Xmas Eve Shoutouts

Two Quite Random & Unrelated Christmas Eve Shoutouts

If you’re a foodie, you already know who Amanda Hesser is. A former NY Times food writer and current publisher of the best food blog in the land—the mighty Food 52—Hesser has to her credit James Beards award for both The Essential New York Times Cookbook and The Cook & The Gardener. The latter is a lyrical account of her year as a cook at a French estate, over the course of which she gradually befriended a cranky gardener who was disarmed by what a brilliant young cook could do with his produce. It’s a beautifully illustrated and typeset book featuring amazing seasonal recipés by month as well as vivd, poignant and occasionally cheeky narratives.

With a grant from Les Dames d’Escoffier, Hesser learned her craft in bakeries and restaurants in Switzerland, Italy and France. She lives in Brooklyn with her hubby and 3 kids these days, and maintains the following credo:

If you cook, your family will eat dinner together.
If you cook, you will naturally have a more sustainable household.
If you cook, you’ll set a lifelong example for your children.
If you cook, you’ll understand what goes into food and will eat more healthily.
If you cook, you’ll make your home an important place in your life.
If you cook, you’ll make others happy.
If you cook, people will remember you.

One the other end of the qualitative spectrum, I’d like to thank Eric Cantor for providing fodder for us such inspired parody. In The New Yorker‘s Holiday Letter From John Boehner, the Speaker asks “what will life be like under Speaker of the House Eric Cantor? Well, he’s the guy who recommended cuts in disaster funding just hours after tornadoes hit Joplin, Missouri. Nice.”

There’s also a satirical Tumblr site devoted in its entirety to the Republican Majority Leader.

The Mudflats thanks Ms. Hesser and Mr. Cantor for their respective contributions to our culture, and wishes both the happiest of holidays.

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