She has her cooks; I have my Bon Appetit magazines, more than eight of them, tilting toward the sun on a surface just above the ancient General Electric double-sided oven in Singing Wheat Kitchen.
Severson got me thinking about why this magazine has a natural place in my soul.
Take my all-time favorite issue (see above). I bought it off the rack because it had a great cover - the cheerful image of Archie and Betty, a sizzling hamburger, a simple headline, "The Good Old Summertime." Ever notice how many magazines are peppered with blurbs so thick you can't see a glimmer of trout through all that type?
Inside this issue, you find a piece on swizzle sticks. It's wonderful and nostalgic, especially since we rarely see a good stick anymore. Next page, there's a story on ice cream parlors, not just any story but a reference guide on where to find them from Hollywood to Houston.
I like the olive-basil sauce in the column "Honey, I Forgot the Guests." This is the sauce that goes on my pain l'ancienne.
In the "Desserts for Summer" spread is one of the best pies I've ever enjoyed making and finishing off, a raspberry pie. I'm also a repeat offender on the Sweet-and-Sour Pork, Wyoming Style, the Chocolate Caramel Oat Squares (which I've mentioned before) and the Baked Chili Cheese Corn from the "Rollin' on the River" spread.
You'll find flour, cumin, garlicky papers and oily finger marks all over the Cooking Class pages that describe how to make Spicy Fried Chicken - which is now the only way I make it in Singing Wheat Kitchen.
In fact, my "Summertime" issue is so caked with traces of ingredients, so dog-eared, so tattered, it should be hidden where I keep Daisy's card table linens with the embroidered Oriental lanterns. But that's the hitch, isn't it? I use it too much to hide it. I have a similar affection for the December 1999 issue with the gorgeous cranberry tart on the cover, the September 1999 issue on "The American Century in Food" and the March "Comfort Food 2000" issues with the chocolate-toffee cookies. Oh, Bon Appetit has my number, they really do. And just perhaps, here's why.
Barbara Fairchild, the Editor in Chief, explained the magazine's raison d'etre at the Roger Smith Food Writers' Conference over Valentine's Day Weekend in New York.
The magazine's credo? Classic recipes with a sophisticated twist and "approachable, approachable, approachable," accessibility, she told her audience. That means there are recipes you can handle while learning, seeing and maybe trying something new, expanding your tasteful horizons. You'll never see a recipe that's two or more pages; you will see recipes that, well let me just say, I'm staring at the chocolate-toffee cookies right now and feeling transported, just by the sight of these fudgey clusters. I can smell them baking without even trying, I think I may need to exit here and go make a batch.
At no other point in our U.S. history has food, especially good food, been so much a part of the cultural conversation as much as it is in France, Italy, Spain and Asia, Fairchild says. Many more Americans are engaged with food at all different levels, whether it's worrying about childhood obesity, getting a healthful and delicious meal on the table every night or deciding what to make when your friends gather.
This magazine provides escape and entertainment as rich as Betty's milkshake.
And from where I stir, the ingredients for a tasteful life.
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