Winter 2002, Volume 3, Number 1 Cover Nigh (1998) by Emily Eveleth. Collection of Nancy and Robert Magoon, Aspen, CO., Courtesy of Danese Gallery, New York. The image is a side view of a jelly donut. At first glance, one might think it is a blurry photograph. It is, in fact, a luxuriously painted, minimalist image of a jelly donut. Similar images can be seen here: http://www.danese.com/Main/Introduction.html From the Editor Beyond Table Talk by Darra Goldstein “How can the act of eating be made to work for social integration, rather than against it?” Commenting on her attendance of meetings sponsored by the Council of Europe on how food can help change the world. Contributors – Mini-biographies. Borborygmus - Rumblings from the World of Food Letters to the Editor Of Goose in Gascony by Chitrita Banerji, Cambridge, MA – regarding the Summer, 2002 article by Edward Schneider adding a quote and reference from a Bengali cookbook on similar culinary practices outside of Europe. Parker Bosley of Parker’s New American Bistro in Cleveland, OH also wrote a letter commenting on Schneider’s article in which he translates some of his personal experiences with confit. Dr. Konganga Thammu Achaya (1923-2002) by Rachel Laudan A remembrance of the author of Indian Food: A Historical Companion among others. Permutations in Color and Cuisine by Jackie Ivy A review of Josef Albers’ exhibit with an accompanying dinner. Editors note: Albers was an art instructor at Bauhaus and taught students to develop an understanding of "the static and dynamic properties of materials . . . through direct experience." The article includes the menu inspired by his artwork as well as a quarter-page, full-color reproduction of Homage to the Square, 1969. Oil on masonite, 16x16 inches. What’s In a Name? by Ken Albala Very funny proposal to rename the emerging field of food studies with something more legitimate, like “escology.” Culinary Exhibitionism? – Germany’s Beloved Black Forest Cherry Cake by Sharon Hudgins An interesting account of the history of this cake with references to cookbooks in which it first appeared and a description of a museum exhibit devoted to the cake. With a quarter-page, full-color photograph Kaffeelatsch, soft sculpture ensemble by Stefanie Alraune Siebert. The answer to the puzzle “Nero Blanc’s Recipe for the Perfect Yule Log” from the Fall 2002 issue. Utne Independent Press Award Notification that Gastronomica was nominated for an award. Orts and Scantlings Linguistic Shrimps by Mark Morton Continuing investigation of word origins as they are related to foodstuffs – in this case, words that describe small items. With a half-page, black-and-white x-ray image of eight peanuts. Feast For The Eye Sonja Alhäuser’s Sweet Installations by Catherine Dupree Sonja Alhäuser uses food as art. This article is a review of an exhibit held at the Busch-Reisenger Museum. We are introduced to Alhäuser’s work wherein she constructs large blocks of food as installation pieces where the art is often smelled before it is seen. Within the gallery, it is encouraged to eat the pieces and the deconstruction of the work is part of the art itself. The article is accompanied by two photographs – both full-page and in full color. The first, ”Exhibition Basics” on opening day of “Eat Art” and The remains of ”Exhibition Basics,” several weeks later. Poem Macaroni & Cheese Survey by Terry Kirts “In the mail this morning, a certified letter: Your household has been selected to participate In a very important study about macaroni and cheese. And I think about the blue and white box, the pouch Of day-glow powder, the lonely square of margarine melting” Poem continues for another 41 lines. Diet Weight Watchers at Forty – A Celebration by Joyce Hendley A retrospective, with a look at the organization over its genesis, growth, and need for change. With two recipes, Cannoli (Italian Pastry) and Tarte Tatin. With a half-page, black-and-white before-and-after photographs of Nidetch with the comment, Nidetch encouraged all Weight Watchers meeting leaders to display their “before” photos to members, for inspiration. as well as a quarter-page, black-and-white photograph of Weight Watchers International, Inc., co-founders Jean Nidetch and Felice and Al-Lippert, in an undated photo. Culture Making a “Tsimes,” Distilling a Performance – Vodka and Jewish Culture in Poland Today by Andrew Ingall Very interesting article that was not really about a beverage at all. The author creates a fictitious vodka and, under the pretense of asking customer at a Cracow café to rate three different vodka, permitted him “to enter into dialogue with Jews, non-Jews, locals, and tourists alike about the exoticization and objectification of Jews in post-Holocaust, post-Communist Poland.” With a half-page, full-color photograph of Zydek vodka on the shelf at Roma Discount Wine & Liquor, New York, NY. and a half-page, full-color photograph of an unnamed gentlemen filling out the vodka questionnaire at the Ariel Café in Cracow. Investigations The Skinny on Fat by Susan Allport Very long, in-depth article about the consumption of fat with citations of experiments on the importance of omega-3s and the bad omega-6s. With a full-page, black-and-white photograph, circa 1930, of five men gathered around a fire in the snow with the caption, ”Finnish lumberjacks were extremely lean, despite a diet heavy in fat and calories, but their risk of developing coronary heart disease was extremely high.” and a half-page, black-and-white photograph of Eskimos in Prince Albert Sound, May, 1911. Investigations Train Oil and Snotters – Eating Antarctic Wild Foods by Jeff Rubin Extremely well-documented article on various expeditions to the Antarctic and what was consumed. Besides commenting on the obvious (eating penguins and seals), there is much discussion on the psychology of the cold, the difficulty in butchery (“seal’s blubber…has a very strong, rancid taste and a most penetrating smell…”) There is included a recipe for Escallops of Penguin Breasts. Over two pages of annotated references. With a half-page, black-and-white photograph of Charles Green, cook on Shackleton’s Endurance expedition, skinning an emperor penguin in the ship’s galley, a two-thirds page, full-color photograph of a male elephant seal (Mirounga leonina), the source of “snotters”, a half-page, black-and-white reproduction of Midwinter Dinner Menu. Winter Quarters, Commonwealth Bay, Adelie Land, June 21, 1912. Expedition leader Sir Douglas Mawson called this feast “a marvel of gorgeous delicacies, and a full-page, black-and-white woodcut entitled ”Pringlea antiscorbutica – an inestimable blessing.” – Kerguelen Cabbage. Tribute Culture Ingested – On the Indigenization of Phillipine Food by Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett and Doreen G. Fernandez The first part of the article is a eulogy to Doreen Fernandez with an overview of her place amongst culinary journalists by Ms. Gimblett. This is accompanied by a full-page, black-and-white photograph of Fernandez, undated. The second part of the article is about Phillipine food by Ms. Fernandez which includes a one-third page, full-color digital image entitled Patikim by Christina Quisumbing Ramilo. The article briefly touches upon methodology, names, ingredients, cooking processes, flavoring, social position, and the native cuisine. There is also five-page glossary of culinary words. Working on the Food Chain The Molecular Tourist by Lisa Jategoankar Literal description of what one would find on the molecular level if one traveled into cells. A bit too scientific for your editor, even though the author made a valiant effort at writing “light” on such a subject, including a “letter to the editor” ending on their vacation within a cell. With a half-page, black-and-white shots of microscopic bacteria within a plant and a one-third-page, full-color image of Trichomes (hair) on the surface of a geranium leaf. Pastimes Shark Bait by Jesse Browner Interesting article about preparing and serving food for someone else, beginning with a premise of having to prepare food for those playing within a floating poker game. I found the article interesting because the author referenced Brillat-Savarin as well as Beowulf. With a half-page, full-color photograph of a Poker game, New York City, April 2002. Rituals The Propitiatory Meal by Chitrita Banerji Well-written, fascinating account of how the Hindu “belief in the suprasensory nature of food allows the meal to a ritualistic tool for propitiating the powers that affect one’s physical and spiritual well-being.” Includes a section of the Hindu Origins of the Meal as Appeasement, Voices in the Bamboo Groves, The Woman in White, The Male as God, and Power Through Marriage. With a full-page, full-color (stunning) photograph of Food offerings made to a deity at the Swaminarayan temple in Kolkata and a one-third page, black-and-white woodcut of Jamaishashthi depicting several people seated around several dishes of food, with a few women bringing more platters, and one demurely spying in from behind a semi-closed door. Illustrations From the Series Consumed, Contained by Charles Beneke A simple two-page spread of montage artwork by a University of Akron, Ohio printmaking professor; one entitled Savored with the subtext, We savored the sticky sweetness the rich sourness of a long slow rise and Dined with the subtext, Winter nights we dined on summer’s warmth saved in mayonnaise jars Mom had packed with tomatoes and snap beans. Visionaries Joe Baum – An Exaltation of Larks by Irena Chalmers Joe Baum was an enigma amongst within the restaurant world from the 1930s to the late 1990s, from the Rainbow Room to Windows on the World. As this lengthy (ten+ page) article attests, he was a force to be reckoned with along the lines of Vatel in his ability to produce an event. The article is lovingly written by Ms. Chalmers who worked for Mr. Baum and has filled the tome with both witty and heart-aching anecdotes. With a half-page, full-color photograph of Mr. Baum, holding a wine glass of ice water at his restaurant Aurora, 1987, a one-quarter page, black-and-white drawing of a Costume Design by Carrie Roberts, and a two-thirds page, full-color reproduction of a plate by Milton Glaser, Showplate design for Cellar in the Sky, 1996. Americana Hey, Waitress! by Alison Owings An historical account of the quintessential American waitress through the eyes of one Ms. Verna Welsh – a one-time Harvey Girl. With a quarter-page, black-and-white photograph of Verna Welsh. Chef’s Page A Family Affair – Naha, Chicago, Illinois by Carrie Nahabedian Carrie was an executive chef for the Four Seasons in several California locations and describes how she and her family developed Naha. http://www.naha-chicago.com/ The Bookshelf Books in review: Near a Thousand Tables: A History of Food by Felipe Fernández-Arnesto La cocina de los sentidos by Miguel Sánchez Romera Regional Cuisines of Medieval Europe: A Book of Essays edited by Melitta Weiss Adamson French Gastronomy: The History and Geography of a Passion by Jean-Robert Pitte; translated by Jody Gladding In the Devil’s Garden: A Sinful History of Forbidden Food by Stewart Lee Allen Coming Home to Eat: The Pleasures and Politics of Local Foods by Gary Paul Nabhan Eating Out: Social Differentiation, Consumption and Pleasure by Alan Warde and Lydia Martens Packinghouse Daughter: A Memoir by Cheri Register The Polish Country Kitchen Cookbook by Sophie Hodorowicz Knab Edible Amazonia: Twenty-one Poems from God’s Amazonian Recipe Book by Nicomedes Suárez-Araúz. A bilingual edition. Translated by Steven Ford Brown. Prologue by Marjorie Agosín. Stanley Park by Timothy Taylor Bookends The Adventurous Chef: Alexis Soyer by Ann Arnold. Lagniappe O Miracle Whip by Terry Kirts An interesting poem about the ubiquitous condiment.
