MY LIFE IN RECIPIES- Food, Family, and Memories

Recipes by Joan Nathan

(April 29, 2024)

My Life in Recipes is new cookbook from the James Beard Award–winning, beloved author that uses recipes to look back at her life, her family history, and her personal journey discovering Jewish cuisine from around the world.

Joan is appearing with book signings across the U.S.

Tuesday, April 30 in conversation with Chefs Charles Phan (The Slanted Door) and Mourad Lahlou (Aziza and Mourad) at the San Francisco Jewish Community Center. Info here.   Dinner at Zingerman’s Roadhouse in Ann Arbor, Michigan on Tuesday, May 7;   Discussion and book signing in Pinecrest, Florida on May 15 .  Check more appearances by Joan here.

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COOKING WITH JOAN CRAWFORD

By Jenny Hammerton

(October 8, 2023)

Are you ready to sprinkle some stardust around your kitchen?

From the earliest days of Hollywood, movie stars shared their favourite dishes with fan magazines, syndicated newspapers and cookbook compilers. I’ve been collecting these film star recipes for around 25 years, and my stash now numbers over 8,000. I’m gradually cooking my way through them. Some of the results are wonderful, some are inedible, but I always get the feeling that the glamour of tinsel town is rubbing off on me when I am elbow-deep in singing cowboy chilli or mashing up some glamour girl guacamole. Continue reading

SPICE UP YOUR FOOD: A Recipe for Strawberry and Tomato Season and more

Curated and adapted by Gary Meyer

(updated September 20, 2023)

Spices from the Oaktown Spice Shop can take a very good dish to new levels.

C.J. Hirschfield wrote about Oaktown as they have adapted during the pandemic to provide their goods to home chefs around the world. EatDrinkFilms has chosen some recipes and comments from their website (plus one of our own) to get you started.

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There is a full meal starting with Bloody Mary cocktails, a zucchini salad, strawberry spaghetti, and chewy molasses cookies for dessert; plus great popcorn idea to eat while watching an after-dinner movie.

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Six California Kitchens-Recipes for Sally Schmidt’s Portuguese Duck & Sausage plus Apricot & Cherry Clafoutis

Six California Kitchens is the quintessential California cookbook, with farm-to-table recipes and stories from Sally Schmitt, the pioneering female chef and original founder of the French Laundry.

Sally Schmitt opened The French Laundry in Yountville in 1978 and designed her menus around local, seasonal ingredients—a novel concept at the time.

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NEW YEARS CHEER- A Nostalgic Look at Past New Years Through Images, Movies and Music

Welcome 2023!

We have brought back some of our favorite images, videos and music from our last version of this celebration and added new finds and fun. You will find music, food, drinks, photos and more. From Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and Ella Fitzgerald to Chuck Berry, Etta James, The Ramones, L’l Nas, Nina Simone, and watch The Grateful Dead’s New Year’s Eve 4+ hour concert to close Winterland following a collection of Dead NYE concert posters. There are superheroes, favorite cartoon characters, movie stars from the silent era onwards, comedians including Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Laurel & Hardy and the Three Stooges plus how to  countdown to midnight with Star Wars.

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Memorable and Best Forgotten Thanksgivings

Compiled by Gary Meyer (update November 21, 2022)

The Internet can be a dangerous place to find the good, the bad and the ugly. Thanksgiving as a search subject is especially rewarding.  We present a sampling, mostly from the past. We found vintage greeting cards, Hollywood stars, ads for disgusting sounding foods, awkward family photos and all around nostalgia. You won’t believe what turkeys have been put through but we hope you will laugh and be astonished.

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THE AUTOMAT–Recipes, In The Movies & More

Assembled by Gary Meyer

(Updated November 21, 2022)

The theatrical release of a new documentary by Lisa Hurwitz, The Automat, has taken me back in time with its wonderful clips from classic movies and discussions of food favorites of our youth from Baked Macaroni and Cheese, Chicken Pot Pie to Custard Cups and Pumpkin Pie. It is essential viewing for those interested in the history of restaurants in the 20th Century, the combining of technology and home-cooked meals and a trip down memory lane even if you were born too late to actually visit one. But we also cover contemporary attempts at automated food. We have included many photos, film clips, recipes, music, and related links to supplement your enjoyment of The Automat now playing in theaters and at film festivals—only on the big screen. 

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