Watching What We Eat :: Author Blog

Long live Dione Lucas

katco — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 18:08:25 +0000

When I devoted nearly a whole chapter to Dione Lucas in WWWE, I thought I was pretty heroic, resurrecting this once-popular but long-forgotten TV host from the archival dust pile. Of course others had written about her – Laura Shapiro and Noel Riley Fitch spring to mind – and maverick viewers of the early TV Food Network might have seen clips of her 1950s show, but most people still didn’t know who she was. I’m happy to say that I feel a bit of a Dione revival afoot. When I was at the Northeast Popular Culture Association conference in November, Madonna Berry was scheduled to present “Dione Lucas and Post-World War II Domesticity” (unfortunately, the talk was canceled). And in the Winter 2011 issue of Gastronomica, antiques journalist Jeanne Schinto published “Remembering Dione Lucas.” Schinto’s article is full of rich details about Dione’s life and character (Schinto, too, spent lots of time at the Schlesinger Library mining Dione’s papers) teaching me even more about this fascinating woman. Australian researcher Jillian Adams is focusing on Dione for her dissertation, and I have another article about her that will appear in the Fall issue of Camera Obscura: Feminism, Culture, and Media Studies. You get the idea that she’s well worth getting to know.

Attn. shoppers!

katco — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 01:49:16 +0000

You thought you could finish all your shopping by Dec. 25, which, incidentally, is less than one week away? Hah! And no time to shop this week? Fret not. You can still have a copy of Watching What We Eat delivered to you or the cheerfully decorated doorstep of your loved one with time to spare.

Have a happy holiday season!

Merci! Salamat! Shukriya! Dziekuje!

katco — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 09:23:41 +0000

Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog and – I presume? – for buying or borrowing and reading Watching What We Eat. You can see that I have not been updating in a while, but I love the design of this blog so much (courtesy of the talented Brett Heckman) that I just can’t let it go. And just maybe I’ll have something to post every now and again. So keep visiting! Because I still like to look at the Google Analytics reports to see from whence my visitors cometh – all over the world, it turns out. Since April 2009 the top ten locations (excluding North America) were the UK, Germany, Australia, France, Philippines, Italy, Spain, India, Netherlands and Poland.

Ciao! Eet smakelijk!

The cacio e pepe I am about to eat in Rome

Come to the (Long) Island

katco — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 15:24:00 +0000

Dear Suffolk County people,

I will be talking about Watching What We Eat at the Sachem Public Library* on Monday, March 14 at 7pm. It would be lovely to see you there!

Yours truly,

Kathleen

* which began as an 18-book women’s suffrage collection in 1914 and is now one of the largest school district libraries in New York State

Who is food TV for?

katco — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 18:34:32 +0000

That’s the title of the panel that I’ll be moderating next. Sat., 2/18, as part of the IACP regional conference. Panelists will be Allen Salkin, Troy Patterson, Sara Moulton, Peter Naccarato and Katie LeBesco. It’s not too late to register. The conference itself is 2 days long and boasts a fantastic line-up of interesting topics and people. Take a look and register at the Culinary Trust.

Chicken Mousse Ring & Ozark Pudding

katco — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 04:13:57 +0000

One of my favorite sources for WWWE was a book I found in NYU’s Fales Collection – Cooking with the Experts by William Irving Kaufman. Published in 1955, it’s a true blue slice of an era, full of local TV cooking show recipes like fried rabbit, stuffed Colorado trout, cherry and almond gelatin salad and true Hoosier corn bread. In the back of the book are bios and photos of a slew of regional hosts like Betty Adams’ of “Sugar ‘N Spice” in Providence, Irene Lindgren from “Through the Kitchen Window” out of Indianapolis, and from my hometown of Rochester, NY, Trudy McNall from “Home Cooking.” Once legion, this local TV staple as gone the way of liver rolls in sour cream (p. 89).

I bought my own copy of Kaufman at an auction, the one known as eBay. Sherry Howard found hers at a regular auction and saw its gem-like qualities, too. She gives it (and WWWE) props on her Auction Finds blog. If you’re curious, you can get your own copy, too, dirt cheap.

Here’s a meager look inside:

Teaching what we watch

katco — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 16:19:51 +0000

Watching What We Eat loves to be useful. Case in point: David Silver, a media studies prof at the University of San Francisco, is using the book in his Green Media class this Spring. You can check out the syllabus on his blog.

High school teachers and college professors, I would love to know how you’re using the book with your students. Please jot a comment via the book’s Facebook page.

T is for teaching and TV

YouTube.cooking.TV

katco — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:32:25 +0000

It’s like I’ve been telling you, there’s good stuff on the Internet. More than just shiba inu puppy cams. There’s cooking instruction and culinary heritage (like Clara Cannucciari). The author of this short from The Atlantic calls YouTube “the grand equalizer of the online masses.” That’s what they used to say about TV, minus the “online.” So you see the trend here, the writing on the screen, as it were. Grab your gram and your cam and get into the kitchen.

Sharing recipes the old-fashioned way caused handwriting deciphering issues down the line

Merry old land of Oz

katco — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 22:07:41 +0000

I just finished a book by Josh Ozersky which I liked very much and so of course Google-stalked the author immediately. The book, Archie Bunker’s America: TV in an Era of Change 1968-1978, has nothing to do with food, but Josh’s web site Ozersky.tv has everything to [do with food]. There’s plenty to enjoy here, the least of which is the way the archived video images are black and white until you mouse over them, just like when Dorothy’s house lands on the outskirts of Oz. Hey, Oz…Ozersky…..hmmm. Maybe I’ll try listening to Dark Side of the Moon while watching Ozersky.tv, reading Archie Bunker’s America backwards and eating bacon donuts.

Inside Dr. Claw’s Lobster Den from Ozersky.TV on Vimeo.

A tough nut to crack

katco — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 15:52:10 +0000

Just try to watch this installment from Clara without your heart melting into a puddle. I suggest watching it once for the recipe and a second time to pay attention to her tchotchkes (I am partial to the winking owl cookie jar – I want one!) and nice old worn appliances and implements. Who needs a stainless steel blah blah blah? For more on Clara see my earlier post.

Thank you for visiting my blog this year. Happy everything, everyone!