Nine years ago, I decided to poke a toe into the world of food blogging. I settled on the name, “Gherkins & Tomatoes,” based on a painting by Luis Meléndez, a tribute to the period of history known as “The Age of Exploration.” Faced with a blank screen demanding something, anything, the first words that…
Tag: Southern cooking
Blah and Nasty and Bland? Nah! Or, Why You Should Love British Cooking (and You Do)
Before I dive into the meat of the matter here – a very brief celebration of Colman Andrews’s newest book, The British Table (2016), the impetus that brought me to the page this morning – I’m going to share a few words about how I perceive British food vis-a-vis the United States. Perhaps you’ve thought that I’d…
Day 6: Beef – Celebrate American Food History
War and food, a timeless tale. Unfortunately. Today’s story is about beef, the meat – as we all know – that become synonymous with Britain and went on to become a major force in the American economy in the nineteenth century, as well as providing for a rather mythological view of the American West. (Hint:…
Is Barbecue Barbaric? A Small Treatise on a Large and Controversial Subject
The All-American favorite cooking method, “barbecue,” sounds uncannily like “barbarism.” When warm nights and hotter days rev up cooks’ tempers as summer suddenly seems interminable, cooks turn to the trusty (and maybe rusty) BBQ grill and primal techniques of searing meat over an open flame. Age-old these methods are, indeed. And frankly barbaric, to the…
Grits on the Menu: A Short Treatise on a Global Favorite
Big Hominy Grits (Photo credit: James Bridle) These days, when you drive through the endless piney woods of low-country Georgia and South Carolina, you will see fields of corn, and not so much cotton. And, if you’re lucky when you stop for breakfast, there will be grits on the menu. Not just any old grits,…
