This is my latest Food & Drink column in the winter issue of the Ojai Quarterly magazine. Sadly, I was too busy eating or taking pix, I didn't get pix of all the food or of Ruth signing her new book.
THE BOOKS OF RUTH
Lunch With Ruth Reichl
I love to eat.
Cooking? Not so much. But I do love to read cookbooks. Well, not really “read” as I barely scan the
recipes, it’s the pictures of food that tantalize my tongue… how that food is
plated, the dishes used – you know, “food porn.” Of course, I then show these pictures to my
husband, who does love to cook, and ask him to work some culinary mojo.
I first met six-times James Beard Award winner Ruth
Reichl (virtually) when my husband brought home “The Gourmet Cookbook,” her massive
tome with the heft and weight of a family bible. The comparison is apt, since
it became his cooking bible.
There are no pictures, but I’ve salivated over every meal he’s made from
that book and took my own pictures. In
the past, I had often thought of writing about food, but I was a political
satirist and wrote comedic essays and scripts for TV. Food writers seemed to take their craft quite
seriously… that is until I discovered the Book of Ruth.
My second virtual introduction to Ruth took place when
my book group chose her 2001 memoir, “Comfort Me with Apples.” I fell in love with her conversational
writing flare that recounted how she became a food critic. Her travel adventures that focused on the
world’s cuisines were funny and informative.
I was so inspired by her stories that I started a food blog. Ruth showed me that writing about food can be
fun, often “tongue-in-cheek,” even tongue-in-cheeky. I saw how it was possible to pen a mini-memoir
about a homecooked meal or a restaurant dinner that made readers relate. So, when I read that Ruth was going to do a
book signing at a luncheon at the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa’s Farmhouse, I begged
and pleaded with my publisher/editor (strategic tears in my eyes) that the
Quarterly send me to cover the event. OK,
no tears (poetic license), but he agreed.
That was all that mattered.
The Farmhouse is a twenty-million dollar food event
venue with a huge barn-like structure that houses a large “open to the room” working
kitchen and space for many tables, plus lovely grounds that can host all sorts
of parties, from weddings to masked balls (that is, if anyone still does masked
balls).
Inside the barn, folks were mingling while sipping
fine wine and nibbling on pink deviled eggs..
... buckwheat blinis with salmon roe......
... and tomato gazpacho passed on trays by Farmhouse servers.
Internationally known chef and author Nancy Silverton,
an old acquaintance of mine from my LA days, is one of the Farmhouse’s culinary
ambassadors, so I was excited to see her at the luncheon to introduce her old
friend, Ruth, and to mingle with the guests.
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| Nancy Silverton & Ruth Reichl |
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| Nancy & Bret Bradigan, my publisher/editor |
Ruth briefly talked about her time
at Gourmet Magazine and why writing “Save Me The Plums” about that era of her
life, was important to her… how the publisher, Conde Nast supported her vision
and never micro-managed, giving her carte blanche to push the food magazine
envelope… a freedom given an editor that few, if any, publisher allows today. She rewarded that trust by straddling the
fence, continuing to give old subscribers what they wanted while bringing a new
approach to the magazine that would garner new subscribers. It was also important to her that this new
book clearly demonstrate that women can be mothers while having a challenging
career.
During the Q&A after her brief
talk, Ruth was asked… “If given the choice, what would be your last meal?”
“A meal that never ends,” she replied
with a smile.
We then started our family-style meal.
Bowls and plates of hummus, a Moroccan salad,
broccoli rabe bruschetta, and borscht salad almost magically appeared on the
table...
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| Moroccan salad |
 |
| broccoli rabe bruschetta |
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| borscht salad |
along with bottles of 2017 Dampt “Cote de Lechet” Chablis Premier Cru.
While I wandered through the barn
taking pictures, serving plates with new dishes arrived, filled with Pollo alla
Diavola (Devil’s Chicken an intensely seasoned burst of flavor), grilled sea
bass with salsa verde, spicy Tuscan kale, and corn pudding. Bottles of 2017 Domaine Marc Roy Gevrey-Chambertin
Pinot Noir also arrived. But, by the time I returned to my table, the sea bass
was gone. I made up for it by having two helpings of the Devil’s Chicken.
Of course, no luncheon is complete
without dessert and we had two choices, luscious strawberry shortcake or a totally
tarty “tart lemon tart.”
It was time for the book
signing. I wanted to tell Ruth how much
she has meant to me as a food writer.
How she influenced my approach to food writing. How she makes me laugh (and hungry) when I
read her books, but the book line was too long, so I just said that I was a fan
and thanked her for coming to Ojai.
As the holiday season is upon us, I
had planned to leave you with a favorite Ruth Reichl holiday recipe from The
Gourmet Cookbook, but as I was reading “Save Me The Plums,” what could be more
perfect than her Thanksgiving turkey chili, a dish she and her staff made as a
thank you for rescue workers at Ground Zero?
Ruth Reichl’s Thanksgiving Turkey
Chili recipe:
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
3 canned whole chipotle chilies in
adobo
1 bottle dark beer
2 pounds tomatillos (husked, rinsed
& quartered)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 large onions, chopped
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, finely
minced
2 jalapenos, diced (if you don’t
like heat
remove the seeds)
3-1/2 pounds ground turkey
1-1/2 cups chicken broth
8 large cloves of garlic, peeled
but left whole
Salt
1 bay leaf
2 cups cooked white beans
1 4-ounce can diced green chili
peppers
Cream sherry
Balsamic vinegar
Sour cream
Directions:
1.
Toast
the cumin seeds in a dry skillet until they’re fragrant. Allow to cool, then grind to powder.
2.
Puree
the chipotle chilies with the adobo.
3.
Put
the beer into a medium-sized pot, add the tomatillos, bring to a boil, and turn
the heat down to a simmer. Cook for
about 5 minutes, until the tomatillos are soft.
Strain the tomatillos (reserving liquid) and puree in a blender or food
processor. Pour back into the pot with
the beer.
4.
Slick
the bottom of a large casserole with a couple of tablespoons of oil, and sauté
the onions until they’re translucent.Add the cilantro, oregano, jalapenos and cumin and stir for a couple of
minutes. Break the turkey into the
mixture and stir until it just starts to lose its raw color. Add the pureed tomatillos and beer, the
chipotle puree, the chicken broth, and the garlic, along with a couple of
teaspoons of salt and the bay leaf, and simmer the mixture for about an hour
and a half.
5.
With
a large spoon, smash the now-soft cloves of garlic and stir them into the
chili. Add the white beans and diced
chili peppers and taste for salt. At
this point I like to start playing with the flavors, adding a few splashes of
cream sherry, a bit of balsamic vinegar, or perhaps some soy sauce or fish
sauce. Heat for another 10 minutes.
6.
Serve
with sour cream.
Serves 8
