Lets Cook with Patricia Gambarelli

Blood, Bones, Butter Gabrielle Hamilton Book review

2011-06-12T13:40:00.000-07:00

Forty-eight Hours with Blood, Bones and Butter
or
Almost Blind in Both Eyes

Check out the kudos on the back cover. How could Anthony Bourdain be envious of another chef's writings? Could anything compare with Kitchen Confidential? How dare Batali say he will burn all the books he has written, as he lavishes unabashed praise on Hamilton's prose.
The early pages made me wary. I confess to being a West Village snob-in my day, never venturing forth to the East Village, home to hippies and druggies.
I tagged p. 154, recalling the time I assisted Jacques Pepin at the Beard House, quaking every moment. But he was great and didn't live up to his demanding reputation. I relived our dinner at Lutece when Andre Soltner sat down with Rudy and me at our table to ruminate on the wine we had chosen. Memories flood back-a tour of the million dollar new kitchen at Le Cirque, a class by the pastry chef at the Four Seasons or another at Felidia to watch the chef curing a prosciutto. Those were delicious 80's with Franey, Claiborne and Child and when the food section of the Times really got your juices going.
I doubt that I will get to eat at Prune. But, I've been there through the magnificent prose of Gabrielle Hamilton. She makes me believe that she is a far better writer than a chef/restaurant owner. My bloodshot eyes can attest to that!

2009-08-02T13:48:00.000-07:00

2009-07-21T08:10:00.000-07:00

A RETURN TO INNOCENCE

Because the Master of the House is a devotee of the Food Channel, the recurring 21st century theme in our house is,"What shall we cook tonight?" My nasty response:"Why not re-visit Mrs. Paul's Famous Frozen Fish Fries?" She saved many a day alternating with Hamburger Helper as we shuffled between Little League baseball and ballet lessons.

So I bit the bullet and surreptitiously stuffed Mrs. Paul into my think-green food bag at the supermarket.

Let's say that Mrs. Paul will have to struggle to share a spot on TV with the Barefoot Contessa, Lidia Bastianich or Tyler Florence, The Mr. Ultimate.

Maybe Paula Dean can whip up a southern potion and give Mrs. Paul a makeover!

Sincerely: Frustrated Former Cooking Teacher

REVIEW: “FOOD, INC.”- The Movie

2009-07-04T04:43:00.000-07:00

Have you read “Fast Food Nation’ by Eric Schossler (2001) or “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” (2006) by Michael Pollan? Schossler exposed the travesties in the fast food industry and made all of us nervous eating a burger at MacDonalds. Pollan picked up the ball and wrote a powerful book indicting corn as the evildoer as engineered by the American food industry.

Pollan’s book was made into a documentary film, “Food, Inc.” and is an angry blast at the food industry.

Corn seems to be the culprit. It’s not relegated to feeding chickens, cows and fish. In one guise or another, it has seeped into candy, soft drinks and cheese and may be directly responsible for the obesity problem America faces today.

Corn is fed to chickens and cows and unless we can grow free-range chickens and grass-fed cows we’re eating corn as that roast chicken or that steak dinner. Corn has infiltrated a vast variety of foods in a typical supermarket.

Some of the footage in the film (largely shot surreptitiously by workers) shows how poultry and livestock are raised. Chickens are kept in long, dark, stifling sheds, where they stand in their own waste and fatted with corn and then on to slaughter in a mere forty-nine days. Cows are jammed together in huge pens eating corn, not grass, disrupting their digestive systems.

Corn has pigeonholed low income Americans into eating affordable fast food burgers because they can’t afford fresh vegetables.

The film is unnerving and cries out to the food industry to enact the necessary legislation to protect all Americans from the travesty of corn.

Summer in Sunset Beach

2009-04-01T10:25:00.000-07:00

There is a revolving door in our house for visiting friends and family since we have moved to Sunset Beach. Spring brings golfers wishing to sharpen their skills before the season opens up north. And in summer, our beautiful beach is the frosting on the cake for visiting grandchildren and sun worshipers.

What better way to launch my blog than to share with you a poem written by our thirteen year-old granddaughter, Lexi Simmons. She submitted it as her 8th grade “tradition” poem. The theme, as she described it, is to enjoy the beauty of the earth and the natural feelings it brings.

“The beach is a place where all your worries can be forgotten, and is a place where I love to be.”

Heaven on Earth

The most peaceful place in the world
Where everyone is free.
Kids are playing, waves are crashing,
The sun’s rays beaming down on me.

The grains of sand between my toes
The smell of salty air
Listening to the sounds of nature
While the cool breeze whips through my hair.

Relaxation washed over me
Only one choice left remained,
Forgetting worries and regrets
My mind had long ago contained.

When the day is finally through
And in my bed I lay
I remember that peaceful place
To where I will return someday.

Welcome to My Blog: "Let's Cook with Patricia Gambarelli"

2009-03-17T07:11:00.000-07:00

On this blog, I will be sharing my favorite recipes, restaurant reviews, cookbook reviews, articles about cooking, and travel. Along the way, I'll also share some thoughts about my years as a food writer, cooking teacher and the joys and challenges of being a Gourmet Club director.

Please join me on this wonderful journey - it's going to be fun!

Best, Pat