Category — Books that Cook

Rod Sterling's Martini

So happy to have been asked to participate in the virtual dinner party for Judy Gelmans “The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook.” More than just a companion book for a television show (check out my AP story on those), the cookbook is a fantastic work of culinary anthropology. Judy not only tracked down the history on dishes like “California Dip” — aka: Lipton onion soup and sour cream — but she also excavated original recipes from Sardis, the Grand Central Oyster Bar and other places that Don Draper and his mad mad men hang out.

I made three items for the party: Roger Sterling’s signature Martini (which I’m sipping right now, thank you very much), California Dip (who doesn’t need chips with a drink?), and Trudy’s Roast Chicken.

I confess I haven’t been a devoted Mad Men fan, but when I did catch an episode it usually involved Trudy and Pete and their struggle to have a baby. My husband and I also went though this, and we DID wind up adopting – from the very same town in India where my husband was born (shopping the memoir, Mango Season, even as we speak.) And even though things got really rough a few times, he never threw a chicken. Maybe a pen or a few harsh words. But never food. Then again, if this one isn’t cooked properly….

Trudy's Roast Chicken

I made the California dip because I actually REMEMBER it from my childhood. My mom is an inveterate snacker, and potato chips with onion dip is her vice. It was always in the house (note: my husband is lactose intolerant, so I subbed greek yogurt for sour cream. Worked like a charm.) But UTZ chips — the famed account of the ad agency — those I didn’t discover until I moved to DC.

California Dip+ UTZ chips!

I made the martini because…I don’t know. It’s Sunday? And I love martinis.

Going to go eat the whole shabang now! Come catch me and many other bloggers on Twitter at 8pm, hashtag #PartyLikeAMadMan

Tart whole pigeon peas

Everyone knows you can make a great beef stew or chicken soup or chili in the slow cooker. But fabulous Indian dhal? Moorish-flavored French meatballs? C’mon. Please check out this piece I wrote for NPR.org this week about the ethnic glories of the slow cooker. Next up: I want to make stuffed grape leaves in it. Will let you know how it turns out.

We know Jacques Pepin — or as I can’t help calling him, The Great Monsieur Pepin — as a master culinary technician, the cookbook author and public television personality who taught millions of American home cooks and scores of professional chefs how to sharpen a knife, break an egg and, just for fun, remove the bones from a whole chicken (a trick he performs in less than a minute)

But there’s another story, one that almost never gets told. It’s about how he — and his food — became American. Please check out this piece at NPR.org.