Best Bowls and Favorite Glasses
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Photo by Judith Hausman
These large-rimmed soup bowls are my favorite; they bring out the best flavor in soups.
In the wine world, prestigious glassware manufacturers make magical claims that a wine tastes its best in their glasses. Specific shapes deliver wine to the right place on the palate, and position the nose properly to access maximum bouquet. Even if $30 (or more) per glass requires faith or susceptibility, it’s undeniable that a light, thin glass does add sensuality. The fine rim rests between your lips, the wide, weigh-nothing bowl shows off the wine’s glimmer, the long stem is an undefined pleasure to lift. Try to imagine appreciating a great red in a pottery mug.
The principle here is that container affects taste—somehow the container’s properties suit the food. I like soup in bowls with a broad rim; they present the fragrant soup in a circular frame that I like. There’s something old-fashioned about that style to me, and besides, the broad surface cools the soup a little.
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Tomato Soup
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Photo by Judith Hausman
Some may consider these tomatoes rejects. I consider them soup.
I finally found it. Thanks to food goddess Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food (Clarkson Potter, 2007), I finally have the perfect summer tomato soup recipe. After many attempts that turned out too watery, too acidic, too sweet or were thickened with tomato paste, cornstarch, flour or cream, I tried her ultra-straightforward recipe and adore it.
The first “secret” to the recipe, arguably to all her food, is lots and lots of really, really good raw material. The tomatoes don’t have to look good at all; they have to taste good—no, great. I have access to piles of misshapen, won’t-sell, heirloom beauties at Rainbeau Ridge, but you might be able to buy a 1/4 bushel direct from a farm or beg some bumpy ones from a neighbor.
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What I Ate on My Summer Vacation
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Photo by Judith Hausman
My lobster boil in Maine, served with corn and steamers
This summer I traipsed through New England, where I’ve spent quite a number of summer vacations.
First stop: Belgrade Lakes, Maine
Photo by Judith Hausman
A blueberry pie from Mary Bean's in Belgrade, Maine
- Golden chanterelles on the first hike, despite dry weather. I’d never eat one I was even slightly unsure of, but Don Bean, the chef at Tacconet on Great Pond, still prefers I cook them myself in his kitchen—just enough for a bite of mushroom, eggs and butter for everyone.
- Mary Bean’s blueberry pie is dynamite; thick homemade crusts sprinkled with crystal sugar and packed with Maine blueberries.
- The best lobster boil maybe I’ve ever had: sweet lobsters, well-grown into their shells, clean; tender steamers from the nearby coast; and corn right from a local farm. Dessert was berries soaked into sweet soft biscuits and topped with real whipped cream.
- Food souvenir scores: Moody Blue farmstead cow’s milk cheese at Echo Ridge in Mt. Vernon and clear, local honey at Winterberry Farm in Belgrade.
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