Let the Healing Begin...with Meat

So I'm still in my grieving stage for the late lamented Gourmet. DAMN YOU Chuck Townsend. Because my grief was so deep I didn't realize Ruth Reichl had a TV show, Gourmet's Adventures with Ruth on PBS. Ruth travels around the world with her pals to discover cooking schools and learning new skills. It's good to have friends.

The episode I saw had Ruth exploring Venice with Dianne Wiest making all sorts of decadent dishes like Grilled Calamari and Roast Duck stuffed with Pork and Ginger. But it was the Costesine in Tescia or Pork Spare Ribs that sent me to the butcher. So simple but so delicious. Brown the ribs in olive oil then put all the ingredients into the pot and simmer for a little over an hour. While the ribs were simmering, I decided to make Pommes Anna. Equally simple but with even less ingredients than the ribs.

I love this little 6 1/2 inch cast iron skillet I found at second hand store. Great for single servings.

For all you on Heart Healthy Diets, move along, nothing to see here.

Now you would think that living in serious bbq country would put me off spare ribs but these savory little nuggets are a wonderful change of pace from your sweet or spicy smoked ribs. I forget what a wonderful herb rosemary is to pair with meats like pork and lamb.

So while Gourmet, the magazine may be gone, you still get a little bit of that mojo from Ruth and her globe trotting friends. Let's just hope they don't pull the plug on that too.

Old School Food Porn

The melding of art, commerce and food has always intrigued me. The love of food porn photography is evident. But there was food porn before there was color photography. There were talented artists who toiled away, usually without credit, producing labels and advertising that would lure the consumer into reaching that hand out and paying money for a King Tut Lemon.
As I zip around the internet, poking into all things food, I'll be posting an occasional series on Old School Food Porn, whether it be fruit crate labels or World War Two Homefront posters.

Enjoy!

Still in Mourning

Kevin Demaria documents the last sad days of Gourmet.  

This One Hurts

Conde Nast has announced the demise of Gourmet.  This is what happens when you experience an ad revenue drop of 46% in the first half of the year.  I have to say I'm really sorry that Gourmet is taking the hit since I think it's a better magazine than it's sister at Conde Nast, Bon Appétit.  I know I've been picking it up more and more and always come away more impressed with the photography, story lines and recipe eagerness (desire to immediately make a dish from the recipe) I found in it's pages.   I'm hoping that Conde Nast will reconsider but these are tough times especially for the publishing industry.  Here's hoping Top Chef Masters snatches up Ruth Reichl as a permanent judge.