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Bruce Cole

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  1. I've just purchased Edible San Francisco, which means I'm now the publisher, editor, ad sales rep, design and layout specialist, distributor, photographer, etc. It also means I'm currently buried, drowning, slammed (pick one) under a deadline. The best explanation in regards to how the Edible Publications work can be found at the EC website. Here's a link to the FAQ: Edible Communities FAQ
  2. Here's a few: Edible San Francisco Edible Ojai Edible East Bay Edible Cape Cod Edible Chesapeake Edible Sacramento Edible Twin Cities Edible East End
  3. Hello Paula, I have a more personal question, if you will. I'm guessing some of the readers of your books get the impression that you cook and eat the recipes you write about for your everyday meals (although I've seen the inside of your fridge...). So - I'm wondering, with Thanksgiving right around the corner, what your menu might be? Will there be couscous at the end? Will it be a table full of slow-cooked claypot dishes? Or do you do the traditional green beans, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie? If Food & Wine Magazine showed up to do a "Paula Wolfert's Thanksgiving" (or better yet, if you showed up at my door to cook me Thanksgiving dinner), what would the menu be? Curiously hungry, Bruce
  4. Hi Monica, Just to chime in on the school lunch thing, peeled citrus fruits are ideal because they come in convenient bite-sized segments. Grapes too. Once every couple weeks my kids get those red hot cheese puff things as a special treat, but most of the time it's farmers market produce and yogurt. I'm wondering what other projects you might be working on. Since you took over the New York Times Food Section last week, you seem to be conquering the food world! :)
  5. For anyone interested in reading the nominated newspaper and internet articles, the links are on my site. Saute Wednesday.
  6. Hi Faith I've read numerous discussions on how risotto is made in Italy (avoiding the term "authentic" on purpose), and I'm wondering if you could comment on a couple "myths" that I've often heard bandied about. Most Italians use a pressure cooker to make risotto. Here in America, we've reduced risotto making to a fine art with absolute steps to be followed in acheiving perfection. I've often heard that the vision of the Italian housewife laboriously stirring her risotto minute by minute is just a myth, and that most Italians use a pressure cooker because it's quick and convenient. Any truth to that? Italians use boullion cubes for making the stock for their risotto. Same thing. In this country, you could be publicly pilloried for having bouillion cubes in your cupboard. Is it standard practice in Italy to use them for the stock for risotto? Thanks! Bruce
  7. "With a feature story killed by an Alabama newspaper and a Minneapolis gourmet shop reneging on its invitation to hold his cooking demo, Anthony Bourdain's "Les Halles Cookbook" (Bloomsbury, 2004; $34.95) stands to be the first cookbook to be banned in public libraries."
  8. I just received an email from Viva Usa celebrating the fact that Arnold Schwarzengger has signed the foie gras bill. "Sacramento, CA - Demonstrating he truly cares about the welfare of animals, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today signed SB 1520 into law, a bill that bans the force feeding of ducks and geese in the production of foie gras. The bill also bans the sale of the product when made from force fed birds, both provisions taking effect in California in the year 2012..The bill was supported by more than a dozen top celebrities including Martin Sheen, Sir Paul McCartney, Kim Bassinger, Alicia Silverstone and Mary Tyler Moore. It also was supported by a broad coalition of animal protection groups, including the sponsors: the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights, Farm Sanctuary, Los Angeles Lawyers for Animals and Viva!USA." At least we have 8 more years to eat the stuff - legally that is.
  9. Just to note, this article is dated 12/17/00... (Artichoke, you're welcome , by the way...)
  10. Here's a link to Arthur Lubow's NY Times article from August 10, 2003, with the description of how the raviolis are made...
  11. CBS is also producing a show called "Whats hot, whats cool" (or something to that effect) for the Food Network. Hopefully my interview with them this last week makes the cut, and actually gets on the air - which I guess will count for my 15 seconds of fame...
  12. From the Amanda Hesser archives, per A. Bourdain's request... A Modern Absinthe Experiment Amanda Hesser - NY Times - May 31, 2000 "It shimmered in a soft eddy. I had intended to taste it like wine, breathing it in and letting it sit and roll around my mouth. But somehow, it shot down my throat like a bullet. I recall it went something like this: first, there was a scream of anise and herbs, then what felt like a steaming hot cotton swab spread over my tongue, and a flash of heat raced to my stomach..."
  13. From what I understand, the already minimal budget at Food & Wine has been slashed, again, which puts a serious crimp on the features, writers, etc. that can be used to put together each issue.
  14. I'm kinda late to the party, but I wanted to get my two cents in on such a fun subject (near and dear to my heart...) I have to completely disagree with this: (not the part about you Marlena).If anything, the SF Chronicle food section is definitely provincial, and written expressively for the average Joe. Not that that's a bad thing. They don't cover the international food and dining trends like the NY Times, but of course, who has the Times big pocket book to dip into? And besides, since the Times already covers the international and dining trend scene with such aplomb, why not do something different and distinctive? No sense in copying them... Take a look at Tara Duggan's "Working Cook" column. Pretty straight forward stuff for the average joe just trying to get a nutritious meal on the table after a long day of work. Then there is the weekly "Tasters Choice" column, which has local chefs and writers blind-tasting brand name food stuffs. That has average Joe written all over it. In defense of the SF Food section, I think in the last 4-5 months, they've really been cranking out an incredible body of work. For instance, Olivia Wu's articles on Microwaving Lobsters and Dungeness Crabs. Pretty good stuff about a unconventional technique. I just nuked 2 lobsters and steamed 2 lobsters this Saturday night. The difference between the two is remarkable. What about Carol Ness's lovely colum on "Bergamots"? In a year or so, you'll see bergamots showing up on winter menus across the country, once the pipeline for the regional growers spotlighted in the article is set up. Janet Fletcher has written an article a week for a year on over 52 different cheeses. Try and find any other food section with that resource on-line. And how about the ongoing coverage of trans fats by writer Kim Severson, which resulted in a book on the subject? Well today, Campbells/Pepperidge farms announced that they are eliminating the use of trans fats in their uber-popular snack Goldfish, by September of this year. Ka-ching. Personally, I think if the SF Chronicle combined their Wednesday Food Section with their Thursday Wine Section, and published both on the same day, they would have the best "Food Section" of any newspaper in the country. Besides, we all know that the epicenter (pun intended) of the food world is in San Francisco anyways...(heh heh). Just to note, I think the gripe that most chefs have with the SF Food section, has to do with their dislike of the restaurant reviews, and not with the general food coverage.
  15. My question for Robb and the panel has to do with forbidden foods. For no particular reason, I’ve been kind of obsessed with Ortolans lately, namely, the act of eating one. It seems to me, that as a menu item, Ortolans would be quite a best seller. "A hush comes over the dining room as the waiters dash out the kitchen with a sizzling ramekin and place it before a wide-eyed diner. They ceremoniously drape his head with a white kerchief, and the whole room stares as the diner gingerly picks up the little roasted bird and under the cover, plops it in his mouth…the room erupts in applause 15 minutes later when the diner removes his mask...” My obsession has even carried me to the point where I’ve considered trying to catch a few finches in the back yard, fattening them up in my garage, and then serving them to a few foodie friends, a la roasted Ortolans. Imagine my chagrin when I figured out that it’s illegal. Killing songbirds that is. Go figure. Kind ruins my idea for an award winning article on roasted songbirds right there. So, since the chances of me ever actually plopping one of those crunchy little tidbits in my mouth is pretty remote, I'm wondering if any of you ever had Ortolans? Are they all they are cracked (pun intended) up to be? Even though eating them is illegal (in France and the U.S.), would you consider trying one, just for the experience? Are there other foods that you would consider forbidden, or that are actually illegal to eat - but you’d still be willing to eat them? Shark fin soup comes to my mind. Completely appalling how the fins are obtained, since they just chop them off, and toss the bleeding body of the shark back overboard. It should be illegal. I certainly consider it a forbidden food. I don’t think I could ever bring myself to eat them, and I would eat just about anything in the name of food...I think.
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