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Nigella Bites was a British show hosted by home cook turned star, Nigella Lawson, in the early 2000s. It was very Sex and The City meets effortless chic ambient television and 20 years ago I wondered why I had such a crush on this woman. Watching it now, the recipes are a bit outdated and she uses this giant two-handed Medieval weapon to chop her parsley which didnât age well, but the overall message sheâs attempting to convey does. I yearn for a time in the food world where we werenât all so concerned with finding the next new thing to post about and could just enjoy the simplicity of things. One time I was at the now-shuttered LA restaurant âTrois Mecâ and I spotted Nigella having dinner with Anthony Bourdain. It made me wonder if they were always meant for each other, or just two old dogs from a bygone era trying to make sense of the new and confusing world of food. Plus, the handmade artwork is cute. The last era of television where people could kind of do what they wanted to do, hire their friends to help out, and not have data analytics drive the narrative.
Mar 9, 2021
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The design is nothing special and I'm not even sure it's a proper cookbook (though there are some great recipes in it) â but she writes about food beautifully, and I think learning "how to eat" will serve you better in the long run than just learning "how to cook something".
Apr 6, 2024
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Ina Garten has taught me so much about cooking, tablescaping, and making sure to use the *good* vanilla while baking. Her voice is soothing as she demonstrates how to make otherwise intimidating recipes. Iâm glad this is streaming on Max, I watched pretty much all these episodes when they first aired (Food Network stayed on in the house growing up). Plus, her Hamptons house is big goals.
Dec 28, 2023
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She isn't as cool as Martha, as quirky as Molly, or as cute as Matty, but g*ddamn if Chrissy isn't my favourite celeb cook. I rediscovered this cookbook series recently and every recipe slaps my tastebuds in a playful (consensual) way. As I write this, the smell of her Everything Bagel Cream Cheese Breakfast Bake is wafting through the house. Might make her Pineapple Glazed Short Ribs later this week.
She's not relatable at all but there's no denying these flavours!!!
Mar 31, 2024
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Bibio has been making chill electronic music for a long time. I actually donât really like any of it for the most part, but he released this record of ambient music a few years ago and itâs really stuck with me. Some of the songs are over 15 minutes long and are extremely calming and cinematic. Whenever Iâm spun out and just need to put something on, this always does the trick. Itâs straightforward ambient music that you could find from any old Eno on the shelf, but Bibâs blend of piano, pads, and strings just really put me at ease. I also always loved the juxtaposition of the artwork and title for such a calm and beautiful record. The title in all caps, the word âbrickworks,â I donât know what any of this shit means but I like it.
Mar 9, 2021
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I have a lot of cookbooks but I never cook out of them, people give them to me because they think I will like them. I have never even attempted a recipe out of this book but I love it a lot. Brooks is the chef behind NY fav veggie spot Superiority Burger, and he cut his teeth for years as one of the cities great pastry chefs. I love this book because itâs extremely readable. In between insane Michelin-level recipes, heâll have stories about his band Born Against (a band I enjoyed in high school!) touring across the world, or just Brooks letting one of his employees share a recipe for biscuits instead of making it all about him. Itâs not taking a cookbook deal as the opportunity to change his life and become the next Ottolenghi, he basically made a hardcover zine about his story and how he got to where he is. If you have someone in your life who grew up around punk music and is now old, get them this book. Theyâll form a bond with it, even if they donât know what a Kouign-Amann is. Also, the photography and graphic design are refreshingly honest.
Mar 9, 2021
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People ask me about kitchen equipment all the time, but most often itâs about a knife. People get excited about a crazy handmade Japanese blade or think they need some gnarly-ass knife to be a real chef, but unless youâre slicing sushi on a daily basis, you really donât. I got this blade as a gift from my friend Andre, and it never left my drawer. Thereâs good clearance between the handle and the blade so people with larger hands or fat fingers will have room to chop, the tip is rounded so when youâre slicing an avocado while itâs still in itâs skin, you wonât cut your hand open, spilling blood on your eggs, and there even a hole punched in the tip if youâre the kind of person who likes hanging things on the wall. Whenever I bring my knives in to get sharpened, this Mac blade is the only one that the sharpener man feels compelled to compliment, a knifemanâs knife if you will. Also, at a hundred bucks, itâs perfect for your daily driver knife, you wonât feel the need to baby it like some hand-pounded tech bro carbon steel with a dragon engraved in the handle.
Mar 9, 2021