We were watching “Brothers & Sisters” this past Sunday — it’s one of my favorite shows; I love the whole dysfunctional-yet-loving Walker clan — and, as happens about every other episode or so, a character was cooking for a dinner party in a fabulous kitchen. Bright and airy, a spacious countertop island, farm-fresh vegetables being chopped, pots bubbling on the stove. Like something out of a magazine. Kitchen porn, I call it.
We’ve actually got a great kitchen by Manhattan standards, but I don’t cook nearly as much as I want to.
But it turns out you don’t need a great kitchen to make great food. Mark Bittman is the author of a great cookbook I own, and it turns out he has a regular ol’ crappy Manhattan kitchen.
That’s a great story. I agree with him about not needing a huge fridge. And I love Brothers & Sisters, too. It reminds me of Falcon Crest, just substitute vegetables for wine. I’d love to have their kitchen, too. As well as their disposable income.
So true. A few years ago I was on a brief Jacques Pépin kick and was methodically cooking dishes from his memoir The Apprentice. This was back in my studio apartment with its teeny-tiny galley kitchen, so it felt ambitious. I sort of amazed myself. Sure, I hardly had room to cut up a chicken or bake a soufflé, but I made it work.
By the way, I totally wanted to strangle Kevin in that last episode. I’m glad the whole money/house thing got resolved. Thom and I were basically teary-eyed by the end. (I will admit to a very small bit of “messed-up Walker dinner-party, Nora makes a big speech” fatigue, though.)
And is it just me, but when Sally Field shows up in that drug commercial she’s in, do you also say, “Nora Walker!”? :)
I actually did that just last night! The commercial came on during the news.
One thing I love about Kevin and Scotty’s relationship is that they’re one of the rare gay couples on TV who don’t just have gay-related plotlines but actually have the same problems as straight people. They seem so real to me.
Esther: but the Walkers drink so much wine, too!