of confusion for hours and hours on end trying to find the location of any place at all. And then it is the same once you find it and try to leave to go home. More foggy endless confusion.)

Red fish, blue fish. The place sounds Seuss-ian. I love those big places. I remember several in NYC's Chinatown that were on two floors, the stairs (tight and angled strangely) rather frightening admittedly, but fun. And good when time is short, also. Great tiramisu story. It would have been fun to ask him why tiramisu is Korean. (And even more fun to discover if there was a kernel of truth somewhere in his story, which is entirely possible!)

Some great leads there, Soup. Thanks. You're right - the influence of the heart upon the head (or if we must put it in food terms let's say the gizzard upon the kidney) in these matters counts enormously! I wonder if the lobster price you mentioned is due to the current lobster distribution problem or whether it is always that cheap at that place . . . One of the other things I'm looking for in a market is the availability of a good selection of kitchen tools and serving pieces. I'd like to stock up on some of this stuff but the places near me offer a very limited selection.

Ideas? Opinions? Geographic range from DC outwards by say . . . one hundred miles. Locavore-like that would make it.

Admittedly, when I think of cardoons I think "Anna Blume". So when I read this post at the Make a Roux blog about cardoons served at Thanksgiving in South Louisiana, I thought "Anna Blume might want to know this." I hope it adds to the general knowledge of cardoons. It added something to my life, I must say. I liked to know about this. If I may digress for a moment from Farms and Farmer's Markets and chadrons I'd also like to send this to Anna Blume, for it was her thought-provoking commentary on the television show 'Wife Swap' among other thought-provoking commentary which often ended in deletions for us all, which brought the idea to mind. This is part one of the four parts so far posted at foodvox. Mother-swap. Some food in it. (No cardoons, but I could add some.)

This book actually made me sleepy. A year later, I still remember how sleepy it made me.

I'm not sure what it is I've stepped into by starting a discussion of an article in Saveur that seemed very similar to an essay posted somewhere else. I'm really really not sure as I do not know either Waitman well nor Mrs. B at all, though I've read very nice things about her in posts. At this point I can't even try to figure it out, and I wish that I hadn't responded at first to a post I did not clearly understand. My apologies if answering the post addressed to me was not what was wanted, or if I answered it wrong somehow. Bowing out, Karen

Ones not stuck to the wall who do laundry are much more valuable than ones who do not. Ones not stuck to the wall who can fix things even moreso. That last sentence I wrote is perhaps a somewhat sexist statement. The best sort of ones not stuck to the wall are those who are basically honest - those who do not lie, cheat or steal. I had one not stuck to the wall who did, to my very great surprise after ten years or so as the presentation was exactly and intensively the opposite. Those not stuck to the wall who write semi-public love letters to the muse who may possibly also be their wife are probably valuable in ways not known to any flies around who may be stuck to the wall. ................................... Saveur also has an article this month on egg rolls by Steven Shaw. I'll see what else is interesting in the issue after I pry myself off the wall and read a bit more. That, of course, will be after I feed the munchkins and uh . . . load the dishwasher. The one stuck to the wall. Maybe I can put some laundry in it too.

The one stuck in the wall connected to the sink is easier to deal with on a day to day basis than any one that walks around not stuck in the wall connected to the sink, in my opinion. Plus less laundry to do and nobody trying to steal the quilt in the middle of the night, either. The only disadvantage is when one needs to have repairs done to the one stuck in the wall connected to the sink. Then you have to call a handy-man in to fix it and the last one I called tried to barter a "hug" for his services. I assessed the situation and decided he just wasn't cute enough. Meh. I still feel that Sir Charles wrote the original essay and defined the reality of the original idea. All others who follow are merely following upon the steps of the Ur-Handwashing Essay.

I picked up Saveur yesterday. (Unusual - I don't often buy food mags but rather go to the book section.) It is very nice - gold and shiny cover and all that. I was curious about the dishes thing and also wanted to take a look at the magazine as I haven't seen one for about half a year. So far it's rather nice, to my mind. Nothing too weighty or strained, nothing too flimsy or flaky. What struck me was how very different my perception is of the list of "100", when I see it accompanied by really well-done photos. The handwashing of dishes is at number 36. The title of the blurb is "A Noble Chore". It's written by David Sax, who is a journalist with his own website besides the "Save the Deli" website which he started and runs, which is an excellent resource for all things Authentically Deli. His take on the dishwashing task is that it is a zen-like exercise. I think reading magazines about people who like to wash dishes is more of a zen-like exercise, myself.

I found myself talking to myself walking away from the computer so decided rather to write it. I should say (following that line above) that to find convenience food that is good and has full flavor is not astonishingly difficult but impossible. So really, the only thing here being offered is a time-savings. If one wants to eat crap. Sigh.

Yes, my mother was like that too, Ilaine. To my mind a rather joyless existence in terms of palatability. But she hated to cook. I have mixed feelings about the entire thing. I wouldn't deny her the right to hate to cook, particularly in terms of what cooking represented to her which was a life "stuck" in the kitchen, doing for others who then got to do things out in the world she considered more interesting and/or more important. I'm not sure though, that in the final analysis the things she garnered with her Ph.D. and professional status made her any happier. To eat something real and good, a simple taste of something good to eat each day - certainly this is a boon in life if one can see it and wishes to experience it. I can and can't imagine. To find real food that is good and has full flavor is astonishingly difficult at times. Not even considering the time element involved.

I'm sad. Here in (to use the vernacular though generally its not something I'd be likely to say in day-to-day conversation ) southwestbuttfuck Virginia the only place to get seafood is from the supermarket. And it is grim. Very grim. Oh I almost forgot. There's a Fresh Market an hour or so away. (Be grateful ye city-dwellers for the pleasures of the metropolis.)

Wow. It sort of freaked me out seeing "M. Slavin and Sons" as a topic here, because I remember buying from them when they were at the Fulton Fish Market. I just looked up their website. Nice. It even has a cute little recipe on it.

Tossed back a couple of volumes recently. Finished Molly O'Neill's anthology of American Food Writing. Loved it, though it was like eating a bit too much all at once to do in one sitting, taking it seriously. There are many excerpts of longer pieces in the book, some of which are derived from unexpected sources - writers who write not of food but who speak of food inside what they write of. Those bits were the best ones, to my mind, because the writing was done within a global or expanded focus, looking at the world then laying the eyes upon the food and writing with the eyes upon it - not looking at the food and writing while one simply lifted one's eyes now and again to address the surroundings of it all. Then on to The New Yorker Book of Food and Wine edited by David Remnick. No surprise that this is an excellent book also. The fictional pieces were fascinating, particularly the ones from the 1930's and around then. Many classic pieces here of all varieties. Starting The Tenth Muse by Judith Jones. An enjoyable flitting read, full of fun and reminiscent of what I think of as the Weschberg Days. A cast of characters well-known to those of that time. Paris and the Milieu sort of thing. So far, anyway. Next on the list is From St. Hildegard's Kitchen - Foods of Health, Foods of Joy. Advice from a Saint. We'll see.

Boy was I late on that one! Even online there are lots of designs available. That certainly saves me a lot of trouble.

I'm planning on manufacturing a T-shirt that says "Got Haggis?"

So very much has changed (not only in "food" itself but within things that affect the world of "food") since the times of our grand-parents and great-grandparents, particularly if we fit within that group called "baby-boomers". I'm sure Pollan simplified his thoughts into phrases that would sit on the tongue well for repetition. In order to have concepts remembered by masses of people they have to sing well. He writes extremely well in that way, for his phrases do get remembered and repeated. (That is one thing that sets him aside from many writers springing from an academic background - he can take off the wordy clutter and dance.) There was not only "opportunity for ersatz" in the past as Ilaine wrote above, but there was "actual" ersatz food. There has been ersatz food around at least since Ancient Rome. And the ersatz food often gets consumed by those who can not afford that which is not ersatz, for ersatz often is less expensive (in terms of initial cost, of course)(but the poor mostly think of initial cost, as they must - having no excess finances to spare). Pollan has stayed away from some topics, as well he should. Otherwise his manifestos, so easily taken up and embraced, would become cumbersome and potentially too difficult and/or time-consuming for the general reader to wade through in a mass market book. The topics of class, racial/ethnic interaction and attitudes in the US, changes in urban and rural living, the fact that no longer is it presumed that there is a woman or servant in the kitchen from the AM to the PM, the new science of marketing that Madison Avenue wields with its right arm the information superhighway - all these topics have weight within the putting-things-to-work and the how-things-did-work of Pollan's questions and will have weight, finally, in how his answers can or will play out, today and in the future. Ersatz is what you make it. Ersatz has been made interesting. Ersatz has been made both cheaper and more expensive. Ersatz, though, often - is taken up by the group of the public that can not afford better. Whether they are interested - or not. And of course some are interested. Always have been. For ersatz is a taste. A simpler and less complex taste. A cheap and shiny taste? A to-hell-with-it-all-it's-all-about-me-right-now-taste? Sometimes I am reminded that vulgar is a Latin term. There's a song running through my head right now - a country song. "I Like My Women a Little on the Trashy Side". Goes for food, too - some times, some places, some people. Goodness knows I eat a Twinkie now and then. ......................................................................... Anna, you know I have several stories about what my mother (who would be some people's grandmother's age) and my grandmother "recognized as food". In my opinion, in my house - we've come a long way. That fact in no way takes away from what Michael Pollan has provided us all in terms of food for thought and hopefully concepts to use, whether his phrases and questions have been simplified for easy use or not.

The Saveur Top 100 list for the year includes the notion of handwashing the dinner dishes. I have to say this idea startled me. Previous to this the only person I knew who had a thing for hand washing the dishes was the famous Washingtonian Sir Charles, who wrote a touching and marvellous essay-ic loveletter about the act. Am I missing something? Am I out of the loop further than I even knew? Do people really love to wash their dishes by hand? Is this going to be the new thing? Or was this some odd synchronicity that occurred with the Love Letter to Handwashing by Sir Charles and Saveur magazine? And if this is going to be the new thing can someone come to my house and do it for me please? Thank you in advance for your advice and instruction.

When you think about historic beefcake as much as I do, it just sort of happens sometimes. I'll try, Anna. I'm happy to see you here, Linda.