ahead.

this week, the recipe (there's one every week) in new york magazine was about sheep's milk ricotta, which i blogged about almost a year ago. so awesome. like i knew a secret.

i think i am going to make this recipe one of these days. i will let you know how it turns out.

farmer in the dell.

and one day, i will compose a post just about the farmer john book. an ode, maybe. but not today.

to read.

i am a fan of cookbooks. new ones, yes, but especially old, quirky ones. dated. full of weird recipes that one cannot imagine anyone ever used. i have cookbooks for ice cream, pickling and canning, dedicated to cold dishes, and even corn. it's hard to use many of them on a regular basis. the big, comprehensive ones are best for that purpose.

this year, the james beard cookbook award went to fat: an appreciation of a misunderstood ingredient, by jennifer mclagan. i have perused this book more than once, oddly obsessed, but fully understanding that, as a vegetarian, i will never use the majority of the recipes. i love that there are sections on duck fat, pork fat, marrow.

but i digress.

i just read an article about the popularity of cookbooks and the winners of cookbook awards. the best-sellers are rarely cookbook genius, it claims. i don't necessarily even see why this article exists. we have different cookbooks for different purposes. why a person would only have one is beyond me. and if that were the case, i would choose the joy of cooking. it's so perfect; it has everything you ever wanted, and weird things, too.

but, in case you were wondering, here is my ultimate favorite:

• farmer john's cookbook: the real dirt on vegetables, by john peterson

but, i also love:

• the barefoot contessa cookbook, by ina garten
• venturesome vegetarian cooking, by j.m. hirsch and michelle hirsch
• moosewood restuarant daily special, by the moosewood collective

of course i have mastering the art of french cooking, by julia child. and the art of simple food, by alice waters. and one of the fanny farmer books. and a variety of others.

but usability wins. the fat cookbook might be spectacular, but i still LOVE the ones that i can easily understand, get messy in the kitchen, and use all of the time. and those are probably the reasons why i haven't bought the alinea book yet.

oh, mark.

i spent last week mad at mark bittman. i think he's pretty smart overall. and i really like to read his column.

but, last week, the big article on the cover of the "dining and wine" section of the nytimes section was about freezing food. if you asked my brother, he would say that the only items in my freezer are ice, butter, and homemade ice cream. i don't use a microwave, and rarely use frozen vegetables. it's a little different right now, as i have roommates, but there's still nothing in there that's mine.

mark. mark. mark. why are you suggesting making so much more than you need? and why do you think that we don't understand how to freeze items? and berries? why are we freezing berries? who buys too many berries? and a burrito? what?

i know. i freeze things, too. but why is this article on the cover of the section? there's nothing more exciting and important to teach us? i think most people can figure out that they need to put the potentially-frozen items into a ziploc bag and put them in the freezer. and not to use food that is freezer-burned.

and they're off!

my dad owned a racehorse when i was a kid. my first house was on secretariat lane. i cannot believe it took me so long to throw a party to celebrate the kentucky derby. you know, wear seersucker and fancy hats and drink mint juleps while betting on horses?! so exciting.

and, well, a themed party needs very specific food.

the mint juleps.
i had never had one before last week, much less made one. i don't typically drink a lot of bourbon, which, by definition, must come from kentucky, by the way. but, i knew i could make anything for which there is a recipe. i even watched a video.

1. make simple syrup ahead of time. boil 1 cup sugar with one cup water until it is a syrup. seal in a jar. refrigerate. it can be kept for a week or so. i also made mint simple syrup by adding some mint extract, but you can throw fresh mint in the jar as well.
2. take 4-5 mint sprigs and put them in the bottom of a glass. at the kentucky derby, they use silver julep cups.
3. add one oz. of the simple syrup and muddle it with the mint.
4. add ice. it should be crushed as fine as possible.
5. pour 2 oz. of bourbon over the ice. the official bourbon of the derby is woodford reserve, which, of course, we had just for the occasion.
6. add more mint for garnish.
7. drink.
   

benedictine.
these treats are practically cucumber sandwiches, except that they have a fancy spread to make them stand out. after i made this recipe, i put it on organic peasant bread with slices of cucumber, but you could also dip vegetables in it.

1. peel and seed a large cucumber.
2. chop a small onion.
3. process in food processor.
4. add 1 package of cream cheese and a tablespoon of mayonnaise and a dash of salt and little green food coloring. process. i know the food coloring sounds weird, but all of the recipes i researched called for it.
5. spread on bread.
   

derby pie.
i cheated here by buying a pie crust. there are only so many hours in a day! the official derby pie recipe is trademarked, so i used this one. it was pretty good, but i don't really like pecans (which just happens to be the "official state nut" of texas).

in terms of the "official" derby food, that's really it. but i also made miniature pineapple and cherry cheesecakes with vanilla wafers in the bottom. we drank pimms with iced tea and/or lemonade. i created some special mint lemonade for michelle. yes, the pregnant one. she's pretty special so she gets her own cocktail. there was also homemade hummus and fancy cheeses and chips and crackers. and chocolate-covered strawberries (compliments of april and adam). and other fancy pastries (compliments of renato and baked). i can't remember what else.

it was lovely. it might become an annual affair. except that next year, i want to go to the actual event.

by the way.

i will not be writing about the swine flu. i refuse.

may day! may day!

on may 1st, we celebrate the social and economic contributions of the labor movement, pretty much everywhere in the world except america. oh, america, what to do with your disdain of the metric system and labor day in september?

tracy and i were practicing mint juleps for my kentucky derby party this afternoon. but, that is not to say that we forgot the knights of labor, the wobblies, the triangle shirtwaist fire, or the haymarket riot.