Of Eggs and Avocados ...
San Miguel, a new cocktail, the Oscars, movies, books and links...
We’ve just returned from the beautiful colonial city of San Miguel de Allende, 170 miles NW of Mexico City. It was my first time and Ann’s first time at the writers’ conference. John Irving opened the conference, reading from his forthcoming novel, Queen Esther. And, happily, among the keynotes was
, who gave a fabulous presentation combining her memoirs and her fiction. If there is a better ambassador for the importance of writing about food, I don’t know him or her.
One of the pleasure of attending these writers’ conferences is seeing people and meeting new authors. Ann got to be with her old pal Danielle Trussoni and introduced me to a writer I’ve long been curious about, Hope Edelman, who wrote the seminal Motherless Daughters.
Above, me and Ruth, Ann and Hope Edelman.
And, of course, we had many meals over the 5-day gathering, about which I’ll write more in detail next week, but I have to mention a restaurant called Pork Belly, which features this versatile cut in multiple ways and served perhaps the best bone marrow I’ve ever had.
Above, the fried pork belly with guacamole, bone marrow, and a great big hunk of pork belly confit.
A lot of people denigrate this city for being overrun by American ex-pats. Some refer to it as Mexico light. And true, I was lucky to have lunch with one of those expats, a close, close family friend, Allie, and her daughter Lisa. We ate at a small rustic spot called Rustica. The food it served was traditional Mexican but a not single Mexican seemed to be eating there. And we stayed in an Air bnb owned by a lovely couple who live in Woodstock, NY.
But I don’t think it should be denigrated for this. It became that way because it is such a beautiful city and, for the most part, it’s enormously affordable. It remains beautiful and it was a pleasure to be shown around the center of town by the aforementioned Lisa (the hilly streets are uneven and cobble-stony—sturdy hiking boots recommended for long walks!)
Is it a deep immersion in Mexican culture? No. For that go to Mexico City, or Oaxaca, or, one of our favorites, Patzcuaro. But it was a pleasure to walk and to eat here.
The “Best” Guacamole …
Having just been to San Miguel, where we ate copious quantities of guacamole, and with the Oscars and Oscar parties coming up, a brief word on this extraordinary concoction. Because I know people get heated over this staple snack, chips with guacamole. And most of the widely varying recipes, in a random google search, are almost invariably titled “The Best.”
But mine really is! Why? Because it’s so simple and balanced, and doesn’t get fussy with diced tomatoes or chilis or even cilantro. Truly all you need for delicious guacamole is a ripe avocado and salt. It is delicious just like that. Seriously—mash it up with a goodly amount of salt and it’s a pleasure.
My only addition is to add minced shallot that has macerated in lime juice. This adds acidity, which enhances the avocado flavor, and the shallot gives it a mild kick and some texture.
Four ingredients. So if you’re having folks over for the Oscars or if you’re going to an Oscar party and must bring something, guacamole is a crowd-pleaser.
Here’s my recipe. It includes several optional ingredients, but for this one, you really don’t need a recipe beyond one tablespoon shallot in 1 tablespoon lime juice per avocado, salt to taste.
The never-ending fight to frighten us about eggs …
So I’m calmly waking up with a fresh cup of Peets Major Dickson Blend, scrolling through The Times, content with the world and my place in it, when I come across a story that raises my blood pressure, a story asking ”How safe are runny yolks?”
Fine. Fair question in the era of rising numbers of bird flu cases. CNN asked me to weigh in on the subject last June, which I did. (Bottom line, H5N1 poses no immediate dangers in eggs as of now.)
But the subhed raised actually made me mad: “undercooking your eggs poses real health risks.”
But not as mad as the reporter’s blithe claim:
Americans love eating eggs when they’re still runny, she wrote, despite the general understanding that raw or undercooked eggs aren’t good for you.
Really? Understood by whom? And based on what evidence? Is this a new “general understanding,” or is it part of a long tradition, going back 50 years, of health “experts” warning us about the dangers of eggs.
This kind of shit drives me bananas! Not only is it thoughtless, not only is this not true, it’s the opposite of true. Egg yolks in virtually every state—from raw to cooked hard—are good for you. I’ve been eating runny and raw yolks for decades without incidence and with enormous pleasure.
As I’ve long said, the egg is a miracle of nutrition, economy, versatility in the kitchen and plain physical beauty. As Harold McGee has observed, the egg contains all the building blocks needed to create life itself. Can’t say that about an onion or a steak.
Yes, the H5N1 virus is getting scary. And if we ever see a human-to-human transmission, that could signal a potential pandemic. But the virus has not been found in eggs, and one study I read suggested that the virus was too large to enter the porous eggshell.
Finally, yes, eggs are outrageously expensive today. But this is temporary. In the meantime, think of the high cost as an opportunity to recognize how valuable eggs truly are, raw, sunny side up, or hard-cooked.
Do these pics make you hanker for a perfectly poached egg? During lockdown, I and Katherine Guanche, Ann’s daughter-in-law, made a how-to video of it.
What we’re drinking …
Ann and I were recently in Key West on behalf of the library there and for an opening cocktail party the hosts, aware of my cocktail ratios book, asked if I would mix a special drink for the occasion. My first inclination, when visiting Margaritaville, was to demo a proper Margarita. The place is so awash in bad Margaritas, I thought it would be good to remind people how special this cocktail can be.
But the host requested a rum cocktail and so my mind turned to another oft-bastardize libation, the daiquiri. However, to give it a bit of spin without straying from proper method, I chose to offer one from the book of my own devising: the Sour-Orange Daiquiri. Having fallen in love with the sour orange on a trip to Cuba, and unable to find them here, I created a sour-orange hack by adding fresh orange juice to the lime juice. It is a lovely cocktail.
Sour Orange Daiquiri
2 ounces white rum
1/2 ounce lime juice
1/4 ounce orange juice 3⁄4 ounce
3/4 ounce simple syrup
1 orange twist
Combine the rum, lime juice, orange juice, and simple syrup in a mixing glass, add ice, and shake until chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe or an old-fashioned glass over ice. Garnish with the orange twist.
What we’re watching: Our Oscar hopes …
Ann and I do our best to see as many Oscar nominated movies as we can before the Academy Awards. And we’ve seen all the major ones except Dune which, neither of us particularly want to see. And we will finish our watching at IFC on Sunday watching all the shorts, which we love; you find some real gems in these.
For those of you who follow the Oscars, here are our choice to win—who we want to win as opposed to who we think will win. (I’ll be baffled if Anora gets anything, though a lot of people really liked this movie.) We think Demi Moore will win, but hers in The Substance was not the best performance by an actress.
Here are the major categories…
Best Picture
Me: A Complete Unknown
Ann: I’m Still Here (I would be likewise thrilled if this won)
Directing
Both of us: Bradley Corbet, for The Brutalist
Actress in a Leading Role
Both of us: Fernanda Torres, for I’m Still Here (far and away the best performance)
Actor in a Leading Role
Both of us: Timothée Chalomet, for A Complete Unknown
Actress in a Supporting Role
Me: Ariana Grande, for Wicked
Ann: Isabella Rosselini, for Conclave
Actor in a Supporting Role
Me: Edward Norton, for A Complete Unknown
Ann: Guy Pearce, for The Brutalist
Origina Screenplay
Both: A Real Pain
Adapted Screenplay
Both: Conclave
What else we’ve been watching …
Two animated films that are up for awards, Flow, an engaging, wordless story about a cat and various animals in a world getting covered in water, and Memoir of a Snail. The latter is a great work of imagination and illustration, a quirky Australian film about a sister and brother who are separated after the death of their father. Highly recommend both.
I watched Daddio, which takes place pretty much exclusively in a taxi cab from JFK to Manhattan. Sean Penn is the chatty, philosophizing driver and Dakota Johnson his self-possessed rider. It’s actually a two-person play with two separate dialogues going on, much of it about sex, the conversation between Penn and Johnson and the sextversation Johnson carries on with her lover (she is the mistress of an older married man). I was fascinated.
If you haven’t watched the 4-part documentary celebrating SNL’s 50th, Beyond Saturday Night, please do. It’s outstanding, each one. Especially the episode on the writers’s room and clips of famous auditioners, pre-fame.
And we just streamed Sing Sing, in which Coleman Domingo plays a convict in the prison who is the linchpin of a theater troupe composed of the prisoners. Based on a real story, it shows the transformative power of acting. Domingo, who is up for Best Actor, is outstanding, but the real star is Clarence Maclin, who plays a version of himself. He should have got a Best Supporting nod.
What we’re reading …
I’m finishing up The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley, which Ann has already written about, a time-travel love-story-thriller. Ann always loves her books so much I can’t not read what she’s reading. Here is our Promiscuous Reader with 4 more great recommendations:
On a perfect sunny day in Key West we stopped into Books and Books after a lunch of fried grouper sandwiches. I discovered Blue Marlin, a beautiful small book by Lee Smith, a longtime favorite writer of mine. Luckily I bought it because the next day had torrential rain and I got to lounge in bed and read this perfect novella. Jenny, the thirteen year old narrator, discovers her father is having an affair. It’s 1958, and hers is a world of riding her bike, reading gossip magazines with her beautiful mother, and spying on neighbors. From beginning to end, I loved every word.
“Listen to the Demi Moore memoir,” my niece Melissa kept telling me. Really? Did I care about this story at all? But Melissa, who introduced me to Ruth Ware’s thrillers and Colin Jost’s hilarious memoir, never steers me wrong. So I downloaded Inside Out to keep me company on my long walks around NYC. Well, friends, it turns out I am indeed interested in this story. Moore reads about her dysfunctional childhood and rise and fall and rise again to fame in her iconic raspy voice. All I can say is: take Melissa’s advice and listen to the Demi Moore memoir.
I was so excited to receive galleys of my friend Eliza Reid’s debut crime novel Death on the Island. Eliza is the former First Lady of Iceland and she knows all about that beautiful, intriguing country and the diplomatic life, all of which comes beautifully to life here. An international group comes together in a tiny village off the coast of Iceland, a storm rages, and someone is murdered. The perfect recipe for a whodunnit. I gobbled the whole book up on our flight to Key West. Preorder available.
The title itself of Polish Nobel prize winner Olga Tocarczuk’s mystery pretty much captures the dark tone and quirky point of view: Drive the Plow Over the Bones of the Dead. It’s winter in a remote village in Poland and cranky, reclusive Janina’s neighbor is found dead. Soon, more bodies are found and she inserts herself into the investigation. The story reads like a fairy tale, full of woodland creatures, astrology, and bones. Completely hypnotic.
Thank you,
! As ever.Links we’ve been loving …
There’s a new Paddington movie out, which we hear is serviceable, but it doesn’t come close to the extraordinary Paddington 2. Here’s why we can’t stop talking about it.
I mentioned Clarence Maclin’s exceptional performance in Sing, Sing, playing the prisoner he once was. Here’s his story. (The Guardian)
The rising cost of ordering shrimp cocktail at America’s high-end restaurants. (The Times)
I’ve been trying to arrive at a great contemporary beef stroganoff recipe, so I was fascinated by this very simple version from James Beard. (Saveur)
Cinnamon buns: the anti-croissant.
Read this interview with great, reclusive novelist, Ann Tyler. (The Guardian)
Also from the Guardian: What does it mean that fish can tell people apart?
CNTraveler has some great new places to travel to.
And finally …
With the Oscars approaching, watch this great number Kristen Bell delivered at the Screen Actors Guild Awards—an ode to acting with clips of stars and their first appearances on the screen.
That’s all for this week! All comments welcome! Paid subscriptions welcome, too! And of course, if you liked this newsletter, we’re always grateful for *hearts*. Thanks for reading!
—Michael
@Michael, over the years you've inspired me to cook, not so much through your recipes - they're bedrock in my home cuisine - but from reading between the ratios and recipes. It's from these passages that I learned to add a little of this or pair with a little of that. You've no doubt heard the likes of this many times from your readers. There's something else that I wanted to tell you. Your stories nourish my love for reading! I've found myself walking the streets of San Miguel and roaming the countryside in southern France (on more than one occasion). I've never been to either place, or many of the places about which you write, but I know the sights, sounds, foods, charcuterie, meat pies, and wines! I'm convinced that I can imagine the sounds of laughter, crackling bread hot from the oven, scraping of sauté pans on the hob, and warm conversation, wandering and intriguing. Thank you for writing this blog and all of your books. Most of all, thank you for nourishing my creativity!
Re: books, have you had the pleasure of reading Jeffrey Steingarten's "The Man Who Ate Everything"? It is hilarious and filled with valuable food-related research. I read it years ago but recently got a free audio download. It's as good the second time as the first.