My hometown, Cullman AL, made the NYT this week for its completely gorgeous new Weihnachtspyramide, a German Christmas pyramid.
The display is more like a tower than an ancient pyramid, resembling a multilevel carousel tiered like a wedding cake. Its decorated artwork originated with woodcarvers in the Erzgebirge mountain region. A traditional German pyramid, which is a few feet high, is usually bedecked with small figures playing out Christmas scenes on its bottom or top level. A wood propeller, powered by the heat of candles on each side, typically rotates the centerpiece.
…Cullman’s structure, though, is super sized, with six rotating tiers, including one with a Nativity scene, moved by a motorized rotor at the top. In all, 32 figures including a police officer, fireman and baker, adorn the other levels, according to city officials.
We went at night last week and took pics:
Through January 5 at the Customs House Museum in Clarksville, Tennessee: Hunt Slonem: Both Sides of the Brush. No idea how big this exhibit will be, but his Antebellum Pop! show at the LSU Museum of Art in 2016 was one of my very favorites. From that show:
The Austin Central Library’s restaurant (wow that large libraries have restaurants, but I guess that makes sense) has dedicated a small menu to Little Women in anticipation of the new film coming out later this month. The restaurant is home to the Virginia B. Wood Cookbook Collection which gives guests access to 500+ cookbooks.
Skipping to slide #85, the WaPo reports there are two shotgun houses in a particular two-story style on Capitol Hill, and the one they feature is $1.3M.
Ran across the Bad Penny Pleasuremakers online this week — they’re from New Orleans — last saw them at Oxlot 9 in The Southern Hotel in Covington LA (pic above, below). This is *exactly* what I want to listen to at brunch
Realized I never posted pics from that visit, and I’m so hungry, here we go:
fried oysters with andoille, brussels sprouts, white remoulade
biscuit for dayssss
and the hotel is gorgeous
definitely going to find a reason to stay at The Southern sometime soon.
The Heart of the Matter: The Celebration of the Essential in Everyday Life exhibit of James Michalopoulos‘ works at the R.W. Norton Museum in Shreveport ends already, December 15. I’m not certain what works are included, but here are a few that appeared in the Waltzing the Muse exhibit at NOMA in 2017 when I visited:
Here’s the Garden & Gun article about him from April/May this year.
Eater on how 700k bottles of Tabasco are filled daily
The Jackson Free Press on 5th-generation Mississippian Chandler Griffin (who makes some fab docs), and the part about Blue Magnolia was new to me:
Chandler and his wife, Alison Fast, have two companies that teach documentary filmmaking and photography: Barefoot Workshops and Blue Magnolia Films. Barefoot Workshops, founded in 2004, is a tuition-based model and is meant for people who are serious about filmmaking and photography. In 2013 they created Blue Magnolia Films, which allowed them to “work with people who have no desire to be filmmakers or photographers, but have every desire to tell their community story.”
The Washingtonian lists the 27 Best Dishes in Washington Right Now and white barbecue makes an appearance (or at least as inspiration):
Fried Chicken
Where: Anju, 1805 18th St., NW
Alabama-style white barbecue sauce—tangy and mayo-based—has been cropping up more and more up north. Even at this Korean kitchen. Here, the sauce is made with Japanese Kewpie mayo and serves as a drizzle for the superlative double-fried chicken. The bird is glazed in fire-red, tongue-tingling gochujang. Even so, you’ll want more of the white stuff for dunking.
Russian Deviled eggs, stuffed with herring (which has been blitzed in the Cuisinart with apple and some other ingredients). Going to give this one a try.
Someone…added to a Banksy in Birmingham, England, and…’tis the season.
Cotton candy was ‘invented’ in Nashville.
Ed Orgeron on recruiting Louisiana: “I’m going to be in 18 to 22 homes next week. So that means 18 to 22 gumbos.”
Says every in-home visit is like a party with family. pic.twitter.com/9n20Wo4v5H
— Cody Worsham (@CodyWorsham) December 6, 2019
Government is cracking down on the nonnas. This last sentence by Mr. De Meo is everything.
He said he didn’t know which restaurant was caught serving contraband orecchiette but talked about how those little irregular, handmade pasta ears had “a little magic in them.” He suggested that trying to regulate Bari was like trying to straighten the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
“Sometimes the irregular is what makes things beautiful,” Mr. De Meo said.
Criterion has done a restoration and included interviews on its release this month of the 1933 The Story of Temple Drake, loosely adapted from Faulkner’s Sanctuary.
the old Monroe County Courthouse, kept to look the same as it has since used as set inspiration for TKAM movie.
Rare Square Books in Oxford is selling a first printing of the 50th anniversary edition To Kill a Mockingbird, in mint condition with a bookplate signed by Harper Lee affixed to first free endpaper.
Among the four new trustees on the board of the American Folk Art Museum in NY: KAWS (Brian Donnelly).
“hey you’re bringing your briefcase today for your nationally televised impeachment hearing right?”
“no no i’ll be fine with this.”pic.twitter.com/Uw27J337ra
— j.d. durkin (@jiveDurkey) December 9, 2019
Zero political here. Never ever. Just want to point out that this was all over Twitter, but this man knows what’s up in the transportation of literally anything anywhere department. I’ve used IKEA bags for everything from grocery shopping to recycling storage to taking things to the beach, the lake, for quickie nobody’s-going-to-see-me-use-this-for-luggage (it’s pretty perfect for an overnighter, btw). I even ordered Whataburger ones for whatever because Whataburger. I don’t have a briefcase. If I ever need to make my case to Congress (Lawd, please please let it be for something good), I’ll be there in my Louis Vuitton and my Whataburger bag.
Not sure why this is so funny, but at Grub Street, the dumb trends that happened the last decade in food starts with rainbow bagels
…which…the other day I was at Winn-Dixie for bagels and all they had were these and 1/ yeah my Jewish kids went to school with “Christmas bagels” the next day because that was the only plain ones they had and um they can learn to roll with things, sure 2/ yes I had a lot of guilt over filling them with a year’s worth of food coloring until 3/ they came home telling me how gross they tasted and they didn’t eat them so 4/ I had guilt over giving these kids bagels they wouldn’t eat
anyway the list ends with:
…Grub Street is ready to declare it the Decade’s Absolute Dumbest Food Trend: Viral milkshakes.
yes we did. Once was enough.
Also: those cakes in IG that are hollow in the middle, then filled with sprinkles that go everrrrrwhere when the cake is sliced, like an edible glitter lava stream — sprinkle explosion cakes. I mean, sprinkles don’t even taste good, amirite? It was cute the first thousand times but now: whyyyyyy.
A little love for Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies at Thrillist.
We went to the Oxford Fed’s annual Bubbe’s Table event last week at the very pretty Farmstead on Woodson Ridge and had a great time (one of my tablemates not thrilled at the prospect of Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss next year, though, but RTR sooooo…). Mile End Deli from Bham catered and was very good.
We didn’t get latkes, but we did get sufganiyot. And brisket. And kugel and brussels sprouts and a very good salad. BTW, Mile End makes the best cheesecake in Bham, and they serve a pretty good poutine, so next time you’re in town…
That sufganiyot above reminds me: the NYT had a piece about churros for Chanukah. Also, GrubStreet did a piece about the absolute best latkes in NYC.
Have a sweet, sweet weekend and an even better upcoming week, friends. xoxo!