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

I know, we're not even halfway through November, not even close to December... but Hallowe'en and Election Day are gone, and the stores are filling up with Christmas stuff already. Thanksgiving and Christmas and Hanukkah and Kwanzaa and New Year's will soon be taking a toll on our time (and waistlines), so we're sending out the December issue a little bit earlier than usual.

First, some breaking news:

The Roger Smith Cookbook Conference will occur in New York City in February, and we'll be moderating the panel on cookbook editing (with some fantastic panelists, BTW). You can find details about -- and register for -- the event at its website.

The galleys for our latest book, Herbs: A Global History, have been proofed, and the Author's Queries have been addressed -- next comes a last-minute look-over and indexing, then wait for the book to come out on April 15th. There's going to be a kind of publication party (with dinner!) on April 30th in NYC -- and we'll post more details as they develop.

Meanwhile, we're writing another book for Reaktion's Edible Series -- this time on sausage. Which means a LOT of sausage meals here at Chez Sanscravat.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program, already in progress:

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 don't want to wear out our welcome with a lot of unsolicited blather. Speaking of which... if NPR's Susan Stamberg can trot out her mother's scary cranberry sauce recipe every year at Thanksgiving time, we can haul out our own Hoary Holiday Horror. If, after reading such tripe, you still feel inclined to experience more of that sort of hogwash, you can surrender what's left of your dignity at Just Served.

Truly impatient mortifiers-of-the-flesh can follow us on Facebook, or Twitter.

"A Quiet Little Table in the Corner" is a directory of our other writings (replete with misleading descriptions to befuddle the unwary) -- mostly on other people's sites.

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.

Since we're still in denial about this whole holiday thing, this month's quotation (from On the Table's culinary quote pages) avoids the entire subject:

"Food writing is writing full stop, and the best of it does what good writing always does, which is to create an alternative world to the one you currently inhabit."

Kathryn Hughes

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.



Are Cookbooks Obsolete?
(remember when "apps" meant "appetizers"? Julia Moskin's article in The New York Times)

Beef or Venison: Which Tastes Better?
(amusing, because there's an element of truth in the article... even if there's no such organization as "U.S. Venison Council")

Civil War Diet, The
(a master's thesis by Matthew Brennan; a PDF document)

Cook 'n' Scribble
(food writing classes with Molly O'Neill)

Dessert Dictionary Project, The
(a growing database of international sweets and desserts, by Michael Krondl, author of Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert)

Eatologies
("eating journal and scientific exercise;" easily digestible food science news)

eatology
("a closer look at the art of eating;" articles, recipes, Q&A, blog, how-to videos, consulting for restaurants, training for cooks and bartenders of all skill levels)

edible geography
(food studies articles by the new generation of food scholars)

From the Victory Garden: American History Told Through Squash
(Sarah Dickert -- a Smithsonian Gardens Intern -- writes about several heirloom varieties of squash)

Italian Salami: Italian Charcuterie
(history of Italian charcuterie, descriptions of vast numbers of regional examples, the connection between San Francisco and salami)

Mindful Carnivore, A
("Thoughts and stories from a vegan-turned-hunter;" website and blog of author Tovar Cerulli)

Night New York's Chinese Went Out for Jews, The
("How a 1903 Chinatown fundraiser for pogrom victims united two persecuted peoples;" could Scott D. Seligman's article explain the origin of Jewish fondness for Chinese food?)

Pastry Paris
(an excerpt from Susan Hochbaum's book)

Project Foodie
(blog, articles, and recipes from recent magazines and cookbooks)

You Eat Meat, So Why Not Blood?
("Chefs strive to warm up diners to the red stuff;" Chris Nuttall-Smith's article in Toronto's Globe and Mail)



Tips for Creating Fabulous Photos of Food



BTP

Cheddarbound

Dash of Bitters, A

Food Studies

Homo Gastronomicus

Hunter:Gather:Cook

Jennifer Wickes

Sustainable Eats

truffleandmushroomhunter



Except, of course, for the usual legalistic 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)...