HOME AND DECORATION/LIFESTYLE

Single Man’s Kitchen
By Jeremy Goodwin April 25, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

Cookbooks, Bon Appétit and chefography

Jeremy Goodwin recently returned to Houston to write a cookbook and prepare a TV series based on his Atención column, “Single Man’s Kitchen.”

People often ask me, “How do you write a cookbook?” The droll answer that often springs to my lips is, “Four pages a day.” Of course, the process is much more tiresome and yet full of discovery and interesting moments.

So here, for the first time, is the definitive way to write a cookbook.

Start by learning to cook, traveling everywhere and watching, participating and questioning everyone who has a special range of cooking skills or even just one dish passed down through the generations. Then go home and try them out, see what you would change and make up a new recipe based on the old one.

The next step is to cook the same dishes over a period of years or decades until you have fallen into the rut of being able to do it without thought. Then start the process of writing down the ingredients and quantities again, as they will have changed radically from the original. Often you will find you have variations on a theme, some quick and dirty, some intricate and for special occasions, along with some favorite shortcuts or substitutions when missing an ingredient or three. 

Now is the time to try them out on unsuspecting friends and family, probing for reactions. My most common elicited response is that it is either too spicy or needs more salt, but that is to be expected as I use little or no salt compared to many chefs and I like spicy food.

Having established the parameters that will appeal to your audience (avoiding quips about “the lowest common denominator”), redefine the recipe in final form with acceptable variants and suggestions.

During these processes I take hundreds of photographs and have filled half an 80-gigabyte drive with stills over the years. The photos are of real food and not food-stylist creations made with poster paint and sprays of glycerin. However, as many of my critics will crow gleefully, I am not the world’s greatest food photographer. The photos I take will guide the professional tasked with getting something passable for book illustrations.

It is at this point that I have a conflict with the publishing world. I do not want the photos to be inedible renderings of idealized dishes; neither my recipes nor my cooking are concerned with that. If they were, I would be making lots of money with a magazine like Bon Appétit, a publication that I have often received and almost never open.

A quick aside: On a recent trip through over-priced watch ads, abominable attempts at alliteration and out-of-focus photos of be-pearled ladies lifting glasses of vintage Bordeaux, I noticed that in front of them lay the menu for eight, consisting of seven dishes with no continuity, all requiring an hour or more of hands-on preparation with delicate last-minute touches like whisking the 10 individual pieces of softened butter into the champagne sauce. How, I always wonder, do they get time to ensure the wine is at the correct temperature and yet change into the evening clothes? The quick answer is that they never do, they just flip through the magazine pictures and give instructions to the staff or caterer and sign the check three weeks later under protest because they were unhappy that the poor chef used pre-prepared beef stock instead of making the stuff fresh the morning of the event using their favorite crappy Zinfandel.

Back to the book! One of the reasons there has been a notable lack of columns from me over the last few months is the necessity of my finishing the cookbook galleys before shooting a TV program loosely based on this column. Although the websites are not yet up and functioning, the content is being prepared and will eventually feature my books, spice mixes, cosmetics, links to sponsors’ products, TV out-takes and BBQ teams.

One thing it will not contain is my new favorite word to hate: “Chefography.” The trend I began to despise in modern art, where the pile of rotting fruit or pile of bricks could be related to the angst obvious in the artist’s biography, is now transmitting to (or infecting like a virus) the world of cooking and celebrity chefs. The world of the chefography is full of tales of years spent washing dishes and sweeping floors, or growing up so poor you had to make soup from the water socks were boiled in. In fact, your best efforts are often considered meaningless without a relevant story of hardship and deprivation. Well, been there, done that and got over it. Now cooking is a joy, a chance to travel the world of flavor without having to pay overcharges for my second checked bag.

No recipe with this column, but rather a reminder of how many flowers are easy to grow and have a place in the kitchen. Nasturtiums were a forgotten part of my childhood when we grew nothing that was not edible.

The flowers we ignored and used the young leaves in salads and sandwiches, as they have a peppery almost radish-like taste. Prolific and blooming all summer, they have only one drawback; they are not very tolerant of transplanting.

Jeremy Goodwin is an author, freelance food writer and owner of The Best Kept Secret. He may be contacted at Jeremy@dcnet2000.com. 

Words on Wine
By Patric Ellsworth

Warm weather, cool wines

It seems like a very short time ago that I was writing about cold weather and wines that would warm your insides. How quickly things change! With temperatures soaring, those full-bodied, high-alcohol reds seem less appealing.

And unless you’re wedded to the idea that beer is the only alcoholic beverage that satisfies in summer weather, it’s time to look at refreshing, lighter-style wines that can go so well with the less complicated fare that we enjoy in this season.

Here in Mexico, as in the US, chardonnay dominates the retail shelves and wine lists. Despite the meteoric rise of such wines as sauvignon blanc and pinot grigio, and the increasing popularity of relative newcomers like viognier, chardonnay still reigns. There are many styles of chardonnay available: heavily oaked, unoaked, tropical fruit, bone dry and austere are some. These may or may not match well with food, nor provide a thirst-quenching quaff on a hot afternoon. Not that I’m slamming chardonnay, but better options may be available.

Consider these three: gewürztraminer, riesling and rose. Although local availability is a bit limited, good examples of these wines can be found. Gewurztraminer (gewurz is German for spicy) is a surprisingly versatile grape which is widely grown in the Alsace region of France, as well as in California, Oregon, Washington and elsewhere. It is made in many styles, from bone-dry to very sweet late-harvest dessert wine. The classic characteristic is the assertive spicy quality, which is most pronounced in Alsatian gewurz.

Flavors of lychee nuts, as well as tropical fruits also are found. This all adds up to what can be a delightful drinking experience, whether as an accompaniment to hot and spicy Asian cuisine, mild cheeses, cold cuts or just by itself. I prefer the off-dry style, but you might opt for something with a bit more sugar. There’s no wrong answer here. The bad news is that there are not many brands sold here; however, I’ve found a very nice example for you to try.

Riesling (sometimes called Johannisberg Riesling), is an increasingly popular wine which prevails in the Saar-Ruhr-Mosel region of Germany, but which is also made in significant quantities in Alsace, Austria, California, Oregon and Washington, as well as Southern Hemisphere locations like Australia, Chile and New Zealand. Like gewürztraminer, riesling does better in cool climates, and usually produces wine with alcohol levels that are a little lower than most white wines. The most popular rieslings tend to be off-dry to very sweet. The dry-style ones are popular in Germany, but have not, as yet, fared well in other markets. Some of the flavors you may taste are peaches, apricots and honey. Dryer-style rieslings will tend to be lighter bodied than gewürztraminer and are good accompaniments for Asian cuisine, sausage, mild cheese and apples.

In the past, roses were among the most under-appreciated wines, largely because so many of the most widely distributed ones were insipid and overly sweet. Over the past several years, things have changed. Now there are many good dry to off-dry roses available from numerous producers from almost every wine-producing country. Roses are made from practically every red grape available: Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Grenache and Syrah, just to name a few. Since the color of wine comes mainly from the skins, early separation of the skins from the juice produces a lighter colored product—hence rose. The best examples will offer bright, fresh flavors of strawberries, raspberries or cherries, to name a few, and will be refreshing on the palate. Good roses are very easy to pair up with a variety of dishes: salmon, ham, chicken, cold pork, sausage, strawberries and many types of cheeses. If you haven’t tasted rose in awhile, give one a try.

In general, most of the wines mentioned above are best when drunk young. My rule of thumb is to buy whites dated no earlier than two years prior to the currently available vintage. For example, many vintage 2007 wines are now on the shelves, so I would opt for bottles dated 2005 and later. I would apply the same rule to rose. Of course, there are plenty of exceptions to this, but unless I’m familiar with the age-worthiness of wines from a particular producer, I avoid the older vintages. Many whites from the 2003 and 2004 vintages can be found at local retailers and the vintage dates are not always obvious, so check the labels carefully.

Three to try

Vinas de Vero, Gewurztraminer 2005 (Spain)—162 pesos, La Europea. To be honest, I had never tasted a gewürztraminer from Spain before. What a surprise! This wine shows many of the classic attributes of this varietal: lychees, tropical fruit and mild spice. It’s relatively rich, full-bodied and very easy to drink. We enjoyed it with goat cheese and crackers.

Los Vascos, Rose-cabernet sauvignon 2007 (Colchagua, Chile)—139 pesos, La Europea.

Lovely light cherry color with strawberry aromas and flavors. Clean, dry finish. A great food wine from the Rothschild family who owns Chateau Lafite Rothschild.

Cousino Macul, “Dona Isadora” riesling 2007 (Maipú, Chile)—102 pesos, La Europea.

Fresh, flowery aromas, followed by clean, light fruit flavors. Dry aftertaste. Terrific hot-weather wine, very refreshing. Enjoy by itself or with a picnic. 

Patric Ellsworth is a former wine broker and home winemaker who now lives full-time in San Miguel. He may be reached at patworth@hotmail.com. 

Food for Thought

And the winner is…

El Sol del Bajio reported that Andanza Restaurant in Casa de Sierra Nevada won the coveted International Star Diamond Award that the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences (AAHS) gives to five-star restaurants of pinnacle quality. The award is the most prestigious AAHS emblem of achievement in global travel and luxury services.

Executive Chef Gonzalo Martinez Cardenas and his team have developed an exemplary menu combining typical Mexican cooking and modern ingredients. He feels the creativity and passion of the Andanza staff are the reasons they won the award. The restaurant is located at Hospicio 35.

Fifty of the best restaurants in Mexico were chosen for awards this year. AAHS started giving awards in Mexico in 1998.

House & Garden Tour
By Jennifer Hamilton

A manta factory, 100 masks, 8 conchas and a carved Bacchus 

House & Garden Tour
Sun, Apr 27, noon
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
US$15 or 150 pesos
Breakfast at Café Santa Ana starting at 9am


First house. This light-filled home is nestled behind the galleries and art studios of Fábrica la Aurora. The slab floors and most of the original structure (dating back to 1904) still remain. Once a profitable manta factory, the building provided work for many of the town’s residents for over a century. The living/dining area is dominated by a huge tin mirror behind the table, a heart-shaped iron candle stand filled with votive candles and a Thai Buddha. The master suite contains huge windows on three sides and a substantial bathroom with a large Jacuzzi. Reverse-smoked mirrors add drama to an already dramatic room. Two patio gardens contain seating areas, plants and varieties of cactus, and offer unusual vistas of San Miguel’s church domes to the south. 


Second house. This former tannery was purchased in 1992 and renovated in the Mexican style. The entry has a cactus garden containing a collection of field rocks. A dining room display case shows off many fancy local specimens. The long walls of the open, well-lit interior provide ample room for gallery-like presentation of paintings by the owner and many of San Miguel’s other artists. The hallway to the bedrooms has a collection of more than 100 masks from Mexico and other countries. A patio-garden sports a fountain and impressive succulent specimens. The home also features three fireplaces and an inviting outdoor sala. On the top terrace is a studio, sun terrace and a garden house converted to a computer room and study. Over the dining and living rooms are bóvedas built in the traditional way without scaffolding. The home also has eight conchas handmade from wet concrete in the shape of a scallop shell, the emblem of St. James, patron saint of Spain.

Third house. This property was barely more than a dark, narrow space without charm, but with foresight and vision the owners turned it into an enchanting, colorful home with open space and dynamic color. A wine “cellar” entrance, with a carved Bacchus on the cantera fireplace, leads through an archway to the central patio with its weeping wall and Neptune sculpture in the center. Cantera blocks form the wall surrounding the fountain. A local artist hand-painted the stenciling in the home. The bird theme in the kitchen’s tile mural is exceptional, like the stenciling. Upstairs, an office with a terrace filled with succulents leads up to a bedroom with colors designed around the landscape quilt on the wall. The bathroom’s 3-D tiles are a knockout! A narrow corridor leads to a tiny kitchenette outside the master suite for breakfasts and midnight snacks. The rooftop terrace, with views of the Parroquia and western hills, houses the barbecue and the raised, sculpted beds of a cooking garden.