Everything old is new again

Heirloom tomatoes and heritage pork are all the rage, writes slate.com's Regina Schrambling, so why not vintage ranges, too? In an article posted online yesterday, Schrambling revisits these old kitchen workhorses and comments on their durability, "like the 1950s Pontiacs still rolling around Havana" she writes, as opposed to "the Hummers (i.e. new commercial ranges for the home) so many cooks purchased." A great piece that has already sent me to our local craigslist listings to see if there are any Wedgewood's hiding in plain sight (please don't tell w...I can already see her eyes rolling).
wedgewood photo from slate

"Bacon Butter" and other thoughts

Assuming that you read this because you love food like I do (and I am both grateful to and afraid for you), then take a break from work...you have started to work today, right?...and check out slate.com's Food Issue. I've been able to squeeze a few spare minutes from my busy work day here at the wine shack and have been entertained so far by Jennifer Reese's reactions to Michael Ruhlman's new book "Ratios", which apparently caused her to go on a baking bender. Equally entertaining and even more inspiring is Regina Schrambling's musings on lard, whose time in the culinary limelight has apperntly come. Best part: her calling lard, which is rendered pork fat, "bacon butter". Which sounds like the best thing ever, no?

illustration from slate