Mai Tai #1 (Adapted from Trader Vic, 1944) 2 oz Aged rum 1 oz Fresh lime Juice 1/2 oz Orgeat syrup 1/2 oz Triple sec / orange curacao Garnish: Mint sprig — Pour all ingredients except the garnish into a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake until chilled. Strain into an ice-filled (preferably crushed ice) […]
Cartoonist Ben Katchor’s nostalgia for the Kosher dairy restaurants of his childhood prompted him to write The Dairy Restaurant, the first serious look at this once-common eatery in Jewish neighborhoods. In a Live Zoom Meeting, lavishly illustrated with his own impressionistic renderings of Jewish life and these special venues, Katchor offered his memories, experiences, and musing […]
The distinctive flavor of kasha makes a soul-satisfying meal. This is Ben Katchor’s adaptation of Joan Nathan’s recipe. YIELD 6 to 8 servings INGREDIENTS • 2 large onions, sliced in rounds • Mushrooms sliced • 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil • 1 large egg slightly beaten • 1 cup coarse kasha • 2 cups […]
This recipe is from The Molly Goldberg Jewish Cookbook, published in 1955. It is perfect to illustrate Ben Katchor’s love of all aspects of Jewish culture, including the performing arts, as”Molly Goldberg” was the stage name of actress Gerturde Berg. According to the Kitchen Arts & Letters blog, Berg wrote, produced, and starred in a wildly […]
The chile pepper did not arrive in China until the 1570s, and yet Chinese cuisine without chiles is hard to imagine. Indigenous to the Americas, chiles are so much a part of Chinese culture that many Chinese assume that they are native plants. In a conversation moderated by Charity Robey, Brian Dott described more than […]
Cocktail maven Kara Newman, author of Spice & Ice (Chronicle Books) shared this recipe from her book in honor of the global move of chili peppers: Yield: 1 drink This jalapeño-spiked margarita sizzles! Blood orange juice provides a dramatic red hue. No blood oranges? Substitute regular orange juice, plus a splash of pomegranate juice for […]
Is fast food the hero or the villain in Black America? Dr. Marcia Chatelain, a Provost’s Distinguished Associate Professor of History and African American studies at Georgetown University, discusses the fraught role of fast food in this engaging presentation. Program synopsis: Often blamed for the rising rates of obesity and diabetes among Black Americans, fast food […]
Watch our lunchtime conversation here. Program synopsis: Anne Willan’s long career as expert culinary educator, bibliophile, and culinary historian uniquely positions her to reflect on the contributions that women cookery writers have made to the American foodscape. In her most recent book, Women in the Kitchen: Twelve Essential Cookbook Writers Who Defined the Way We […]
Perfect late summer recipes from Women in the Kitchen: Twelve Essential Cookbook Writers Who Defined the Way We Eat, from 1661 to Today (courtesy of Scribner 2020). Ratatouille, adapted from Julia Child, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, vol. 1 (1961) In the introduction, Julia Child sums up the essence of ratatouille and we can imagine her […]
Anthropologist Sidney Mintz set off a firestorm when he casually remarked to students during a guest lecture that America didn’t have a ‘cuisine.’ In looking back on the chagrin voiced by many in the audience, he realized that he had struck a nerve: if America didn’t have a ‘cuisine,’ so the students seemed to think, […]
