Yet another year—full of fantastic food and food writing—has come and gone here at From Plate to Palate.
And yet again I’m grateful to all the awesome contributors and their thoughtful writing in addition to the gracious readers who stop by to get their monthly foodie fix. Because of you, dear writers and readers, my faith in food goes stronger every day. Food is the ultimate common bond.
Whether it be plump tomatoes so beautifully described in Bryan Gattozzi’s and Melissa Askren Edgehouse’s essays or the “jar of pickled okra, still unopened” from Kate Northrop’s prose poem about her mother’s refrigerator, food is a necessity that nourishes our bodies and provokes our intellect.
Take for instance the February issue dedicated to fast food. As an ardent “no-go-er,” Arielle Greenberg shares her philosophies on why fast food isn’t good food while Anna Daly Kauffman contrasts fast food’s lack of nutrition with its ability to emotionally console. Throw in one of my favorite former students, Lin-Z Tello, and her recipe for a homemade Chick-Fil-A Sandwich, and we’ve got ourselves yet another level to consider about fast food. The differences and similarities between these essays alone validate that food writing is something more than didactic; it’s diverse and rich with entanglements between self, society, and nature.
But for all of its tensions, explicit or not, food writing brings folks together and food writing enacts a wide variety of literary devices and styles, much like a potluck. In fact, when I called for submissions for a potluck (submit-anything-about-food) issue, I was extremely nervous I wouldn’t have enough contributors to make the issue. As is the fate of almost all potlucks, Elisa Gabbert & Kathleen Rooney, Gregory Byrd, and Katherine Willis Pershey were there, their pieces perfect like the dishes at the potluck you get thirds of and demand the recipes for.
The December Holiday issue was another one I’m particularly proud of, especially because my mom, mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, and really great friends came together to make this issue special with some of the best holiday food. As a vehicle, food transports us into tales about family traditions or a few doggies that just can’t seem to ever get their fair share of holiday birds.
Speaking of dogs, it wouldn’t be a proper year at From Plate to Palate without an issue dedicated to our food-loving four-legged (and one eight-legged) friends. From Callista Buchen’s perpetually hungry guinea pigs to Stephanie King Strickland’s unique cat with a sensitive stomach, I am amused by hold that food has over our pets. In fact, almost every single time I’m in the kitchen cooking or in my office writing about food (like right now!), Bleu, our black lab, is with me. He, and all of the animal friends featured in Connotation Press, deserve to be represented as food lovers too.
One chef’s food that can make me salivate like Pavlov’s dog is Top Chef-testant Chef Valerie Bolon’s. I said it before and I’ll say it again: “Her grilled Colorado lamb loin with bacon braised mustard greens, rhubarb jam, and foie gras red wine sauce probably remains one the few dishes I have found so irresistible that I actually savored it. Usually I devour food, but I ate that lamb so slowly I imagine it was painful to watch.” Having the opportunity to do yoga with and then interview Chef Valerie was probably the highlight of my year. For someone so petite, Chef Valerie really knows how to kick butt in the kitchen and on the yoga mat.
The other issue that really resonated for me was the May issue on food writing. As food writing gains popularity and finds its way into hybrid texts (think memoir meets cookbook), it’s interesting to see how artists, such as Salli Swindell, and food bloggers, such as Kate Graham and Elizabeth Eckel, are navigating this rapidly changing genre. Having the opportunity to publish alongside these fine writers means the world to me.
One frustration I always face as a writer is conveying my appreciation; I never feel I fully articulate how much I value those who support me. There is a team of frequent contributors who helped me through this year, and without whom I couldn’t have survived as Food and Wine editor/teacher/tutor/administrator/wife/friend/etc. Thank you, Kristin Abraham, Karen Babine, Cal Freeman, Arielle Greenberg, Arlan Hess, Andrea Iglar, Jeannie Kidera, Sarah Lenz, and F. Daniel Rzicznek; I owe each of you a year’s worth of homemade dinners served on my Kate Spade fine china. Also, I am so grateful for Ken and the whole staff at Connotation Press; it’s an honor to work with such dedicated artists. In an attempt to show food narratives from even more angles, From Plate to Palate is going Web 3.0 this upcoming year. Be sure to tune in and see what juicy changes we’re serving up here at From Plate to Palate.
