On the Table - the curious home of Gary Allen, Food Writer & Dillettante

It's April, a month when folk longen to goon on pilgrimages -- 'though most of our own recent pilgrimages have been of the virtual persuasion. Eliot, another April-minded poet, never even heard of the web, but he would, no doubt, have found the month a less cruel place had he access to its comforting diversions. An amazing time-waster, perhaps, but no wasteland.

Subscribers to our updates newsletter receive only these updates from our blog, Just Served, in their e-mailboxes. The rest of our little non-update screeds still go into the blog, but they no longer intrude themselves in our subscribers' mailboxes. Last month, we posted "Let Them Eat Cake" in which we consider what the Queen of France did or didn't say... We also posted "Vocabulary" -- a recollection of the way we learned the grammar of meals at about the same time as we learned the grammar of language -- and found that the learning didn't always come easily. We also posted "Dessert," by guest blogger Matthew Gavin Frank, the author of Barolo, a memoir about his illegal work in the Piemontese Italian food and wine industry.

True gluttons for punishment should visit A Quiet Little Table in the Corner, a page that provides an ever-changing master index of any other web places that carry our stuff. The Quiet Little Table is hosted by Marty Martindale's Food Site of the Day, and you should check out some of the goodies she's got posted while you're there.

Those of you who have visited us know that we're addicted to old books, especially old food books. Every once in a while we come across an especially good source that panders to our accquisitional lust -- and, sometimes, we're willing to share with like-minded individuals. For a while we've been receiving e-mail from Rabelais, in Portland, Maine -- mostly for events that are too far away for us to attend. However, their website has us salivating in a most unbecoming manner. (and no, we have no pecuniary connection to Rabelais -- 'though I suspect they'll be taking money from us soon)

April (at least the beginning) is also the month in which we demonstrate our willingness to be fooled and/or foolish. In honor of both, we herewith affix some suitable excerpts from -- or soon to be added to -- On the Table's culinary quote pages:

"Avoid fruits and nuts. You are what you eat." Jim Davis

"Classic Recipe for Roast Beef: 1 large Roast of beef, 1 small Roast of beef. Take the two roasts and put them in the oven. When the little one burns, the big one is done." Gracie Allen

"I went to a restaurant that serves 'breakfast at any time.' So I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance." Steven Wright

"This recipe is certainly silly. It says to separate two eggs, but it doesn't say how far to separate them." Gracie Allen

"The weather here is gorgeous. It's mild and feels like it's in the eighties. The hot dog vendors got confused because of the weather and thought it was spring, so they accidentally changed the hot dog water in their carts." David Letterman

PS: If you encounter broken links, changed URLs -- or know of wonderful sites we've missed -- please drop us a line. It helps to keep this resource as useful as possible for all of us. To those of you who have suggested sites -- thanks, and keep them coming!

PPS: If you wish to change the e-mail address at which you receive these newsletters, or otherwise modify the way you receive our postings, go here.

PPPS: If you've received this newsletter by mistake, and/or don't wish to receive future issues, you have our sincere apology and can have your e-mail address deleted from the list immediately. We're happy (and continuously amazed) that so few people have decided to leave the list -- but, should you choose to be one of them, let us know and we'll see that your in-box is never afflicted by these updates again. You can unsubscribe here.

PPPPS: Leitesculinaria has been redesigned -- and it still contains some of the best food writing and recipes around. So far, the redesigned site contains only a few of our own articles -- but, eventually, they'll all be here.



AdViews: A Digital Archive of Vintage Television Commercials
(a search, using the word "food" yielded 420 ads, in audio, print, and video)

Australian Researchers Say Fat is "Sixth Taste"
(umami is no longer the new kid on the taste block)

Beth Ann Fennelly Digs into Geophagy
(article about people who -- literally -- eat a peck of dirt before they die)

Cooking Up a Story
(online TV show about "the science, politics, and culture of food" that features interviews with the folks who produce our food)

Culinary Encyclopaedia: A Dictionary of Technical Terms
(complete text of Charles Herman Senn's 1898 book, in several formats)

Dolce Italia
(site that celebrates Italian desserts and dessert wines, with links to makers, recipes, regional specialties, and a page about their US spokesperson -- cookbook author Francine Segan)

Edge in the Kitchen, An
("knives, cooking and kitchen science with Chad Ward")

Food Resource
(searchable glossary compiled by Oregon State University)

Food, Cooking & Dining Media in the USA
(links to places that need food writing: in print, TV, and online; mostly American, but some European and Asian venues)

Glossary of Cookery and Other Terms, A
(medieval and renaissance cooking terms, compiled by Prospect Books)

How to Cook Up a Food Celebrity
(Frank Bruni's article about what cooking, in the media, has become)

Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America, The (IFANCA)
(site devoted to discussion of foods that are halal, "…an Arabic word meaning lawful or permitted" -- the Islamic equivalent of "kosher")

Many Faces of Halva, The
(Kurma Dasa's essay on a range of treats from kitchens from Greece to India)

New York Public Library Digital Collection
(over 3000 images from their menu collection)

Recommended by Duncan Hines
(an exhibit about the man, not the cake mix)

Silvestro's Salento
("the quotidian culinary life of a sommelier and owner of a cooking school in the historic centre of the prettiest town in the vibrant south of Italy")

Welcome to Dairy Science and Technology
("...an educational site focused on milk, dairy products, and dairy technology" from Canada's University of Guelph)


Another how-to blog for bloggers: foodblogforum



All Things Sicilian and More

Bites of Food History

Cooking Issues

Feeding the Saints

Food Anthropology

Food Obsession, A

Historic Foodie, The

Pots and Plumes

Quenelle, The



Except, of course, for the usual legal mumbo-jumbo and commercial flim-flam:

Your privacy is important to us. We will not give, sell or share your e-mail address with anyone, for any purpose -- ever. Nonetheless, we will expose you to the following irredeemably brazen plugs:

Our books, The Resource Guide for Food Writers, The Herbalist in the Kitchen, The Business of Food: Encyclopedia of the Food And Drink Industries, and Human Cuisine can be ordered through the Libro-Emporium.

Here endeth the sales pitch(es)...

...for the moment, anyway.