Paper and Salt

There’s a picture of Joan Didion’s kitchen that found new life on the internet shortly after the writer’s death in December 2021. It’s from a shoot for Vogue in her Malibu kitchen—hangi...

https://paperandsalt.org/2022/05/16/joan-didion-creme-caramel/

Nearly every writing class I’ve ever taken has, at some point, trotted out the same piece of age-old wisdom: the classic know your audience. Writing comedy? Know your audience. Writing marketi...

https://paperandsalt.org/2018/09/11/william-makepeace-thackeray-beef-jalfrezi/

I didn’t mean for this to become obituary blog; I’ve actually had this post on the back burner for several months, long before learning of Philip Roth’s death last week. I also didn’t m...

https://paperandsalt.org/2018/05/29/philip-roth-soupe-au-pistou/

There are two dueling schools of thought when it comes to great cooking. One says it’s all about ingredients; the other says it just boils down to technique. But in my experience, neither is wh...

https://paperandsalt.org/2018/02/02/ursula-k-leguin-soft-boiled-eggs/

My apartment contains a painful secret. It sits on the shelf right above the stove. At first glance, you’d probably never notice—if you did, you might even make an admiring comment, not knowi...

https://paperandsalt.org/2018/01/15/margaret-atwood-chocolate-chip-wheat-germ-muffins/

One of the sobering realizations about marriage is that I now have a roommate for life. And with any roommate comes a critical question: How do we divide up all these chores? Who does the dishes?...

https://paperandsalt.org/2017/11/20/charlotte-emily-bronte-apple-cake/

Part of living in New York is missing the city you never knew. When I first moved to the Lower East Side, shadows of the city’s past were all around me, from the ghostly remains of advertisemen...

https://paperandsalt.org/2017/09/09/herman-melville-quick-pickled-tomatoes/

My grandmother doesn’t eat cheese. If this seems like an incredible statement, prepare to be amazed: She also declines tomatoes, fresh herbs (?!), onions, garlic, and any “strong flavors.” ...

https://paperandsalt.org/2017/06/29/gertrude-stein-summer-champagne-fruit-salad/

I’m not good at talking to strangers. I don’t have the natural ability to turn to someone and turn on the charm; my main strategy for small talk is simply asking lots of questions. That’s...

https://paperandsalt.org/2016/08/22/umberto-eco-bagna-cauda/

When asked “What famous writer would you invite to a dinner party?” famous wits like Oscar Wilde or Mark Twain definitely come to mind. But even the fictional dinner cast of my dreams pales...

https://paperandsalt.org/2016/02/07/gustave-flaubert-and-george-sand-potato-and-gruyere-galette/