Friday Eating and Reading
Like the rest of the world, I was shocked to hear the news about Anthony Bourdain this morning. He first came into my life in the 90s when Andy's urbane older brother took us to Les Halles, Bourdain's Park Avenue bistro that made me feel like such a cosmopolitan. A few years later, I read "Don't Eat Before Reading This," the behind-the-scenes-at-Les-Halles essay that would become his seminal Kitchen Confidential and it blew my mind. Not only because I learned never to order fish on Mondays, but because it was the first time I realized that food writing could be about so much more than food...and, also, that food was about so much more than eating. On TV, it was his entree into other worlds and cultures -- connecting people, nurturing people, understanding them, giving them a voice -- and I think I speak for everyone when I say that it was an honor to be along for the ride all those years. For those of you who want to pay tribute to a life well-lived, listen to his interview last year on the WTF podcast. Lastly, this quote from Kitchen Confidential: “For a moment, or a second, the pinched expressions of the cynical, world-weary, throat-cutting, miserable bastards we've all had to become disappears, when we're confronted with something as simple as a plate of food.” What a loss. RIP.
What else we are eating and reading this weekend:
The 17 Best Books to Read this Summer (by trusted DALS contrib, Elisabeth Egan) I've already read and loved this and this.
Stop killing the magic of books with required summer reading. (Apparently, it's Liz Egan week on DALS.)
This green sauce is so up my alley. My plan is to make a jar this weekend and drizzle it on everything that comes off the grill, including vegetables.
Speaking of which, I've posted this before, but I'll post it again because there's been so much renewed interest on my instagram feed. This is the indispensable vegetable basket I use for the grill, and I'm not sure how I got along without it for three decades.
Make Failure Your Fuel, by Abby Wambach. (I made both of my daughters read this.)
A strawberry icebox cake that is such a great idea for right exactly now.
Here's something fun: Remodelista just launched its annual Considered Design Awards and for the first time ever, there's a Best Organized Kitchen category. Submit photos of your beautifully ordered pantries, open shelves, and drawers right over here and be eligible to win a $500 gift card to Schoolhouse, a modern design and lifestyle company that I had never heard of until this morning but just rabbit-holed for the last hour. (Yes, rabbit-holed is a verb.)
Obama's last days in office, by his Deputy National Security Adviser, Ben Rhodes.
Resolved: I'm putting everything on a bed of ricotta this summer.
Locals! Check out this awesome day of wellness and deliciousness, brought to you by the talented folks at Bon Appetit's Healthyish.
My Nate Appleman obsession continues with his roasted chicken meatballs.
I find this story fascinating -- not only because it's about a teenage cross-country runner (who we've been lucky enough to watch at Phoebe's local meets) but because it makes you realize how hard it must be to raise a prodigy...and be a prodigy.
LESS THAN ONE WEEK UNTIL THE WORLD CUP BEGINS, PEOPLE! Don't forget to pick up a pack of FIFA cards for any young soccer fanatic in your house. (P.S. How was this World Cup post by Andy eight years ago?)
I love this whole line for outdoor dining -- and especially these Bambino cups that double as bud vases.
Hey! Are you following me on instagram? #shamelessplug #thankyou
Lastly, I'm heading out to Seattle in a few weeks for a long weekend with 14-year-old Abby. What must I do? And who has a trick for getting me into The Walrus & the Carpenter without waiting a zillion hours? (Three free books for whoever can get me a 7:00 reservation. :) )
Have a good weekend.