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Round-Ups

Friday Eating and Reading

By June 8, 201831 Comments


Like the rest of the world
, I was shocked to hear the news about Anthony Bourdain this morning. He first came into my life in the 90s when Andyโ€™s urbane older brother took us to Les Halles, Bourdainโ€™s Park Avenue bistro that made me feel like such a cosmopolitan. A few years later, I read โ€œDonโ€™t Eat Before Reading This,โ€ the behind-the-scenes-at-Les-Halles essay that would become his seminalย Kitchen Confidential and it blew my mind. Not only because I learned never to order fish on Mondays, but because it was the first time I realized that food writing could be about so much more than foodโ€ฆand, also, that food was about so much more than eating. On TV, it was his entree into other worlds and cultures โ€” connecting people, nurturing people, understanding them, giving them a voice โ€” and I think I speak for everyone when I say that it was an honor to be along for the ride all those years. For those of you who want to pay tribute to a life well-lived, listen toย his interview last year on the WTF podcast. Lastly, this quote from Kitchen Confidential: โ€œFor a moment, or a second, the pinched expressions of the cynical, world-weary, throat-cutting, miserable bastards weโ€™ve all had to become disappears, when weโ€™re confronted with something as simple as a plate of food.โ€ What a loss. RIP.

What else we are eating and reading this weekend:

The 17 Best Books to Read this Summer (by trusted DALS contrib, Elisabeth Egan) Iโ€™ve already read and loved this and this.

Stop killing the magic of books with required summer reading. (Apparently, itโ€™s Liz Egan week on DALS.)

This green sauce is so up my alley. My plan is to make a jar this weekend and drizzle it on everything that comes off the grill, including vegetables.

Speaking of which,ย Iโ€™ve posted this before, but Iโ€™ll post it again because thereโ€™s been so much renewed interest on my instagram feed. This is the indispensable vegetable basket I use for the grill, and Iโ€™m not sure how I got along without it for three decades.

Make Failure Your Fuel, by Abby Wambach. (I made both of my daughters read this.)

A strawberry icebox cake that is such a great idea for right exactly now.

Hereโ€™s something fun:ย Remodelista just launched its annual Considered Design Awards and for the first time ever, thereโ€™s a Best Organized Kitchen category. Submit photos of your beautifully ordered pantries, open shelves, and drawers right over hereย and be eligible to win a $500 gift card toย Schoolhouse, a modern design and lifestyle company that I had never heard of until this morning but just rabbit-holed for the last hour. (Yes, rabbit-holed is a verb.)

Obamaโ€™s last days in office, by his Deputy National Security Adviser, Ben Rhodes.

Resolved: Iโ€™m putting everything on a bed of ricotta this summer.

Locals! Check out this awesome day of wellness and deliciousness, brought to you by the talented folks at Bon Appetitโ€™s Healthyish.

My Nate Appleman obsession continues with hisย roasted chicken meatballs.

I find this story fascinating โ€” not only because itโ€™s about a teenage cross-country runner (who weโ€™ve been lucky enough to watch at Phoebeโ€™s local meets) but because it makes you realize how hard it must be to raise a prodigyโ€ฆand be a prodigy.

LESS THAN ONE WEEK UNTIL THE WORLD CUP BEGINS, PEOPLE! Donโ€™t forget to pick up a pack ofย FIFA cards for any young soccer fanatic in your house. (P.S. How was this World Cup post by Andy eight years ago?)

I love this whole line for outdoor dining โ€” and especially these Bambino cups that double as bud vases.

Hey! Are you following me on instagram? #shamelessplug #thankyou

Lastly, Iโ€™m heading out to Seattle in a few weeks for a long weekend with 14-year-old Abby. What must I do? And who has a trick for getting me into The Walrus & the Carpenter without waiting a zillion hours? ย (Three free books for whoever can get me a 7:00 reservation. ๐Ÿ™‚ )

Have a good weekend.

31 Comments

  • Avatar Cynthia says:

    Another idea since you have a teen with you is to visit the UW campus and be sure to go into Suzallo Library (Hogwarts). Also, if Abby is the Palio gal, when youโ€™re in the U area, go to Great State Burger as they will happily wrap your burger in lettuce vs. a bun!

  • Avatar Jill Zimmerman says:

    This was a giant in the food world, he will be missed deeply by the food community

  • Mary ONeil says:

    THis caught my attention and made me appreciate Bordain all over again. Such a loss.

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