February 22, 2010 
Blueprint of the first dishwasher, approximately 1850
The unforeseen consequences of the introduction of the dishwasher at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair is the loss of intimacy between mothers and daughters.
It was a time to talk: when Mom washed the dishes, one daughter dried them, the other put them away — and the son went to the bathroom.
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dish washer, dish washer job, dishwasher
November 9, 2009 
Ron Ben-Israel Cake, photo by Monica Stevenson
The Chicago Sun Times tells us about the sensitive guy who announces to his beloved that before they go any further he needs to tell her something. That something turns out to be his revelation that he plans to serve pie on his/their? wedding day.
“So?,” as former Vice President Cheney, another sensitive charmer, is said to have asked. “So!” “Why Knot?” seems to be the reaction of the affianced…
Weddings are very sexy occasions — not only for the bride and groom, whose passion is on display for all to see, but also for those who are invited witness the joining of two into one. The occasion of the marriage ceremony gives us all a lot of great ideas as once again we turn our attention to matters of food and drink in general, and wedding cakes in general, and now — pies in particular.
Fashions change. Today’s wedding cake master designers like Sylvia Weinstock, Ron Ben-Israel, and the Ace of Cakes, no longer, (or mostly no longer), look with favor on those old-time tacky plastic bride and groom figures standing stiffly on the top cake layer.
Pedestals and pillars have been jettisoned and cascades of fresh flowers have gained favor among the eco-friendlies. Now five or even six cake layers are placed one on top of another, each one composed of a different symphony of flavors.
So if pie it is to be, what’s the big deal? If pies and cup cakes don’t quite jell with the glamour of the occasion, there’s yet another alternative. Krispy Kreme tells us, doughnuts can be created into a stunning make-believe wedding cake when festooned with cascading ribbons and real, or almost real, certainly life-like, flowers. Thoughtful brides are handing out boxes containing two-for-the-road-doughnuts to their departing-but still-hungry-after-the-reception-guests. The doughnut favors are $2 a box plus $50 to have them passed out by a Krispy Kreme representative.
The best edible wedding day advice yet comes from a couple who, having lived together for a few years, decided to march down the aisle holding a dozen hard boiled eggs that they decided to put all in one basket.
If you want a career in wedding cake designing and decorating or pie making or cake art, you can read more in FOOD JOBS.
August 3, 2009 
I grew up on a fairly constant diet of Heinz baked beans. Some days we had plain baked beans on soggy toast. Other times we had baked beans topped with leftover grated cheddar cheese.
For a special treat, Mother produced her only specialty: baked beans on buttered toast topped with a poached egg, smothered with a cheese sauce and crowned with a thick slice of tomato. The entire thing was assembled on a saucer and broiled until the sauce was bubbling and the tomato was burnt.
I loved the way the runny yolk seeped onto and into and all around the baked beans and how you had to be quick about sopping up the entire mess before it overflowed the sides of the saucer and dripped onto the kitchen table. I remember how colorful it was and how hot it was and how careful you had to be not to scorch your tongue on the tomato.
Other culinary delights of my childhood include Toad in the Hole (pork sausages baked in curdled custard topped with ketchup) and Bubble ‘n Squeak (lumpy mashed potatoes and leftover cabbage cooked in bacon grease until the cabbage bubbled and squeaked in the frying pan) and Spotted Dick (steamed pudding with “spots” of raisins with treacle syrup) served once a week in every boarding school alternating with tadpole eggs (tapioca).
I mention these things because people tend to make fun of British cooking, ignoring the fact we have made huge gastronomic strides. Mediterranean countries eat many vegetables and we do too. We English have three vegetables: two of them are Brussels sprouts.
“They” say France is a country that has 300 kinds of cheese but only one religion. England has 300 religions but only one cheese. This isn’t true at all. We have Stilton and Cheddar.
And now, we have Gordon Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal and The Naked Chef, so it looks as if the tables are turning.
We just have to pray that we don’t run out of baked beans.
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