Note: THE CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED To whet your appetite, here are the first few food writing entries. It should also be noted that another set of prizes has been donated. If you missed the earlier post, you can see all the contest details here. Michael Alberty of Storyteller Wine Company says he’s in for two … [Read more...] about The First Entries in the Food Writing Contest!
Food Writing Archive
This category could be about anything having to do with food: Food Haiku, Limericks, Contests, Essays, Trips down memory line, musings about life... whatever strikes my fancy, and doesn't fit into the other categories
Book Review – The Toro Bravo Cookbook
Over the last few years, it seems like more and more chefs feel the need to add long bios showing the highs and lows of their life, before recounting their success opening a restaurant, before they get to the parade of recipes. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t; mostly it depends on how interested one is in … [Read more...] about Book Review – The Toro Bravo Cookbook
Making Tonic Water from Scratch – My Descent into Madness
For me, this is the time of year for a good gin & tonic, and judging by a shortage of tonic waters at the local grocery stores right now, I'm not the only one who thinks so. I thought it would be a good time to update and rerun this piece for July 2014, with lots of updates. The recipe section has been extensively … [Read more...] about Making Tonic Water from Scratch – My Descent into Madness
Book Review: The Way We Ate: 100 Chefs Celebrate a Century at the American Table
My first subscription to a food magazine (1972) wasn't Gourmet, but of a publication called 'Sphere' which went on to be Cuisine. I didn't know it was a Betty Crocker magazine at the time, I only knew that it offered great recipes, taking me to countries I could only dream of at the time. Reading this cookbook was a … [Read more...] about Book Review: The Way We Ate: 100 Chefs Celebrate a Century at the American Table
Book Review: Le Pigeon – Cooking at the Dirty Bird
Cookbooks tend to fall into one of two categories. The first is the coffee table variety - pretty to look at and read, but not all that practical. French Laundry cookbook, I'm looking at you - not many people are going to spend two days making a Caesar salad. On the other side are the more frequently used practical … [Read more...] about Book Review: Le Pigeon – Cooking at the Dirty Bird
Book Review – The Artisan Jewish Deli at Home
When I first started flipping though "The Artisan Jewish Deli at Home" by local authors Michael Zusman and Nick Zukin, I was a bit puzzled. It's not a slick book. Yes, there are glossy photographs, but they aren't impossibly perfect as are those in many books these days. There is no dust jacket, and the layout is a bit … [Read more...] about Book Review – The Artisan Jewish Deli at Home
If I Should Fall Behind
I don't do a lot of personal writing here anymore, but in this case I'm making an exception, with a little tribute to my sister, who recently died from cancer. Pam was a quintessential Berkeley hippie. A free spirit, child of the 60s, early commune resident, fanatical about alternative medicine, and as far left as … [Read more...] about If I Should Fall Behind
The Winner of the 2013 Food Haiku Taste of the Nation Tickets Is…
With 73 entries in just five days, the response to our last minute food haiku was great! There were so many good ones to choose from it took quite a while to narrow down the top choices. Unfortunately only one prize is available, but first I want to give honorable mentions to the runners-up: By psp2pdx pea shoots … [Read more...] about The Winner of the 2013 Food Haiku Taste of the Nation Tickets Is…