CHoWLine - Back Issues

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February 2002

February 10, 2002 Meeting

Program: "Smoke and Mirrors: Food on Film" by Lisa Cherkasky

Lisa Cherkasky is a Washington-area food writer and stylist who also has worked as a chef, researcher, recipe developer, and cooking instructor. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, her food styling appears frequently in the Washington Post and Washingtonian magazine.

Report: January 13 Meeting

For this report we are indebted to Jack and Debby Warner since the CHoWLine editor was unable to attend. Willis and Carter Van Devanter came through again with an object from their amazing store of "whatzits." It was revealed to be an egg noodle cutter.

A decision was made about the theme for our annual cooperative dinner in April, with a vote for focusing on dishes from the Middle East/Silk Road. Refreshments available before the meeting included anadama bread, drunken meatballs, and cheese bagel bread, prepared by Sally Epskamp, Dianne King, and others from recipes in our four panelists' cookbooks.

You will find summaries of the presentations of Kay Shaw Nelson, Susan Derecskey, and Dianne Hennessey King at the end of this issue of CHoWLine. Unfortunately, no notes are available from the discussion that arose about the origin of recipes and the issue of stolen recipes.

Editor's note: For those who would like to read more about the perils of cookbook writing and publishing, Ann Mendelson's Stand Facing The Stove (hardcover, 1996), about Irma Rombauer and the evolution of The Joy Of Cooking from 1931 to the 1970s, presents a fascinating account of the conflicts that can arise among cookbook authors and publishers.

Membership Directory

Our membership for this year now stands at 109 (16 households or doubles, 76 individuals, 1 organization) plus 8 subscribers.

News Of Our Members

Joan Nathan was one of the fifty Washington area people profiled in the December issue of Washingtonian in a feature titled "The Best and the Brightest."

Arthur Frank's thoughtful article about how the many meanings of the word "hunger" increase the difficulty of maintaining optimum weight and avoiding obesity appeared in The Washington Post "Health" section of January 22. Dr. Frank is medical director of the George Washington University Weight Management Program.

Sidney Mintz was one of the writers in the Post's January 27 "Book World." In his perceptive review of Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky, he also provided valuable information of Redcliffe Salaman's study of the potato, Pierre Laszlo's recent book, also on salt, and a number of other sources on food history.

Julia's Kitchen

If you would like to volunteer to work one day per week (Monday through Friday, 10 am - 3 or 4 pm) helping to unpack and catalog the contents of Julia Child's kitchen at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, NOW IS THE TIME to call or e-mail Rayna Green to tell her when you might be available. Currently the museum is planning to begin the project on February 4th, and will be scheduling volunteers for a 3-month period. It is likely that there'll be a second 3-month period, probably beginning in early May, so if you can't do it now but will be available then, let Rayna know that, too.

News From Other Organizations

June 17 - July 6, 2002: New York University is offering a 6-credit Summer Study Abroad course, "International Study in Food and Nutrition," at NYU's La Pietra estate in Tuscany. The course is designed to immerse participants in a full experience of Italian food culture and history and includes several field trips. It will be taught by Amy Bentley, assistant professor, Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, who is a food historian specializing in the politics and culture of food. Application deadline: April 1.

Food-Related Events

"Feast Your Eyes," an exhibit of 28 works in watercolor, sculpture, and photography inspired by food, opened on January 9 at the Target Gallery in Alexandria's Torpedo Factory Art Center (105 N. Union St.) and will remain on view through February 24. Hours: Wednesday - Sunday, noon - 5 pm, and until 9 pm on Feb. 14. Free.

On The Reading Table

Meeting notice, Culinary Historians of Southern California, February 2002

Newsletter, Culinary Historians of Boston, Vol. XXII, No. 3, January 2002

Food History News, Vol. XIII, No. II.

Meeting notice, Culinary History Enthusiasts of Wisconsin, February 2002

Announcement of Joan Peterson's Culinary Tour to Morocco, and her book, Eat Smart in Morocco

Presentations from the January Meeting

"Consider The Cookbook" presented by Kay Shaw Nelson

"So You Want To Write A Cookbook" presented by Susan Derecskey

Notes from Dianne Hennessey King

Dianne commented on the great enjoyment of food that drives anyone who works to put a cookbook together. She referred to "The Cookbook Closest to My Heart" list that John Thorne has compiled from the readers of his newsletter
( www.outlawcook.com) wherein people, famous or not, describe the one cookbook they would rescue in case of fire. Dianne suggested it might be an exercise that CHoW members would enjoy doing sometime in the next year. She also talked about her experience creating a cookbook for a large corporation; finding an identity when you are publishing for millions of people rather than a niche market; questions of recipe-testing procedures and reliability; and, finally, editorial integration of large staffs of home economists, photographers, and graphics designers.


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