Episode 261: Linda Pugliese, Handmade Pasta Photographer

12/01/15 • 38 min

On today’s episode of THE FOOD SEEN, Linda Pugliese grew up in Annapolis, Maryland, surrounded by sailboats, shorelines, and crabs smothered in Old Bay seasoning. Though her last name is from the Puglia region of Italy, Linda hadn’t returned until later in life, reconnecting with a family that welcomed her with love and pasta. Infatuation is almost too weak a word for how intrigued, and enamored, Linda was by the different shapes and methods of handmade pasta. Linda watch videos of grandmas on YouTube making cavatelli, a small shell of sorts, though her homemade version is made with a semolina dough, elongated to resemble a shelled pea pod. In a trip to Emilia-Romagna, she learned variations of tortellini and tortelloni, the origins of tagliatelle, and the importance of using bright yellow egg yolks. Sometimes something as simple as how to make pasta is hard to put in words, it’s a feeling, but thankfully, Linda is also a wonderful self-taught photographer, capturing the processes, and stories, behind each attempt, and luckily, we get to follow along her journey, via lindapugliese.tumblr.com.

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Episode 260: Scratch & Sniff Whiskey with Richard Betts

On today’s episode of THE FOOD SEEN, we scratch & sniff with Richard Betts, literally. His second edition this olfactory series, The Essential Scratch & Sniff Guide to Becoming a Whiskey Know-It-All: Know Your Booze Before You Choose, exemplifies Betts background as a master sommelier at the Little Nell in Aspen. It’s all about objective and deductive reasoning, which will lead you to your_spirit_ spirt (kind of like a power animal). Broken down by GRAIN (corn, wheat, rye, barley, rice, millet, quinoa ...), WOOD (new vs. used barrels), and PLACE (Scotland uses sherry from Spain and bourbon from USA, whereas Japan uses oak called mizunara), it’s only a matter of time until you too have mastered whiskey. Betts, now a producer of My Essential Wine varietals, and Sombra mezcal, will have you turning your drinking data into a dogma soon enough.

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Episode 262: Bien Cuit with Zachary Golper

On today’s episode of THE FOOD SEEN, Bien Cuit may mean “well baked”, but Zachary Golper’s plan to make bread didn’t rise until a 2 year journey across South America. After time on an organic farm in Oregan, the wafting smell of a wood fire oven, manned by candlelight at 1AM, was all the impetus Zach needed to become a baker. With co-author Peter Kaminsky, “Bien Cuit: The Art of Bread”, takes us on a “Bread Quest” not only to find NYC’s iconic loaves, but celebrates the diversity of our cultures, through the grains and flours that surround us. A 24-day minimum sourdough starter, a fermenting dough in hand, the baker inside you will be awoken with Pane Pugliese, Broa De Milho (Porteguese Corn Bread), Bourbon Bread, in no time.