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

By November, the last of the harvests are in (at least here in the Hudson Valley), and those who practice certain outdoor sports turn their minds from fishing to the pursuit of other game. The time for light salad-like repasts is over, and we crave hearty, slow-cooked, deep-flavored dishes -- and light amusements give way to more substantial pastimes. Some of us actually read.

Books, even.

Regular subscribers to our updates newsletter receive these updates from our blog, Just Served, directly -- but there is much more at the blog that isn’t sent automatically. We understand that many (OK, most) folks have better things to do with their time than wade through countless unwanted e-missives, so we won't add ours to that pile. However... should you feel an inexplicable craving for exactly the sort of self-indulgent claptrap we periodically post, you can satisfy that urge at Just Served. Last month, we added "Carbonara" -- the apotheosis of bacon, but feel free to choose something from the archives -- such as the seasonally-appropriate "Thanksgiving (Special Holiday Report)."

Leitesculinaria is still in the process of reposting, sometimes with shiny new updates and edits, some of our older articles. The entire list of our currently-posted LeitesCulinaria articles (twenty, so far) is available here.

For hard-core addicts of our stuff (assuming such unlikely beings exist), Marty Martindale's Food Site of the Day has been completely redesigned, and has returned to posting A Quiet Little Table in the Corner -- an index of our writings on the web.

As always, we end our monthly sermon with some selections from On the Table's Culinary Quote pages. This month is no exception (and, for some reason, they all feature a specific avian species):

"Coexistence... what the farmer does with the turkey -- until Thanksgiving." Mike Connolly

"It was dramatic to watch [my grandmother] decapitate [a turkey] with an ax the day before Thanksgiving. Nowadays the expense of hiring grandmothers for the ax work would probably qualify all turkeys so honored with "gourmet" status." Russell Baker

"On Thanksgiving, you realize you’re living in a modern world. Millions of turkeys baste themselves in millions of ovens that clean themselves." George Carlin

"TURKEY, n. A large bird whose flesh when eaten on certain religious anniversaries has the peculiar property of attesting piety and gratitude. Incidentally, it is pretty good eating." Ambrose Bierce

"Turkey is undoubtedly one of the best gifts that the New World has made to the Old." Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

"Turkey takes so much time to chew. The only thing I ever give thanks for at Thanksgiving is that I've swallowed it." Sam Greene

"TURKEY: This bird has various meanings depending on the action in your dream. If you saw one strutting and/or heard it gobbling, it portends a period of confusion due to instability of your friends or associates. However, if you ate it, you are likely to make a serious error in judgment." The Dreamer's Dictionary

"You first parents of the human race...who ruined yourself for an apple, what might you have done for a truffled turkey?" Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

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!

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10 Historical Figures Who Were Total Foodies
(expected ones, like Marcel Proust and Catherine de Medici, but also Charles Darwin and Nelson Mandela)

2500 Years of Caviar History
(a tiny taste of luxury foodstuff)

Amaranth
(Purdue University's factsheet on a new world plant that has provided grain and greens since ancient times)

Antique Gin Bottles
(multiple galleries featuring bottles, labels, seals and other ephemera from several collectors)

Appalachian Cook Book
(where else can you find a recipe for Stuffed Possum?)

Caviar, the Incredible, Edible Egg
(a detailed look at the subject, with information about recent advances in caviar production in the US)

Comprehensive Apple Variety List
(twelve page description and use chart)

Culinary Arts Colleges
(a descriptive guide to culinary arts colleges and universities in the US, with links to each program; alphabetical by state)

Examination of Front-of-Package Nutrition Rating Systems and Symbols
(an in-progress study conducted by the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy of Sciences)

Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance
(site "...celebrating, exploring and preserving unique food traditions and their cultural contexts in the American Midwest")

Science of Menu Layout, The
(if you're in the restaurant business, you probably already know this -- or you should; if not, you'll never read a menu the same way again)

Squash Named from an Indian Word
(not just etymology, but a history of these New World vegetables)

Traditional Bajan Recipes
(a few recipes from Barbados)

UMass Cranberry Station
(site dedicated to protecting the cranberry crop, with the help of specialists in "plant pathology, entomology, environmental physiology, plant nutrition/cultural practices, weed science/integrated pest management, and floriculture")

Wild Game Cookery: Venison
(a PDF factsheet from the University of Minnesota's Extension Service)



Blogs about blogging, and about the writing process in general, can help us become better, and maybe even more successful, writers (whatever "success" means to each of us). Here are a few of our favorite blogs for bloggers about the business, meaning, and process of food writing and photography:

Annoying Wine Words: Five Overused Terms That Tell Us Nothing About Wine!

Artificial Light Food Photography

My Food Writing Trap

New Rules for Judging "Quality" in Published Content, The


This month we're featuring several posts by Dianne Jacob (author of Will Write for Food and the blog of the same name:

Blogging Just For Love? No Way

Exclusive Offer! Only 1000 Food Bloggers Qualify

Is Lower Pay for Web Writing Defensible?

Outrageous Blogger Request, and the Outcome

Putting the "Free" in Freelance



American Menu, The

Ann Arbor Cooks

Barbara's Eastern European Food Blog

Cheese Is Alive

Cheese Poet

It's Not You, It's Brie

Kitchen Retro

Madame Fromage

Noshstalgia

Save the Deli

Wrightfood



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.