Carolyn Tillie

From yourdictionary.com: 1. A rich, creamy soup made from meat, fish, or shellfish. 2. A thick cream soup made of puréed vegetables.

It is a way to cool down a hot liquid and quite acceptable.

Spring 2001, Volume 1, Number 2 Cover Zavtrak (Breakfast) by David Shterenberg, 1916. Owned by the State Russian Museum, St. Petersberg. A painting depicting a man and a woman, seated at a table. On the table in front of them lies a plate of cherries, a knife, and a partial baguette. The woman is handing the man an apple. The artist is considered an avant-garde genius of the early century. Known for still life works of food as well as landscapes.. The artist lived for a while in La Ruche with the likes of Chagall, Modigliani and Soutine. From the Editor The Spoon, Not the Scepter – Food Helps Us to Arrive at an Understanding of National Identity by Debra Goldstein “By approaching history from a domestic point of view we can learn a lot about ourselves and others.” Borborygmus - Rumblings from the World of Food Letter to the editor regarding the inaugural issue from Joshua Raoul Brody, San Francisco. Curiouser and Curiouser? by Anne Murcott Questioning the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food’s authority over qualifying the safety of food and how the public believes the rhetoric. The Cult of the Youth by Phyllis Richman Commenting on the rise and fall of new restaurants. Alan Ducasse: IN New York, but not OF New York by Mitchell Davis The arrival of Alan Ducasse’s new restaurant in New York. Orts and Scantlings ”Corruption” by Mark Morton Etymological analysis food words. Feast For The Eye Janine Antoni’s Gnawing Idea by Laura Heon A review of artist Janine Antoni’s works entitled Gnaw, 1992 photographs of which include two full-page color prints of the two works – a large, 600-pound, cube of lard and one of chocolate, gnawed by the artist. Also includes one-third page color reprint of Lipstick Display, 1992. Poetry Food For Thought by Eamon Grennan “Here is the space I’m sitting in: a garden closed by fuchsia hedges, two sycamores…” Etymologies Rehabilitating the “Stinking Herbe” – A Case Study of Culinary Prejudice by Helen Leach An in-depth study of the correlation between the coriander and the bedbug with an analysis of the roots of each word and their associations with one another. Includes a half-page figure of a bedbug and a coriander seed, Cimex Lectularius from John Smart, A Handbook for the Identification of Insects of Medical Importance British Museum, 1943. Watched Pot The Egg Beater by Meryle Evans A history of the egg beater. Including a full-page, black-and-white photograph of two, late nineteenth century rotary eggbeaters, an eighth-page photograph of “Ladies Boxing Eggs in Newman, Georgia” circa 1900, and a half-page advertisement of “Improved Dover Egg Beaters,” no date. Opinion Mangled Menus by Arthur Schwartz A critical analysis of new culinary language wherein chefs utilize inappropriate words for descriptions of dishes to confuse and boggle the diner. Fundamentals The Bengali Bonti by Chitrita Banerji An investigation into a utensil used by woman in India to cut food. With a quarter-page, black-and-white print of a nineteenth-century Kalighat painting of a woman cutting a whole fish, possibly a carp, on a bonti and a full-page, black-and-white reproduction of A Bengali Kitchen from Mrs. Belnos’s Twenty-four plates Illustrative of Hindoo and European Manners in Bengal, 1832. Working on the Food Chain Farmland, Farms, Farming, and Farmers: The Four F’s of Food Production by Michael Hamm An investigation of the future of farming and agriculture, with a full-page color photograph of Children at the Memorial Homes Community Gardens and and half-page, full-color photograph of Mr. Wilson with is Okra both photographs courtesy of the New Jersey Urban Ecology Program. Photographs Food Chain – Six Photographs from the Series by Catherine Chalmers – All in full color: 1. Two-page photograph of a tomato from which emerges a green worm. 2. Single page photograph of same worm, devouring said tomato. 3. Single page close-up of said worm, amongst tomato debris. 4. Single page, long shot of worm with remnants of tomato debris. 5. Grasshopper, eyeing Worm. 6. Grasshopper, devouring Worm. Investigations Christopher Columbus, Gonzalo Pizarro, and the Search for Cinnamon by Andrew Dalby Investigation into Columbus’ travels and search for rare spices, specifically cinnamon along with an analysis of the history of cinnamon. With full page, full color reproduction of The true cinnamon of Sri Lanka, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, from an early nineteenth-century Indian botanical painting for the East India Company, a one-third page, black-and-white woodcut, An iguana, which the Caribbean Indians used for food… a single woodcut occupying two top-half pages, Raised-bed gardening among the Arawak Indians. From Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes’s ‘La Historia General y Natural de las Indias…’ both woodcuts from 1535. William Alexis Jarrin: An Italian Confectioner in London by Laura Mason Very lengthy (11 page) analysis and biography of Jarrin with comparative analysis of his place in history alongside the more famous Carême, his published work, and his tools. Extensively illustrated with a full-page, black and white frontispiece portrait of Jarrin from his 1820 publication of The Italian Confectioner, a one-third page, black-and-white drawing of Jarrin’s Patent Water Cooler, dated 1827, a full-page, black-and-white reprint of a folding plate from the book depicting many and various forms of confectionary equipment, a two-page, centerfold-like map of New Bond Street, from Tallis’ “London Street Views 1838-40.”, and a one-third page, black-and-white reproduction of Jarris’ frontispiece portrait from the 1884 edition (Jarrin is slightly more aged and distinguished looking). Professor Blot and the First French Cooking School in New York, Part I by Jan Longone A 130-year old true story, otherwise undocumented and untold of a French chef trying to teach cooking and open a restaurant in the 1860’s. With a quarter-page, black-and-white title page of Blot’s book, What to Eat, and How to Cook It and a half-page, black-and-white print from the book entitled, Tables for cooking and preserving meats and fowl. Both from 1863. Archive Emile Zola’s Portrait of Les Halles by Alexandra Leaf This interesting article starts with a description of the vegetables available at the famous shopping pavilion in Zola’s original French facing a current translation, from his Carnets d’enquétes: Une ethonographie de la France and continues with commentary. These notes were unpublished in Zola’s life and were essentially made these notes for his 1872 novel, La Ventre de Paris. With a stunningly, up-close black-and-white photograph of Zola, circa 1900, a half-page, black-and-white print of Les Halles’ open-air market by Durand, and a half-page, black-and-white sketch of Les Halles pavilions in Zola’s own hand. Of note is that the vegetable pavilion is bottom row, center and St. Eustache is indicated in the upper left corner. Eating Out ”Let’s Eat Chinese!” Reflections on Cultural Food Colonialism by Lisa Heldke How various cuisines from around the world have traveled to America. Libations Chinese Spring Green Tea by Mary Lou Heiss Who would have guessed there was such a difference between tea leaves harvest in the springtime versus fall? The pictures alone makes it enticing – a one-third page, full-color photograph of pan firing Lung Ching Tea, a full-page and a full-color photograph of two gentlemen basket-firing tea. Chef’s Page La Locanda del Coccio, Providence, Rhode Island by Walter Potenza How an Abruzzo-based chef has utilized terracotta, clay pot cooking in his own restaurant. With a half-page, full-color reprint Banqueting Couple with a Slave from a 1st Century fresco. WWFood Iceland by Steingrimur Sigurgeirsson The culinary traditions and comments on contemporary Iceland cuisine. Spilled Beans Baumkuchen Sylvia M. Henderson History and conjecture on the development of this odd cake. With a half-page, full-color photograph of a perfectly-constructed Baumkuchen plus a quarter-page, tinted reprint of an old-fashioned Baumkuchen spit from Horst Scharfenberg. Review Essay The Other French Revolution – Explorations of Culinary and Prandial Inventiveness by Beatrice Fink Comparison of two books: The Invention of the Restaurant: Paris and Modern Gastronomic Culture by Rebecca L. Spang and Haute Cuisine: How the French Invented the Culinary Profession by Amy B. Trubek. The Bookshelf Books in Review include: A Soup for the Qan: Chinese Dietary Medicine of the Mongol Era as Seen in Hu Szu-Hui’s Yin-shan Cheng-yao. Introduction, translation, commentary, and Chinese text by Paul D. Buell and Eugene N. Anderson, with an appendix by Charles Perry. God’s Banquet: Food in Classical Arabic Literature by Geert Jan van Gelder A History of Cooks and Cooking by Michael Symons The Primal Feast: Food, Sex, Foraging, and Love by Susan Allport No Foreign Food: The American Diet in Time and Place by Richard Pillsbury Corn in Clay: Maize Paleothnobotony in Pre-Columbian Art by Mary W. Eubanks The Anthropology of Food and Body: Gender, Meaning, and Power by Carole M. Counihan The Accomplisht Cook, or The Art and Mystery of Cooking by Robert May Ethnic Culinary Herbs: A Guide to Identification and Cultivation in Hawaii by George W. Staples and Michael S. Kristiansen Lagniappe An Edible Map by David Jouris A map of the United States with demarcations of edible cities such as Orange, California and Forks, Washington. With half-page, two-tone map.

This is not only common, but required. Even during off season, there can be wineries with a hundred people a day in a tasting room and the last thing they want are for guests to get comfortable and stay awhile... It may sound rude, but please understand, the tastings rooms don't necessarily want to rush people, but neither do they want guests to settle in for hours on end (which does happen!). Give folks a chair and they will stay. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy Sinskey - I believe that was based on my suggestion and I feel badly they didn't treat you better. Did you let them know you were newbies? Honestly, a lot of times that is the key - starting a dialogue with the pourer.

George Harrison: Wild Arctic Char Seered with Leeks

Run, don't walk, and buy one. You will wonder how you lived without and kick yourself for not getting one sooner. As well as Le Creuset, I'd ask for All-Clad. I like Le Creuset for the BIG pots, but All-Clad for everything else.

Did you inherit any of them?????

Sounds like a job for eGCI!

There is this really cool old Victorian, silver gadget that gently clamps the asparagus with a small hook to go around the finger for delicate eating. These were used by the hideously wealthy only as EVERYONE ELSE USED THEIR FINGERS!

I just recently shot a picture which I can try and post later of a Napa Valley Harvest Party. These pots are traditionally used here for massive amounts of carnitas (two or three pigs' worth!).

Thank you! It is becoming more and more inspiration for me as well... My goal is to post an old journal a week until I get caught up. Check in once a week through January or so as each one gets added to the digest!

Some higher end bookstores will carry it, but B&N isn't one of them. Look for it at a specialty store or you can subscribe through: Gastronomica.org

Yesterday, Amazon had this amazing deal: 6 Spiegelau crystal authentis bordeaux glasses AND 6 Spiegelau crystal authentis burgundy glasses for the painfully cheap total of $39.99 INCLUDING shipping! I waited a day and the deal is gone. I'm beginning to learn that I need to peruse Amazon every day for these deals - last week they had an All-Clad 3 1/2 quart saute pan for $19.99 and I didn't jump on that one either. Amazon does get these deals every few months and I think I'll start setting aside a slush fund just for such encounters.

Book Finder - dot-com This website usually has most books - in and out of print. Make your friends replace any "lost" copies, regardless of the cost.

I'm just finishing up a report on the recently held Mediterranean-themed World of Foods Conference held at the CIA in Napa. The hands-down favorite of literally hundreds of offerings was a chef from Istanbul, Musa Dagdeviren from the restaurant Civa. We were told he has quite a following there. Based on his cooking alone, I am ready to head to Turkey. My report on the conference, with pictures, should be posted by the end of the week.

There's one right across the street from where I work, in fact. The look good in the picture, and are certainly in a price range I can live with... Have you used them? Having broken too many Speiglau and other high-end glasses, these are all I use now. No rolled edge! Very clean... I buy them by the dozen for the holidays and don't stress when one gets broken.

Do you have a Cost Plus Imports near you? They have a Spieglau knock-off for $4.99 a stem: Edited to Add Link to Cost Plus

Shawn and I are maniacal book collectors (to the toon of 2,000 plus tomes). We only lend books we know are inexpensively replaceable (remainders or bargain books). On some of the really good ones, we actually buy two and three copies, knowing we will be lending them out and probably not having them returned. Rare or hard-to-find books? Our friends know they are welcome at our house anytime to peruse our collection. I'll serve tea and scones or wine and cheese and a great time is had by all - but the books don't leave the house.

Usually, if you ask your butcher the day before he starts cutting, he will save you some. Not something often found pre-packaged, but thrown away. A good butcher will give it to you.

As did I - sage advice indeed!

This is all terribly fascinating for me -- as a native Californian, we don't get much fresh game meat other than the birds (pheasant, ducks, quail, etc). However, I have a friend who hunts in Nebraska and sends me shipments. I never knew why some of the meat was better than others, especially when it was all labeled "steaks," "roasts," or "ground." I am curious why sometimes it tastes fishy - is that the gaminess people speak of? And when it comes to sausage, I make my own! Grinding up the ground with pork fat, I add cognac-soaked dried cherries and a variety of herbs into the casings.

SB; Thank you for that link -- I had not been privy to that thread and will carefully follow and read all the links. The task of digesting Gastro was bigger than I thought and I am pleased in retrospect to be doing it. As an aspiring food writer, it helps me encapsulate words and thoughts but it is also helping go back through old issues and re-reading articles I had forgotten about or meant to read and never did. Cheers carolyn

Note: Below you will find the collection of digests in chronological order. As I am backtracking from the genesis of this publication, the current, newsstand issue may not yet be digested. Please check back frequently and this message will be removed when all are up-to-date. Carolyn’s Editorial Note: Gastronomica was introduced in February, 2001 from the University of California Press as a literary and art journal with food as its emphasis. I appreciate the journalistic integrity in that ample end notes and resources are provided in translations, historical analyses, and investigations. Also, because much of the journal is artistic in nature, to the publication’s merit, I will begin each digest with a description of the cover as well as all illustrations contained therein as it is an integral part of the presentation. February, 2001 – Inaugural Issue Cover L’Age D’Or by Luis Buñuel. A scene shot from the 1930 surrealist’s film which depicts a woman orgiastically sucking on a man’s three left fingers. Initial reaction is one of delightful cannibalism. An interesting beginning… Food Studies Come of Age The More We Know About Food, The Greater Our Pleasure In It by Darra Goldstein Introduction letter from the editor of Gastronomica with the proposal that the journal “aims to renew this connection between sensual and intellectual nourishment by bringing together many diverse voices…” These voices include visual artists, historians, scientists, poets, and many more. Orts and Scantlings “Borborygmus” and “Lagniappe” by Mike Morton Definitions of the two words – Borborygmus is a word for rumblings, such as the noise a stomach makes when hungry and as the title of the next segment, small blurbs which will appear at the beginning of each journal. Lagniappe is essentially “a bonus, a gift, or a freebie” as in the thirteenth roll in a baker’s dozen and will be an ending segment. Borborygmus - Rumblings from the World of Food Deconstructing Dietary Guidelines – by Marion Nestle Comments on the National Nutritional Summit held in Washington D.C. in May, 2000. Veggie Wear by Ardath Weaver Comments on children’s clothing found in Pottery Barn Kids catalogue. Good News for Chocoholics by Harold McGee Comments on Professor Joe Vinson’s (University of Scranton) studies that chocolate is good for you. Sophie Coe Memorial Prize Call for entries for Food History Essay contest . Culture Shock My McDonald’s by Constantin Boym A Russian immigrant’s impressions of this American monolith. Poetry Ripe Peach by Louis Glück 1. There was a time Only certainty gave me Any joy. Imagine – Certainty, a dead thing… editorial note - this poem continues for a full 10 stanzas... Origins Turtle Soup by Amy B. Trubek Historical treatise on the origins and subsequent demise of turtle soup. Fabulous page-and-a-half woodcut illustration accompanying article, Decapitation of a Turtle in a Paris Restaurant from George Augustus Sala. Essay Delicacy by Paul Russell Reminiscences of a child’s foray into gourmet food. Feast For The Eye Alison and Peter Smithson’s 1956 ‘House of the Future’ by Gwendolyn Owens The Smithsons were architects and house came from The Times of London’s exhibition. The future was 1980. Owens looks back on the era from which and for which the house was designed. With a full-page blue-tint b/w photograph of the prototype kitchen and quarter-page detail of the plans. Watched Pot The Olla by Alicia Rios An analysis, history, and use of the Spanish clay pot. With a full-page b/w photograph. Working on the Food Chain Tasting Technology: The Agricultural Revolution in Genetically Engineered Plants by Marc Lappé The Risks and Rewards of Biotechnology by Charles J. Arntzen and Irena Chalmers Bottom line, these two articles are the pros and cons of genetically modified organisms within food products. With a full-page, full color photograph by Charity Rupp entitled New Labels for Genetically Engineered Food. Illustration That Rich and Hidden Stuff by Peggy Diggs Quilt-like graphic art piece. Partially computer-generated(?) Investigation A Plea for Culinary Modernism: Why We Should Love New, Fast, Processed Food by Rachel Laudan Does Culinary Luddism exist and if so, is it relevant? With a half-page, full color, vertical photograph of homemade biscuits. ”Eat Your Words!” Seventeenth-Century Edible Letterforms by Gillian Riley Expansive, illustrated article on Dutch still life painters and the rise of letterforms within these paintings. Note: An example of a letterform would be the letter "B" formed from dough. With a sixth-page, full color recreation of Clara Peeters’ Still Life with Artichoke, 1612, a full-page, full color detail from Peeters’ Candle, Sweets and Wine, 1607, full page, full-color presentation of Willem van Mieris’ Grocer’s Shop, 1732, half-page, full color print of Osias Beert’s Still Life with Artichoke, no date given, and a two-page, full-color offering of Pieter Claesz’s Still Life, 1625-1630, a half-page, full color print of Peter Binoit’s Still Life with Letter Cookies, ca. 1615, and lastly, a page-and-a-half, full color of Clara Peeters’ Still Life with Gilt Goblet, ca. 1612. Deconstructing Soup: Ferran Adrià’s Culinary Challenges by Fabio Parasecoli A look at mousses, purees, granitas, foams, and jellies. With recipes and discussion of the challenges and deconstructions thereof. With a full page, full color photograph of luscious-looking versions of the above and a page-and-a-half color photograph of Fabio pointing a commercial whip cream dispenser at the camera. Illustration The Romaines of the Day by Mike Glier Two-page presentation of graphite rendering of lettuce. Archive Sicilian Cheese in Medieval Arab Recipes by Charles Perry Discussion of early cheeses with notes on translated text and commentary. With quarter-page color picture of recipe for sifat al-arruz from Kitab Wasf al-At’ima al-Mu’tada, 15th century. Fundamentals Salt, Smoke, and History by T.R. Durham A dissertation of smoking meat. With methods and recipes. With full-page photograph Trout smoking at Durham’s Tracklements, Ann Arbor and quarter-page photograph, Herring/Mackerel Smokehouse, West Highlands, Scotland, ca. 1960 Libations Tuscan Wine: Tradition and Innovation by William R. Nesto Mostly about producers Gambelli and Tachis. Chef’s Page Seafood Restaurant, Padstow, Cornwall, England by Rick Stein A personal perspective, from the owner. With half-page b/w photograph of a sign depicting a hand-drawn fish and an arrow, pointing. Spilled Beans The Chef’s Uniform by The Culinary Institute of America A history of the toque, coat, pants, apron, and neckerchief. With a full-page 1840 woodcut print, showing the “Greek Bonnet” style hat worn by French chefs of the period and a half-page b/w lithograph from 1878 by Jules Després showing a “modern” chef’s coat, shawl-like neckerchief, and soft hat. WWFood Turkish Delights by Nevin Haliei An overview of Turkish cuisine. Photograph Easter Weekend ’98 at the Athens Central Market by Aglaia Kremezi The photograph is a full-page b/w shot of a butcher with several skinned lambs thrown over his shoulder. Accompanying the photograph is a recipe for Leg of Lamb Stuffed with Greens, Fennel and Feta Cheese, Arni Gemisto Me Horta Ke Feta Notes on Vintage Volumes Early Black-Authored American Cookbooks by Jan Longone A slight history of black-authored cookbooks with a few accompanying recipes. With quarter-page depiction of frontispiece and title page of Hotel Keepers, Head Waiters, and Housekeepers’ Guide by Tunis Campbell, a quarter-page shot of Malinda Russells’ A Domestic Cookbook. The Bookshelf Books in Review including: Art, Culture, & Cuisine: Ancient & Medieval Gastronomy by Phyllis Pray Bober Making Sense of Taste: Food and Philosophy by Carolyn Korsmeyer A Mediterranean Feast: The Story of the Birth of the Celebrated Cuisines of the Mediterranean, From the Merchants of Venice to the Barbary Corsairs, with More Than 500 Recipes by Clifford A. Wright Food and Drink in Medieval Poland: Rediscovering a Cuisine of the Past Edited by Maria Dembinska Food: A Culinary History Edited by Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo Montanari Pig Tails ‘n Breadfruit: A Culinary Memoir by Austin Clarke Tupperware: The Promise of Plastic in 1950s America by Alison J. Clarke Bookends A few additional reviews of: The Book of Marmalade by C. Anne Wilson Was It Something You Ate? Food Intolerance: What Causes It and How to Avoid It by John Emsley and Peter Fell Good Things to Eat as Suggested by Rufus by Rufus Estes, edited by D.J. Frienz Lagniappe Happy Scrapple Daddy by Joshua Raoul Brody Quite literally, a song – words and music printed on the last page of the journal. The chorus goes something like, “Pork liver, lambies tongues, Vienna sausage, aw save me some…”

Okay, so we are going to cook and eat Emeril, who should do the cooking? I vote for Ainsley Harriot -- I think he would know what tastes good in a man.

I think Emeril would make fabulous Man Meat -- he is pretty chunky himself and, having eaten well, would undoubtedly produce a fine roast!