A Writer Afoot » Food and Drink

The Lost Art of Family Dinners

Barbara Samuel — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 04:59:49 +0000

Dinner in Suburbia by Make Less Noise

When I was a child, we ate dinner together nearly every night. I did not necessarily love the whole ritual, especially when my mother made hamburger pie, covered with mashed potatoes, or when I was in trouble for one thing or another (which was a lot), but [...]

A beautiful loaf

Barbara Samuel — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:20:18 +0000

Jack had to have a bit of surgery this week (he’s fine, he’s fine!) and when I got home from finding out, I didn’t even take off my sweater. I gravitated to the kitchen and started pulling out flour. This is the result, a wheaty loaf, using a small amount of buckwheat in a poolish [...]

How I spent my afternoon

Barbara Samuel — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 02:38:10 +0000

Raisin Nut Bread, made from a pate Viennoise starter, a little rye flour, and the liquide levain I’ve been working and working with. I also soaked the raisins in orange juice and a little bit of vanilla. Isn’t it beautiful? I know what I’ll be eating for breakfast [...]

Pancake kisses, bacon hugs

Barbara Samuel — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:38:14 +0000

THE SECRET OF EVERYTHING is out today! To celebrate, a love song to breakfast.

PANCAKE KISSES, BACON HUGS

Why breakfast is the secret of everything

I suppose I should confess upfront that I am a morning person. I wake up cheery, chatty and at the very first fingers of sunlight creeping over the [...]

Slow cooked, spicy, chunky apple butter

Barbara Samuel — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:37:52 +0000

Technically, I suppose, apple butter is smooth. I originally made this recipe last winter and pureed it afterward. Since, however, my main use for this particular condiment is in my morning oatmeal, I have found I much prefer it to be left chunky. Recipe is adapted from one I found at The Art [...]

The Deconstruction of Fish & Chips

Barbara Samuel — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 23:34:30 +0000

At CR’s urging, I decided to give the deconstruction of fish & chips a try. (For background on the Top Chef deconstruction challenge, read about it here.)

My challenge was to create a dish that would deconstruct fish & chips and end up tasting like the original. Since the only ingredients in the traditional offering [...]

Deconstruction Challenge, via Top Chef

Barbara Samuel — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:11:49 +0000

Tonight, the chefs were asked to deconstruct a classic dish. One of them was fish and chips, which happens to be one of Christopher Robin’s favorites, so I found myself trying to imagine how to do it. As we watched, I kept tossing out ideas, and CR finally said, “Try it!” (Subtext: please [...]

Cooking and books, books and cooking: my Julie/Julia story

Barbara Samuel — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 22:19:21 +0000

One Christmas season, I was at loose ends. I was finally, officially divorced after a fairly long marriage. My sons were working and traveling, or out with their friends. There was a man I’d been seeing, but he was traveling, too, and anyway, he was never going to be My Guy and I [...]

Gifts of summer: Peaches, green beans and a ghost

Barbara Samuel — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 19:42:03 +0000

Around here, we’ve been mellow. Haven’t gone back yet to my usual schedule–the girls and my brain needed a rest. I’ve been haunting the farmer’s markets, gardening, going to Nia, and working with the bounty from summer gardens. Don’t you love summer food?

One day this week, I ambled around the markets, picking [...]

Philly Inquirer's "Foodie Beach Reads"

Barbara Samuel — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:58:04 +0000

Happy to report The Lost Recipe For Happiness made the list.

In: Beach reads for foodies; A menu of summer treats to sate your literary hunger, Dianna Marder writes:

“The perfect foodie beach bag contains prime kitchen lit: books on food history, essays on sustainability, food-centric fiction (call it foodtion), and sentimental food memoirs, [...]