Hi there!
This is one of those weeks: it's 2 AM, I traveled 2,000+ km in 36 hours, and I can't possibly have anything smart to say to you right now.
It's like when you get home too late, too tired, and you don't have the energy to cook anything. But let's be honest: I probably would cook something anyway.
What would you arrange, instead? <<First Name>>, don't be afraid to reply and tell me (I think I'm a grilled cheese sandwich guy).
Piero
PS: What I'm not is a pink cotton candy guy, but one of the rules of my life is "When you have the opportunity to share an Alex Webb picture, do it".
PPS: pink cotton candies reminded me of fun, one of the most underrated ingredients in kitchens.
Picture: Saint Laurent x Magnum Photos SELF7 | Alex Webb, Cotton Candy, Oaxaca, Mexico, 1990
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→ Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us (🇮🇹Italian edition here). It Starts with Us is scheduled to be published in October 2022.
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THE MISSING INGREDIENT
FLAMES, MILK FLOWERS, AND CRAZY CHAIRMEN: YES, WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT “IRON CHEF”
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Iron Chef was a legendary Japanese tv show, with many spin-offs. Now Netflix has made its own polished version pumping up all the improbable moves of the so-called Chairman (the guy in flames up here).
Whatever you think about the format, it is a must-see. I'll give a few random reasons to watch it, spoiler alert:
Mason Hereford (Secret Breakfast readers know him from his book, see issue 68, or his This Is Not Your Mother's Fried Bologna Sandwich video). In Episode 1 he shows us how vital the ingredient of fun is in cooking. He serves a stew in a bag of chips, a taco on a dinosaur, and soda guns. Top moment: the caramelization of a mustard open sandwich.
Marcus Samuelsson. He's not my go-to guy. He is an Ethiopian-born Swedish-American with a large hat that was perfect for casting, but his game was average for the show (IMHO). You have to watch Episode 2 when he says he basically had to hide his African food story for 15 years when he tried to blend in. Many can relate to that.
Episode 3 is mindblowing. The plot is you have three stars chef Dominique Crenn vs sexy chef Curtis Duffy, but what you see is more than those two. You watch her baking a Japanese custard called Chawanmushi (★recipe) served with sea urchin, then you see Duffy molding black beeswax into ice to make a serving structure. You see (camel milk?) caramel skulls and milk flowers. If you finish that episode, then please re-watch it and keep an eye on Crenn's pastry chef Juan Contreras: he's incredible, he's handling a dozen different techniques with his watchmaker's craft. Then, you're ready for the surprising Episode 4. Eyes again on Juan, if you can.
Screenshot: Iron Chef / Netflix
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I’m so excited
★★★1/2
This is my heart speaking: get Ixta's book. She saved my pandemic days at home by giving me the biang biang noodles never-fail-secret (★recipe). Her cooking is hot, but also warm, like home food, sometimes should be. She's Mexico, she's Brazil, she's the Far East in her irresistible way. Do you want to vet her? You have her vegan recipes on the Guardian page (credited as "co-author, with Yotam Ottolenghi, of Ottolenghi Flavour"), and I'll give you two ideas she developed for Maldon Salt: Roasted aubergine with mango sauce, lime yogurt, and sesame salt (★recipe) and Cinnamon cream and maple caramel layer cake with Maldon chocolate shards (★recipe).
Mezcla by Ixta Belfrage
→ Shortplot: 🍯 🌶 🍆 🥮
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RANDOM ACTS OF HUNGER
This is the space where I share some food (un)related stuff of my week
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Tammie Teclemariam / Grub Street
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Five months ago, Tammie Teclemariam got the job of dreams (and nightmares): a free pass to visit as many of New York City’s restaurants and bars as possible in 12 months. Here are 100 things she discovered for us.
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Bing bread - I just paste it from here - "it's stuffed bread that’s fried, baked, and brushed in bacon fat. It has a crispy exterior you can rap your knuckles against and hear/feel that fried crust. The bread pulls apart into fluffiness. It is filled with gooey melted white cheddar, savory scallions, tender potatoes, studded with the finest Kentucky bacon, and slathered with whipped sour cream butter". Why take it off the menu, then? To pay their workers fairly. |
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