Ann Mah's newsletter / Jan 2018
January 2018 newsletter
Happy new year!
Superstition prohibits most French people from breathing a word of new year's greetings before 12:01am on January 1st. But it has been 2018 for some time, and so I can safely wish you a happy new year. Bonne année, bonne santé, et plein de bonheur – may the coming year be filled with good health and good cheer... and lots of really good wine!
I've spent the first few weeks of January in the glamorous pursuit of... purging! I have freed our home of unused toys, outgrown baby gear, and unloved books and I have to say, it feels soooo good. Next up is my pantry. (Eek!)
Aside from cleaning, I have the seed of an idea for a new novel and I'm starting to research it. I'm also contemplating the year's upcoming travel. Taking a page from my friend Lindy, I decided in November that 2018 will be the Year of the Friend. I started the campaign early with December visits to Los Angeles and Sacramento to see beloved pals from high school and college. In the months ahead, I'm planning trips to Wisconsin, rural France, Scotland, and elsewhere. Stay tuned!
It's a book!
Ta da! I'm excited to reveal the cover of my new novel, which William Morrow will publish in June.
The Lost Vintage tells the story of Kate, a young sommelier who is trying in vain to pass the notoriously difficult Master of Wine exam. She travels to her family's ancestral vineyard in Burgundy where she discovers a secret cellar and becomes tangled in a web of secrets hidden since the dark days of World War II. As the line between resistance and collaboration blurs, Kate is driven to answer two crucial questions: Who, exactly, did her family aid during the difficult years of the war? And what happened to six valuable bottles of wine that seem to be missing from the cellar’s collection?
If this book sounds intriguing and you can't wait to read it, 1) I LOVE YOU; and 2) GoodReads is currently giving away fifty (50!) advance copies. Enter to win here.
What I've been eating
Yorkshire puddings
I messed up the Yorkshire puddings at Christmas dinner, which caused me deep irritation. Determined to find redemption, I read a slew of articles on "the science of Yorkshire puddings" before revving up the oven the next morning. Made from leftover batter, I'll be darned if these pudds weren't the lightest I've ever tasted, they practically floated out of the muffin tin. The question is: what did I do differently? I think the secret is letting the batter rest overnight. But, really, who knows if I'll be able to recreate my success?
Eggs New Yorkais
On New Year's Eve I made latkes using Melissa Clark's fantastic foolproof recipe. The next morning, I topped the leftovers with smoked salmon, poached egg, and hollandaise. This is neither a fast recipe, nor is it light – but it's delicious! A few notes: I grated the latke potatoes by hand (because my food processor broke over a year ago and I still haven't replaced it) and I'm not sure why everyone hates hand-grating potatoes? It took me only about three minutes to shred two large potatoes. Also, I never use a double boiler to make hollandaise – I just whisk the sauce continuously over very low heat because: #livingontheedge
What I've been reading
Our cross-country flights to/from California gave me glorious stretches of time to read! I adored the lovely, luminous Kids Like Us by Hilary Reyl, about a teenage boy on the autism spectrum who travels to France for the summer and learns that falling in love may not be out of his reach.
I was also completely gripped by The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian, a brilliantly crafted crime novel set in Italy before and after World War II.
As you know, I love LOVE the Instant Pot, so I was especially fascinated by this behind-the-scenes glimpse of its headquarters. Did you know that in every official photograph of an Instant Pot the timer is set to 5:20? It's "a series of numbers that, when spoken aloud, sounds like “I love you” in [the inventor's] native Mandarin."
Is poutine – that delicious, rib-sticking dish of fries, cheese curds, and gravy – Canadian or Quebecois? The answer is, unsurprisingly, extremely contentious.
What happens to women's ambitions in the years after college? "When we graduated in 1993, my friends and I had big dreams for ourselves. More than two decades later I decided to find out if anyone’s had come true," writes Hana Schank in The Atlantic. Since I first read this article a year ago, I've thought about it again and again, and reread it several times.
Only 15% of French artisanal bakers make their own croissants! But a boulanger from Nice is determined to save the buttery pastry from an industrial fate.
A bientôt!
Thanks, as ever, for reading! I'll leave you with a plate of delicious vegan nachos from the most woo-woo restaurant in all of Los Angeles, Café Gratitude, where every meal begins with your server launching a philosophical question. Ours was: What are you letting go of this year? I'll leave you to contemplate :) See you next month!
Amitiés,
Ann
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