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A New Podcast Set At The Kitchen Table
I literally squealed with delight this week when my friend Michele Norris announced her new podcast. She has launched a series called Your Mama’s Kitchen, produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground.
You may remember Michele as one of the hosts of NPR’s All Things Considered. She was one of the first people at NPR who featured me on the air. When we met in person at NPR’s old headquarters on Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C., she lit up and gave me a warm hug.
I got a similar greeting from Michele’s dear friend, Gwen Ifill, when we met in real life, and I felt honored to witness their close friendship. Michele’s activities since NPR have included The Race Card Project, a six word exercise in which people share their experiences with racial issues. She also has been a columnist at the Washington Post, where she advocated for my work.
Now, it’s my turn to share the word about her new podcast. On it, she asks guests, “Tell me about your mother’s kitchen” and the conversation goes from there.
Michele’s lineup will include some high powered guests. You can hear her talk about it in this video.
My mother’s influence
I’ve shared many stories about how my mother, Bonny Maynard, influenced my cooking. She taught me a number of recipes that I can recreate from memory: apple crisp, tomato sauce, roast turkey, crepes, mashed potatoes, almost too many to list.
She loved to make sweets, and at one point belonged to a monthly dessert club whose members dazzled each other with sweet concoctions. My mother excelled at that retro favorite, Harvey Wallbanger Cake, and once whipped up dessert waffles from chocolate batter, topped with ice cream and chocolate sauce.
My father, Frank Maynard, liked to cook, too. He taught me how to make sweet corn pancakes, and was an expert grillmaster who set up separate grills for meats and vegetables. Long before you could buy rotisserie attachments for grills, he figured out a way to rig up a rotisserie for roast chicken, which he basted with delectable peanut oil that resulted in a crispy skin.
Because I had older parents, I did not interact with my grandparents, which makes me envy writers like
. I never knew my maternal grandmother, for whom I am named, and my grandmother Maynard visited us only a few times. She taught us how to play poker using Pepperidge Farm goldfish as chips, but did not interfere with my mother’s culinary efforts.Your parents’ brand passion
But I inherited more than cooking techniques from my mother. She also heavily influenced the brands I use to this day. Marketing experts have studied this practice extensively, dubbing it “brand passion.” They have deduced that a parent’s brand passion can be transferred to both daughters and sons.
I was doing a survey of my kitchen this weekend, and spotted a series of household products that I buy because my mother used them. I buy Reynolds aluminum foil and more recently, Reynolds parchment paper. I hunt down Comet cleaner in the green can, and order Ivory Liquid dish soap online (interestingly, Ivory has switched from its recent ivory colored liquid in an opaque bottle back to the clear liquid in a clear bottle that I remember from childhood).
For the cupboard, I buy my mother’s Argo cornstarch, Clabber Girl baking powder, Arm & Hammer baking soda and Domino sugar. For every day munching, she liked Nabisco Premium saltine crackers and Town Crackers, but only stocked Wheat Thins or Triscuits for parties.
There are some ways we have diverted. My mother bought Miracle Whip, rather than mayonnaise; I am a Blue Plate or Duke’s girl. She fed us Imperial margarine; I like butter on my food, especially from Ireland or France. She and Maxine always had a jug of Simply Orange juice on hand. I’m not a juice buyer and prefer whole fruits and berries.
One thing we definitely share: a love for See’s candies. Even when she was in hospice, my mother asked me to bring boxes of See’s that she could pass around to guests. I came into her room one day to find fifteen of her visiting friends, who made a big dent in her box of See’s. (I replenished her supply.)
Beyond brands: conversation
As Michele’s podcast is likely to demonstrate, our mothers’ kitchens were more than places to cook. I had endless conversation with my parents and Maxine in ours.
My mother did her financial calculations at the kitchen table, in little brown wired notebooks. When we prepared for her estate sale, my brother and I found a treasure trove of them stretching back decades (they are now in her archive at the Bentley Historical Library).
In more recent times, I’ve done food prep at my kitchen table, most recently to make tomato sauce and peach jam, held Zoom interviews there, and crafted Mardi Gras souvenirs. Entertainers from Celine Dion to Joey Heatherton to Jane Lynch say they learned to sing with their families at the kitchen table.
Whenever you watch Escape to the Country, the British travel and real estate show, the clients always seem to dream about a roomy kitchen with room for a table where everyone in the family can sit.
The dining room table may be for company; the kitchen table is for family and good friends. I’d love to hear about yours, and I think you’ll enjoy hearing about Michele’s.
Farewell To A London Dining Legend
When I made a trip to London with my mother, I asked a British car executive for some restaurant recommendations.
On top of his list was Le Gavroche. It was opened in 1967 by Albert and Michel Roux Senior. At the time, it was the only French restaurant of its kind in London, aiming to serve top quality classic French food with attentive service and fresh ingredients.
Eventually, Le Gavroche earned three Michelin stars, helping to banish London’s reputation as a culinary desert.
It has been run since 1991 by Michel Roux Junior, who trained a flank of British celebrity chefs. People who worked there included Gordon Ramsay, Marco Pierre White, Marcus Wareing, Pierre Koffman and Monica Galetti, among many others.
Now, Michel Junior has announced plans to close the restaurant. He wants to achieve a better work/life balance, without dealing with the daily demands of a busy Michelin-starred restaurant (it now has two stars). He said the upcoming end of his current lease provided an out.
“The pressure to be able to deliver the high quality that everyone expects is wearing when it’s every day, and every plate,” he said.
The Roux family will retain the rights to the Le Gavroche brand and may do occasional pop ups or special events. The closing is planned for January.
London is a far different dining scene that it was in 1964 or even the 1990s, when Michel Junior took charge. Along with celebrity chefs, you can find restaurants from virtually every global culture, and a vibrant industry that emphasizes artisanal food, as well as vegan and vegetarian cuisine. Le Gavroche found itself with upscale company and some say has been eclipsed by fresher places.
Still, it’s always wistful to see famous names go away. If you’re in London, try to get to Le Gavroche in the next few months.
Aldi’s Snaps up Winn Dixie
We didn’t have Winn Dixie up north. My first experience with the legendary Southern grocery brand came when I visited Florida. There is a Winn Dixie store in New Orleans, too, and it may soon wind up changing its name.
Aldi, the German grocery giant, agreed last week to buy Winn Dixie and Harvey’s supermarkets across the southeastern U.S. It plans to convert a significant number of those Winn Dixie stores to Aldi’s over the next five years.
The move is part of Aldi’s strategy to reach 2,400 American stores by next year. It has about 2,300 now.
I’m an Aldi’s fan. I don’t buy everything there, but I’m perfectly satisfied with products like Happy Farms oat milk and cottage cheese, and it can occasionally surprise me by stocking locally grown produce. I bought excellent organic strawberries there last spring, and recently took home a kilo of dark sweet Michigan cherries for only $5.99.
I know Aldi’s has a barebones reputation, but those of us who are Aldi’s addicts are always stumbling upon products that taste or work just fine. While people may miss Winn Dixie or Harvey, they should be in good hands with Aldi.
Keeping Up With CulinaryWoman
Last week, I wrote about fruit shortcake for The Takeout — or more accurately, what to do if you don’t have the classic elements of a shortcake. I offered hacks for whipped cream and cake, some of which you may have in your fridge or freezer.
I’m excited to be adding book events to my calendar for fall and even for next summer. I’m happy to speak to your organization, or book club, either in person or by Zoom. Please get in touch.
You can find me:
Email: culinarywoman (@) gmail dot com
Instagram: (@) michelinemaynard and (@) micki_in_nola (I love seeing what my New Orleans friends are doing)
Podcast: I’m a regular guest on the Lions, Towers and Shields podcast from The Incomparable network. Our latest classic film is Easy Living, starring Jean Arthur. Take a listen.
Coaching: CulinaryWoman Coaching is here to help writers and aspiring writers and small businesses. Get in touch.
Thanks again for subscribing! I’ll see our paid subscribers tomorrow with Red Beans & Advice, and everyone else next Sunday. Enjoy these last weeks of summer.