What to write

[bloviatrix]

Russ,

I'm hoping you can provide some insight on how the idea for article comes about. Are many of your articles based on something peaking your interest and how frequently does the food editor request that you develop a piece on a specific topic?

Thanks.

[russ parsons]

Good questions Blo (if I may be so bold),

I'd say my topics are about 75% mine, 25% assigned. But that might be just because Michalene Busico is so damned slick she convinces me her stories are my idea!

Actually, it still comes as a surprise to me that story ideas seem to be pretty easy to find. Basically, it's whatever catches my interest for long enough for me to focus on it. Most of my columns (which are designated The California Cook) come directly out of what I've been cooking at home recently. I do emphasize seasonality, and I try to scatter things out in the cooking columns (desserts alternate with meats alternate with veg, etc).

Reported stories come from a whole range of places. I think two of them came from reading things on the Gullet--Julie/Julia and El Bulli. One came from Chowhound--the profile of Carl Chu, the guy who wrote the great guide to Chinese foodin LA. Others come from what I've been reading. And I've got a backlog of projects I'd like to do someday. One of the nice things you learn is that if you do a good job on one story, folks will call recommending others. I had done a piece on petrale sole last winter and I got a note from a woman who is involved in the sardine fishery here. That's tomorrow's cover.

[bloviatrix]

Most of my columns (which are designated The California Cook) come directly out of what I've been cooking at home recently. I do emphasize seasonality, and I try to scatter things out in the cooking columns (desserts alternate with meats alternate with veg, etc).

Other than your wife, who else are your guinea pigs when recipe testing?

Actually, what's your process in creating recipes?

[russ parsons]

Recipe development and testing is not a pretty thing. Probably best not to share it with guests, though I do occasionally ... when I'm pretty sure I'm pretty close to what I want. Mainly it's my poor wife who has to put up with it (and after two weeks of sardines ... she's a very poor wife right now).

I'm not really sure where recipe ideas come from. I read a lot and think a lot. And then when I get a topic for something I want to write about (story usually comes first), I start focusing on what kinds of recipes I want to have.

I'm not a very experimental cook, not like Mr. Klc or somebody like that. I flat out don't have the skills. I think of myself as a good home cook within the limits of my "aesthetic", which is basically Californian Italian-French whatever that is. I don't feel obliged to do recipes from various cultures. I admire people who can switch that way, but I can't. I have to be very comfortable with an ingredient before I can begin to twist it around and play with it. So, as much as I like to eat Chinese, Japanese and Indian foods, I'll almost never cook in that fashion. (To me, I guess, it's a little like language. I'm fairly comfortable conversationally with some of them, but I could never write creatively in anything but English.)

Once I get an idea, I start tinkering. Sometimes things come up on the very first try. Other dishes take 4 or 5 runs before I think I have it right. I record everything in a little notebook, including notes on measurements, timing, things I notice, etc. And after I've tested the recipe, I record my comments on what I should try next time. Usually, once I get the recipe right, I write it up, trying to be as explicit and complete as possible. Then I cook it again from the recipe as written, making any corrections and trying to catch those little "Judy Rogers" observations that makes the recipe come alive. And then I file the recipe and it's tested and maybe photographed at the test kitchen.

I may not be bright, but I do try to be reliable.

[bloviatrix]

Russ, I find the creative process fascinating. Thanks so much for sharing yours.

Is there any one recipe that you created that you are particularly proud of? If so, can you share it?

[russ parsons]

My favorite recipe is always the next one I'm going to develop. I will brag that in tomorrow's section the grilled sardines on a bed of fennel salad with walnut pesto was acclaimed "the best sardine dish I've ever tasted" by my editor. I also like the sarde en saor.

On parallel thread I talked about high-heat braising, which I didn't develop by which I've done a lot of work on. Here's one of those, which I think is in the book.

them.

Mushroom Pot Roast

Active Work Time: 20 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 10 1/2 hours

1 (3 1/2- to 4-pound) chuck roast, either 7-bone or round-bone, in 1 piece

Salt

1 (750-milliliter) bottle dry red wine

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound onions, sliced

6 cloves garlic, smashed

1/2 pound carrots, sliced

1 stalk celery

1 bay leaf

Parsley stems

1 whole clove

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons butter

1 pound mushrooms, quartered

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

* Sprinkle roast with salt to taste on both sides and place in sealable 1-gallon plastic bag. Add red wine, seal tightly and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight, turning occasionally to make sure all of meat is covered with wine.

* Heat olive oil in bottom of Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Remove roast from bag, reserving wine, and pat roast dry with paper towels. Place roast in Dutch oven and brown well on both sides, 5 to 10 minutes per side.

* Remove roast to plate, pour off all but 1 tablespoon rendered fat from Dutch oven and reduce heat to medium. Add onions, 4 cloves garlic and carrots and cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes.

* Cut celery in half and tie together both stalks along with bay leaf and parsley stems. Insert clove in celery package to make bouquet garni.

* Add bouquet garni and reserved wine to vegetables and simmer 5 minutes.

* Add meat and vinegar, cover Dutch oven with tight-fitting lid and place in 450-degree oven. Cook until meat is easily pierced with sharp fork, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Every 30 minutes, turn meat and stir liquid mixture. If liquid begins to dry out, add up to 1 cup water, little at a time, to keep from scorching.

* When meat is fork-tender and falling off bone, remove to plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. Pour liquid through strainer into bowl, pressing vegetables to get as much liquid as possible and discarding vegetables. Set aside until fat floats to top. Wash out Dutch oven, pour off fat from settled liquid and return meat and liquid to pan. Keep warm over low heat.

* Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. When butter has foamed and subsided, add mushrooms and remaining 2 cloves garlic and cook, tossing, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

* Add mushrooms to pot roast and cook 15 minutes over low heat to marry flavors. Season to taste with salt and pepper and garnish with parsley.