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

It's Groundhog Day, and those of us who of us who have been enduring a particularly nasty winter are especially relieved to hear that Punxatawny Phil has granted us an early Spring. To show our gratitude, we will not post any recipes for woodchuck this year.

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. Last month, for example, we posted an article, "Enlightened Carnivory," a mutant sort of excerpt from one of our books-in-progress. 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.

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 is available here, along with several other articles on food history & science.

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.

Here's a selection from On the Table's culinary quote pages. This month, it's a little advice for anyone interested in starting a food blog:

"Try being entertaining. Try being didactic. Stop being angry. If you're an angry person with too many cats and a grudge against The New York Times, maybe you shouldn't be blogging." Anthony Bourdain

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.


Africa: The Dark Side of Chocolate
(modern-day slavery strips the sweetness from candy)

Andhra Telugu Recipes
(traditional Indian dishes from the state of Andhra Pradesh)

Asian Food Regulation Service
("…a database for food regulations across Asia… from Pakistan to Japan, from Mongolia to Timor")

Biology of the Goat, The
(just what it says it is)

Feeding Desire: Design and the Tools of the Table, 1500–2005
(online "catalog" of a 2006 exhibit at NYC's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum)

Food Environment Atlas
(USDA data for every county in the US: access and proximity to grocery stores, availability of food stores, availability of restaurants, expenditures on food at restaurants, food assistance, food eaten at home, food insecurity, food prices, food taxes, health, local foods, physical activity levels and outlets, and socioeconomic characteristics)

Free Cuban Food Recipes
(appetizers, desserts, drinks, main dishes, soups)

Global Table, The
(history of Roland Foods, the largest food importing company in the U.S.)

History is Served
(18th century recipes from Colonial Williamsburg's Department of Historic Foodways)

Know Your Pig
(April Bloomfield's article -- on cuts and culinary uses for all parts of the pig -- in New York Magazine)

La Cocina en su Tinta
(an exhibit at La Biblioteca Nacional de España; in Spanish)

Native American Culinary Association, The
(a forum on "The Research, Development, Refinement and Preservation of Native American Cuisine")

Redcliff Mycological Research Institute
("…unearthing the cultural, culinary and philosophical potential of fungi")

Vidalia Onion Museum
("…the history of the Vidalia onion and the growing region that has made it so famous. …exhibits illuminate the sweet onion’s economic, cultural and culinary significance")

World Carrot Museum

(carrot history, nutrition and trivia)


Blogs about blogging -- their writing, design, photography, promotion, and ethics -- can help us become better, and possibly more successful, writers (i.e., having more people read our stuff). Here are a few recent favorites:

Food Photography: Shooting Smoke, Steam and Flames

Top 10 Blogs for Writers 2010

When Good Food Looks Bad: A Styling Post

Writing a Strong Lead Is Half the Battle

And something to provide a little balance:

New Rules for Writers: Ignore Publicity, Shun Crowds, Refuse Recognition and More


New Year's Resolution to Restore an Author's Sanity, A



Beer and Butter Tarts

Cured Meats: The Art and the Craft

Eye in Dining, The

Kitchen Scraps

Pickle Project, 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.