Friday Food News

Well, I had my chat with Lynne at The Splendid Table, and you'll be able to listen to the podcast of the show by visiting splendidtable.org. She did most of the talking, of course, but I did manage to tell her that I run while I'm listening to her show, and she was duly impressed. I got the sense that she was not impressed, however, with my expedient cooking habits. It was a classic case of Average American Expedient Cook Meets Purist. (Oh, you use quick-rise yeast, not the real stuff? Hm. You're sacrificing taste. Ohhh, you mix your dough in the food processor, and not carefully by hand? Quelle horreur!) Ah well, it was still fun!

In other news, my Columbus Dispatch story on king cake is published here, and I couldn't let another Mardi Gras season go by without giving a shout-out to a tasty pre-Lenten Polish tradition, the paczki!

There will be lots of interesting food news to report after the weekend. Saturday promises to be full of pre-Mardi Gras party phone consults with my bro, who has hosted thriving bashes for years. He describes his soiree fare as Cajun and Creole, "with Mexican and hip-hop" influences, since, after all, he does live in "The D." I can't wait to hear about the menu.