The Bookshelf: Betty Fussell Wants You to Eat Your Steak Rare

by jbfauthor on September 17, 2009

The unflappable Betty Fussell graced us with her presence yesterday at Beard on Books for a rousing discussion of her book Raising Steaks and all things beef. After discussing the history of the beef industry, from small-scale butcher shops to industrialized slaughterhouses to the grass-fed future, Betty moved on to how Americans eat and think about beef. What has been the effect of industrializing the beef industry? A dulled and “timid” American palate, Betty claims. She believes we need to be re-tasting all kinds of beef from Wagyu to grass-fed, declaring that it’s time to “train ourselves to not just eat rib-eyes.” Where should we be doing this training? These days, restaurants and chefs have the best access to the choicest cuts and kinds of meat, because they can demand it. And they also can produce the best tasting meat because they have the heat sources to cook it properly. Betty implores us to order our steaks and other red meats “Rare! Rare! Nev

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Recipe: Beet and Pomegranate Salad

by jbfauthor on September 17, 2009

Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, begins this Friday at sundown. And if you are tired of the same old sweet dishes like tzimmes, apples, and honey cake, you might want to look to the East…to Israel, that is, where the influences of Jews from around the world meld into a Middle Eastern culinary melting pot. We’ll be adding this beet and pomegranate salad from celebrated Israeli baker and chef Erez Komarovski to our holiday menu. Komarovski created an artisanal bread revolution in Israel with his chain of bakeries called Lehem Erez—they continue, but he no longer owns them. Now he spends a large part of his time in self-exile on a beautiful hillside in the Upper Galilee near the Lebanon border teaching, inventing, and cooking dishes that draw on the local produce and his vast gardens. P

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Eye Candy: Beard House

by jbfauthor on September 16, 2009

Three members of Adrian Richardson's crew relax at the end of a night's work and dig into some of the pavlova that diners enjoyed for dessert. In case you missed it earlier this month, we've got the recipe right here. September 2, 2009, The Beard House, NYC (Photo by Eilon Paz)

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Food Matters: Urban Food Deserts

by jbfauthor on September 16, 2009

One might assume that fresh produce and other essentials of the human diet are easy to come by in American cities. According to NYU professor Jennifer Berg, however, the United States "is entering a new food crisis, but it’s not an issue of production, it’s an issue of access.” Jamie Feldmar has more on what it's like to live in an urban food desert.

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