{I’m a sucker for nostalgia, and NPR’s Found Recipes segment gets me every time. In November, it was the story of a professional chef who still can’t replicate his 94-year-old grandmother’s sweet potato pie to her satisfaction. In October, a woman shared her story of a half-eaten jar of quince paste that led to a recipe exchange with a Latvian man. In roughly four minutes, I am way too emotionally invested in their lives, refusing to leave the car until I hear how the story ends.}
{On a recent trip to Chicago, we stopped by one of my favorite places, The Art Institute of Chicago and walked through its current exhibition, “Art and Appetite: American Painting, Culture and Cuisine.” This massive exhibition showcases the evolution of food and drink in American art and explains the cultural and political context behind the pieces. Famous works include Norman Rockwell’s “Freedom from Want,” Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks,”, one of Andy Warhol’s “Campbell’s Soup Cans” and hundreds more. If you happen to be in Chicago before Jan. 27, it’s well worth the price of museum admission. And if not (or if Santa is reading) there’s a 250-page book about the exhibition that I’ve had my eye on.}
{I love the idea of baking Christmas cookies. Cue up a holiday playlist, whip up a cheerful cocktail or two (or three), and let the beating, baking and bedazzling begin. Except after several hours of dotting those stupid reindeer noses with red sprinkles and dumping half a bag of flour on the floor, I’m left with dozens of sugar cookies that I suddenly remember I don’t really like. These Chocolate-Pistachio Sablés came to my rescue this year. The bittersweet chocolate with a hint of sea salt and nutty crunch is divine. I’ve already made another version substituting almonds for the pistachios and adding a heaping handful of chopped fresh cranberries to the dough. Beautiful, festive and no decorating required!}
–cookie photo courtesy of Michael Graydon and Nikole Herriott/Epicurious.com
This article appears in December 2013.