Reading Material: 11.25.20

It’s a long weekend. You’ll need things to read.

Thanks to Audubon, take in the glorious beauty of the Ocellated Turkey.

At Eater, The True Cost of Keeping a Restaurant Open During the Pandemic. A financial (and unemotional) look at what the true hard cash cost of running a restaurant during the pandemic and the losses incurred.

At SheKnows, Martha Stewart Shares Her Rules For Making The Perfect Pie Crust. Martha makes pie crust with Betty White. What’s better than that? While I’m fairly anti-food processor and all for making it by hand (better flakes, less chances of over mixing), I 100% agree with this: “I have a rule Betty: you make it cool [the pastry], and you bake it really hot.”

In Spanish: I was an extremely hot and dry summer in the Sonoran Desert, and it seems the internet is spreading the rumor of a chiltepín shortage. This lovely Sonoran man is here to show you otherwise. Just in case you’re wondering, a one pound bag of these spicy genetic mother of all chiles will set you back between $200 and $500, depending on if you are buying farmed or wild harvested. If you’re looking for wild chiltepin, head to Facebook Marketplace.

At LitHub, On the Extravagance of Mark Twain’s Family Dishes. Writer Melissa Scholes Young shares her Thanksgiving experience while in residence at the home of Mark Twain’s sister in law. Fancy dishes and porch music in the cold hills of New York.

From The Salt at NPR, Trove Of Recipes Dating Back To Inquisition Reveals A Family’s Secret Jewish Roots. As someone who doesn’t come from recipe writing families (write down family recipes people!), finding a giant stack of family recipes dating back to 500 years of crypto-Judaism would be nothing short of a miracle. Once again, write down family recipes people!

At GastroObscura, In Sydney, a Cafe Serving Aboriginal Food Brings Comfort and Challenges. Pepperberry-seared kangaroo carpaccio and crocodile ravioli sound good to me, and I am delighted at restaurants that spotlight suppressed native ingredients and gastronomic traditions.

If you’re looking for a melting pot of cheese knowledge ( I do not apologize for my awful puns), head over to The Cheese Professor, and learn all about pairing dry ciders with cheese.

At Bitter Southerner, Raising Cane. The American South is made of sugar, and the days of sugar farmers are long. Follow along from sugar cane fields to refining. Most fascinating, it takes a well trained human eye to determine when the reduced sugar syrup is ready, not a fancy thermometer. Now I feel better about never using a candy thermometer when making caramel.

And finally, at The Atlantic, Some Practical Thanksgiving Tips From a Professional Chef. Size down, simplify. Better yet, be like me and say ‘Um, I’m Mexican,’ and leave the cooking for the American husband. Ribs and grilled pineapple, no turkey.