Thank you for Vintage Morels, which is so entertaining. You always write about the most interesting topics, and today's newsletter had me reaching for my copy of M.F.K. Fisher's The Art of Eating. In a moment of serendipity, I happened to open the book to "How to Cook a Wolf," and she included a tip about saving bacon grease. After pouring hot bacon grease in a container she recommends pouring water on top. "The burned food particles will sink into the water, and the fat will rise as it cools and be clean and easy to lift into another cup or bowl." Who knew?!! And you've inspired me to make a nice charcuterie board -- maybe the whole foods version you suggested.
Hey Mr. Foodie Guy. Have you ever traveled in France? Do you have favorite foodie/winey/cheesey destinations there? Planning a trip in October. Happy to hear from others in the Vintage Morels community as well.
If you don't want to plow through all this—I luv doing it!—my friend is staying at the Bristol and eating at Epicure in Paris . . . .would like to hear what you decide on.
I tried growing artichokes last year, but they don't like New Hampshire seasons. They grew pretty well, but didn't get a chance to bloom before fall and frost arrived. Maybe next year, if I give them a couple months head start in the house - those flowers look like they would make the extra trouble worthwhile.
That charcuterie board looks gorgeous! Wow! I always thought they only included meats, so was never very interested (I'm a vegetarian), but I like your ideas for all-inclusive charcuterie boards - I definitely would *NOT* skip the sweets on anything I put together. A few chunks of dark chocolate would fit in nicely, nestled into a corner next to the bunches of grapes. :)
Thanks to you and Garrison Keillor for the "Almanac" piece on M.F.K. Fisher. You inspired me to pop online in search of "Serve it Forth," but ended up purchasing a 1971 edition of "The Art of Eating," which includes "Serve it Forth," and four other novels: "How to Cook a Wolf," "Consider the Oyster," "The Gastronomical Me," and "An Alphabet for Gourmets." 749 pages of vintage food essays, all for $4.81 plus 99 cents shipping, what a deal! I've got my summer reading sorted. :)
The color on the flowering artichoke is spectacular! I had no idea. Have also read that "The Bear" is enjoyable and true to life in a restaurant kitchen. Looking forward to watching.
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Beautiful inspiration, Wayne. I enjoy your posts -- and photos.
Big MFK Fisher fan from way back in my Knoxville days. :-)
Gina
You are sweet to say that!
I never would have thought of trying to make my own canned tuna. What a great idea!
Just make sure you don't mess up like I did!
You've got good advice in here, so hopefully I won't! I'll have to tell you about the time I tried to pickle bacon... blech!
I would never have thought of trying to pickle bacon - I take it that it wasn't such a great idea? :)
Oh god, it was TERRIBLE. Haha. Here's the article I wrote about it. https://www.pastemagazine.com/food/bacon/remember-when-we-pickled-bacon/
Nice article! It sounds like it was quite the science experiment. :)
Thanks! It certainly was. :-)
TERRIBLE is being nice!
So true, haha
Thank you for Vintage Morels, which is so entertaining. You always write about the most interesting topics, and today's newsletter had me reaching for my copy of M.F.K. Fisher's The Art of Eating. In a moment of serendipity, I happened to open the book to "How to Cook a Wolf," and she included a tip about saving bacon grease. After pouring hot bacon grease in a container she recommends pouring water on top. "The burned food particles will sink into the water, and the fat will rise as it cools and be clean and easy to lift into another cup or bowl." Who knew?!! And you've inspired me to make a nice charcuterie board -- maybe the whole foods version you suggested.
Hey Mr. Foodie Guy. Have you ever traveled in France? Do you have favorite foodie/winey/cheesey destinations there? Planning a trip in October. Happy to hear from others in the Vintage Morels community as well.
I've got a buddy going in September so I've done some research already.
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/dining/g37272176/best-paris-restaurants/, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/02/travel/things-to-do-paris.html, https://thetourguy.com/travel-blog/france/paris/best-michelin-rated-restaurants/, https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurants-g187147-c33-Paris_Ile_de_France.html, https://www.gayot.com/restaurants/best-paris-iledefrance-france-top10-seafoodrestaurants_10pa.html, https://www.cntraveller.com/gallery/best-restaurants-in-paris, https://www.forbes.com/sites/rooksanahossenally/2022/01/18/where-to-eat-in-paris-the-best-19-restaurants-to-try-right-now/?sh=56219caa101a, https://www.eater.com/maps/best-restaurants-paris-france, https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g187147-c33-Paris_Ile_de_France.html.
If you don't want to plow through all this—I luv doing it!—my friend is staying at the Bristol and eating at Epicure in Paris . . . .would like to hear what you decide on.
I tried growing artichokes last year, but they don't like New Hampshire seasons. They grew pretty well, but didn't get a chance to bloom before fall and frost arrived. Maybe next year, if I give them a couple months head start in the house - those flowers look like they would make the extra trouble worthwhile.
That charcuterie board looks gorgeous! Wow! I always thought they only included meats, so was never very interested (I'm a vegetarian), but I like your ideas for all-inclusive charcuterie boards - I definitely would *NOT* skip the sweets on anything I put together. A few chunks of dark chocolate would fit in nicely, nestled into a corner next to the bunches of grapes. :)
Thanks to you and Garrison Keillor for the "Almanac" piece on M.F.K. Fisher. You inspired me to pop online in search of "Serve it Forth," but ended up purchasing a 1971 edition of "The Art of Eating," which includes "Serve it Forth," and four other novels: "How to Cook a Wolf," "Consider the Oyster," "The Gastronomical Me," and "An Alphabet for Gourmets." 749 pages of vintage food essays, all for $4.81 plus 99 cents shipping, what a deal! I've got my summer reading sorted. :)
I just finished The Bear. It lives up to all of the breathless hype.
I love those giant purple artichoke blooms 💜💚
The color on the flowering artichoke is spectacular! I had no idea. Have also read that "The Bear" is enjoyable and true to life in a restaurant kitchen. Looking forward to watching.