Four people find this blog, which features post titles as erudite as "Miso horny," "Hot for coq," and "Schwepped away," intellectually rigorous enough to merit a Thinking Blogger Award. Clearly my titles are not yet childish enough. That, or they really appreciate sophisticated wordplay.
Yes, somehow we've been nominated four times for the Thinking Blogger Award, which is not so much an award as a meme. The purpose of the meme is to identify five blogs that make you think. I was first tagged by cookiecrumb, author of I'm Mad and I Eat. As both a food and politics junkie myself, I love the way she mixes well prepared food, thoughtful analysis, and political dialogue in her blog. And she owns a dog.
That was just the start, apparently. In the past two weeks I've been tagged three more times. First Brilynn -- who has taste so superb she named her blog Jumbo Empanadas, after one of Toronto's best cheap eats -- tagged us. Kitchen Wench then followed suit. Her blog is entirely new to me, but she makes profiteroles with vanilla cream and macarons, so my attention is now piqued. Last, but not least, I was nominated by Danielle of Habeas Brulée, who has earned my eternal devotion by creating an exemplary version of Alinea's creme brulee spheres spiced with cardamom.
So, without further ado, here are five blogs that make me think:
1. Grocery Guy -- Tom and A-Train make me think and laugh, which is about as good as it gets. Tom's acerbic style is the perfect antidote to the saccharine writing found on some blogs. I love his series on preparing dishes, like creme brulee, using ingredients purchased exclusively at New York City bodegas, and his side-by-side comparison of grass-fed versus Megamart steak is unadulterated genius. A-Train's writing is every bit as good. The first time I read Grocery Guy, I stumbled upon her skewering of Frank Bruni's review of the Penthouse Executive Club (yes, that Penthouse). I was hooked.
2. Ruhlman -- What's to say, really? Is it any surprise that a thoughtful, eloquent writer of cookbooks and food literature produces an equally compelling blog? I became familiar with Michael Ruhlman's writing through The Making of a Chef, Charcuterie, and House, three books I adore. After reading House, I cannot, to this day, roast a chicken without being reminded of its special significance to him as a potent symbol of family life. As an added bonus, Ruhlman's blog includes posts from his friends, including Tony Bourdain, who uses a great deal of digital ink excoriating his one-time employers at Food Network. I'd also like to add that Michael Ruhlman is one of many people who stood by my side during the controversy over deep fried rabbit ears. For that, I am very grateful.
3. Ms. Glaze's Pommes d'Amour -- I owe my discovery of this blog to Elise, from Simply Recipes. She steered me to this blog because of a post, video included, about cleaning and butchering wild hares for service in a restaurant. But not just any restaurant. This blog is written by a wonderful young chef working at Guy Savoy, a Michelin three star restaurant in Paris. If you've ever hoped for the inside scoop on life in one of the world's premier kitchens, look no further.
4. A Hunger Artist -- Those of you already familiar with The Making of a Chef or Ruhlman may recognize Bob del Grosso as an instructor at the Culinary Institute of America from the former, or as a part-time contributor to the latter. I know him as a dedicated teacher and student of food and dining. I am thrilled to discover that he's now started his own blog, and I wish him much luck and look forward to hearing more from him as he develops his voice in a forum that is uniquely his own.
5. The Wages of Wins -- Man cannot live by bread alone, especially this food blogger. If I'm to thrive, I need sports, preferably large doses of Toronto Maple Leafs hockey and Toronto Raptors basketball. When it comes to basketball, there is no blog I enjoy more than The Wages of Wins. This blog, written by three economists, expands on ideas first elaborated in an eponymous book. The underlying idea is simple: that the tools of economics can be used to evaluate the performance of professional athletes, particularly basketball players. Think of it as Moneyball meets Freakonomics. I think of it as just plain fascinating.
Since I'm already meme-ing, I thought I'd provide some extra bang for your buck by adding five things you didn't know about me. No one tagged me for it, but I've really enjoyed learning about other bloggers, so I thought I'd share a little something about me.
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