Dear readers, it’s been a while. For going on two years, I’ve gone down the rabbit-hole on my computer. It started in earnest on Friday, March 13, 2020, as Chicago went into lockdown, gained speed during the racial upheavals of the summer, and barreled on through the presidential election and the frightening lunacy of the Big Lie…now on to the midterms. I was no longer sleeping with my cell phone next to my bed, but Putin changed that.
Besides the news, I’ve gotten lost watching cute animal videos. I click through slideshows of Hollywood starlets, in their heyday and now, before and after their diets or plastic surgery. And, of course, I endlessly peruse all the culinary websites, from scientific papers about cheese making to “Around the World with Fifty Recipes for Tomatoes”. I’ve been following the travels and new pursuits of the Pickle Queen of India, Usha Prabakaran Et cetera et cetera.
Instead of cooking, I’m collecting recipes and odd facts.
I need to get away from the screen and just make something delicious for dinner. I hope this issue of the Gazette will also propel you directly into the kitchen. The only focus is on delicious recipes for chicken thighs, with some suggestions for side dishes.
What I want from a recipe is good ideas and what many of my customers [at Kitchen Arts and Letters] call “juice”—qualities that will stimulate me to inform myself and then to adventure in the kitchen.
Nach Waxman, 2018
Zak Yasin has been the photographer for the Cook’s Gazette. A year ago, he put down his camera. It is with great joy for both of us that he picks it up again for our ongoing collaboration.
Another delicious issue. Can’t wait to get the “missing” ingredients and start cooking. Thank you Chef Lisa for sharing your culinary wisdom….
Love the Gazette! Just purchased the Japanese ingredients you recommended- can’t wait to try! XO