List 75

Love: This ad for Lurpak Lighest butter, which is as colorful as it is fun.  What a lovely (and democratic feeling) celebration of cooking.

http://www.zillamag.com/advertising/lurpak-lightest-commercial-by-wieden-and-kennedy/

Like: The "subway" map of food culture, which floated around last year.  I'm in New York this week for work and am planning stops on the Elevated Basics line (Locanda Verde) and the Education + Global transfer station (Momofuku.)

http://www.hartmansalt.com/food-culture-analyzed/greater-food-culture/228


Discovery:  The best way to salvage a recipe disaster is to turn it into a pasta sauce.  Case in point: I tried a Tom Colicchio short rib recipe from Epicurious.  Braising the short ribs uncovered, as the recipe called for, yielded ribs that were fall-off-the-bone tender underneath the braising liquid, but brown and tough on top.  With less than an hour before guests descended for a dinner party, Erich had the brilliant suggestion of somehow transforming this mess into a pasta sauce.  By shredding the meat and putting it into a reduced, defatted version of the braising liquid (which had sherry vinegar, raisins, onions, carrots, garlic, celery, chicken broth, and herbs), and tossing it with herb pappardelle, a potential disaster became a home run.

Obsession: Diner, one of my all-time favorite movies.  This month's Vanity Fair has a piece proclaiming it "the most influential movie of the past 30 years."  I'm not sure I'd go that far, but the article has made me take a step back to appreciate just how important Diner's naturalistic banter about "nothing" has seeped into so much of pop culture.

Complaint: Top Chef is something we look forward to each week, even more so now that we've roped Stella into watching it with us.  But Pee Wee Herman as a judge?  And lame-o challenges like having to bike around town and crash a strange restaurant's kitchen?  Please, go back to it being a showcase for individual, inspired creativity and not an obstacle course.