Cheap Eats

Illustration by Luba Hanuschak

A few weeks ago, the House and Home section of the New York Times featured some very creative interior design ideas from students who know how to put a room together, even when money is scarce. But it turns out decorating isn't the only thing students can do well - and cheaply.

In the stacks I found the delightful Cheap Eats: The Art Students Coloring Cook Book, a spiral bound monograph published by the Parsons School of Design in 1976. The book is filled with illustrations and recipes from Parsons students, faculty and friends. The simple black and white drawings invite readers to color in as they see fit.

The introduction reads: For students of art it is the atmosphere, the presentation, the visual temptation of the food that sets it apart from being "just cheap eats."

And while some of the recipes sound appetizing -- except for the MSG I found in a few recipes (hey, it's 1976!) -- the illustrations really steal the show.

Illustration by Karen Scheetz

Illustration by James Glenn

The Library also has an earlier Parsons project called Bread, which was chosen as one of the "Fifty Best Books of Year" in 1975 by the American Institute of Graphic Arts.

Culinary Research & Quenelles

The 42nd Street Humanities and Social Sciences Library is not an easy place to navigate.

Tomorrow -- Wednesday, October 15th -- at 3:15 PM, I'll be teaching a one-hour class on how best to get through the maze, and start one's culinary research. The class will be held in the South Court classrooms on the first floor.

Then stay for A Farewell to Quenelles: The Evolution of Restaurant Culture in New York at 7:00 PM in the South Court auditorium.

Hope to see you there!

Paris/New York Exhibit

Paris/New York: Design Fashion Culture 1925-1940, a new exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York, focuses on the French influence on New York throughout the second quarter of the 20th century, and includes some wonderful food-related content and imagery.

While much of the Parisian influence is acutely demonstrated in fashion and design, French haute cuisine came to the fore at that time as well. In an essay from the accompanying exhibition book, NYPL's own Amy Azzarito argues that the French chefs leaving Le Havre, France on the S.S. Normandie for the French pavilion at the 1939 World's Fair in Queens, acted as harbingers of the cuisine to come.

The French pavilion restaurant was one of the biggest attractions at the World's Fair, and the menu alone -- which is on display at MCNY -- is a stunning piece of art. When the Fair ended in 1940, Europe was in turmoil and many of the chefs had no choice but to stay in the States. Henri Soulé, the manager and ringleader of the World's Fair pavilion, was in the same predicament. With a nod to the success of the French pavilion, Soulé opened Le Pavillon in 1941 on East 55th Street, with many of the original French chefs in his new kitchen.

Le Pavillon became one of the most celebrated and talked about restaurants of the 20th century, as much for the food as for Soulé's infamous personality. Soulé ran the show sternly, and those he didn't like were simply not welcome. The patrician families of New York, however, frequented Le Pavillon as much as their own kitchens -- the Kennedy family being one of the most visible. But when Joe Kennedy and Soulé had a much-publicised feud, the Kennedy's took to eating at Le Caravelle instead.

The two most famous chefs to emerge from Le Pavillon -- not totally unscathed -- were Pierre Franey (who was also at the World's Fair) and Jacques Pepin, both of whom left the restaurant because of what they felt were unfair practices put in place by Soulé.

A menu from Le Pavillon (NYPL's own copy) is also on display at the Paris/New York exhibit. In addition, an abridged version of Azzarito's article is available online through Interior Design Magazine.

Lidia

It starts, as if often does, with Earl Peyroux.

Peyroux's Saturday morning show, Gourmet Cooking, was my entry way into food television. I started watching it with my family at a young and impressionable age, and thus began a lifelong love of cooking shows. While the recipes on Gourmet Cooking didn't necessarily live up to the show's name, my appreciation for Peyroux stemmed more from the unintentional hilarity that ensued in each episode: his easy hand with the salt, his ability to fumble through each segment, and his sweet and earnest nature through it all.

Then there those who followed: Jeff Smith and his Frugality (and...other things), Simply Ming, America's Test Kitchen, Daisy, Bittman, Mario, and New Scandanavian Cooking ("and by..."). But there is really only one person (to this day) who can persuade me to stop what I'm doing, even on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, to sit in front of the television for half an hour. And that woman is Lidia.

I've watched Lidia for years. While people of my mother's generation speak of watching Julia Child on PBS, I -- and others from my generation -- know Lidia. From her Italian-American Kitchen, to her Family Table, and now, to her Italy, there is no place I'd rather spend my 5:30-6:00 Sunday time slot.

Which is why I got the thrill of a lifetime a few months ago when Lidia agreed to appear with me in a video promoting the Library's culinary collections. She came to the Library to discuss Italian-American food and its importance in the culinary canon, and we shot a few scenes in the Rose Main Reading Room. Then I was invited to cook stuffed artichokes with her in her kitchen.

In all honesty, I had a moment. Standing next to Lidia Bastianich in her own kitchen (where all her shows are filmed) I realized how amazing this all was and how, despite the fact that it wasn't a Sunday (or 5:30 PM for that matter), there was really no place I would've rather have been.

The following 3 minute video was a blast to make and yes, that artichoke tasted as good as it looks. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did and a special thank you to Lidia: It was an honor and a pleasure, and a lot of fun.