The COVID lockdown has been isolating and sometimes lonely. My days are mostly spent with my enthusiastic, yet strangely tongue-tied wonder dog; the ever-patient Luke, who herds me from room to room until he finally positions me in front of the box of dog treats, or into the car for the short drive to his favorite twice-daily walk destination. He is strictly apolitical, although I think he will like the Bidens, who will understand the concept of frequent dog treats. He hasn’t had much to say about books or movies or even Bridgerton. He is napping right now, just a few feet away from me. He is a comfort and is an abiding presence, but he doesn’t contribute much to the conversation.
When we are going through our daily paces, and adding up the 10,000 steps, I rely on various podcasts to keep me company. Some days I only listen to Slate Magazine podcasts. There is nothing like a brisk half hour spent with Mike Pesca and The Gist to get me going in the morning. His lively take on politics and world events is always clear-sighted and trenchant, and yet, hilarious. Considering how complicated, and pared-down, our lives are right now, it is good to turn to an intelligent interpretation of complicated and intimidating world scenarios. https://slate.com/podcasts/the-gist And the man who would hire the Pizza Rat performance artist to help him propose marriage surely has a lively range of interests.
For pop culture I adore the cheerful folks at NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour. I would love to have Linda Holmes and her dog stop by for cocktails when this is all over. She is gentle in her criticisms, and is jolly and positive about almost everything. If she likes a television show or a YA book or another movie that has gone straight to Netflix, I add it to my list. And recently the show has gone from weekly to a five-day-a-week format. Good news! https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510282/pop-culture-happy-hour
I have never been good at keeping up with popular music, even back in the day when I was buying physical albums or cassettes. So imagine my surprise when I stumbled onto Jessie Ware’s podcast Table Manners. She is a pop singer who has gained world-wide popularity for the weekly food podcast that she does with her mother, the ever-charming Lennie. https://www.jessieware.com/podcasts/ They chat up foodies, pop stars, film directors, actors, and activists all while drinking cocktails, cooking food, eating Friday supper, or Christmas nibbles, while talking about school lunches, life and food during lockdown, favorite restaurants they can’t wait to revisit, desert island meals, and favorite childhood meals. You will learn lots, all while being disarmed by the hilarious Wares.
The Slate Culture Gabfest podcast is among my faves, I must admit. I’ve been listening to them for about 10 years, so theirs are the voices of old and trusted friends that I have in my head every week. https://slate.com/podcasts/culture-gabfest Julia Turner, Dana Stevens and Stephen Metcalf are the three erudite personalities who discuss books, art and culture, signage, silent movies, Kant, Need A House? Call Ms. Mouse!, music, nutmeg, Phoebe Bridgers and recently, coq au vin. And I have lifted the coq au vin for this week’s Food Friday, oh patient Gentle Reader.
Dana Stevens mentioned that it was her family’s tradition to prepare coq au vin for Thanksgiving instead of the predictable roasted turkey. She waxed poetical about the cooking aromas that wafted through their house all day, and what a lovely meal it was to share, with friends, by candlelight. (And very kindly she shared their recipe with me on Twitter – the internet is just amazing, don’t you think? https://www.cookstr.com/recipes/coq-au-vin-5 )
We couldn’t have any friends for Christmas dinner, but we did have lots of candles, and coq au vin is what we prepared. As this is going to be a long, cold winter, I suggest you cook it one weekend. It fills the day with cooking activities, and warm companionable time in the kitchen. I was the observer while Mr. Sanders cooked the bacon, cut the bird apart, dredged and browned the chicken pieces, sliced and diced the carrots and onions, trimmed the parchment paper, and braised the bird.
I did make the mashed potatoes for our starchy side dish, and I baked a flourless chocolate cake for dessert, so don’t think I was a total lazy git. But it is always nice to settle back and watch someone else do the cooking, don’t you think? Thank you, Dana Stevens. It was a delicious meal, and maybe we will have a new coq au vin tradition.
“If you think about a Thanksgiving dinner, it’s really like making a large chicken.”
Ina Garten
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