Gravy on your tie, red wine on your new white shirt, coffee on your silk blouse, chocolate on your beige rug. It must have been a wonderful meal — or a wild party — but what about the stains? Here’s a short list of the most common food stains and what to do about them.
Chocolate on clothing: Scrape away any thickness of chocolate and blot gently with cool water. Use a powdered laundry detergent with enzymes and presoak for 15 minutes, or rub gently with a laundry gel stain remover. Launder in cool water. Repeat if needed before drying.
Chocolate on carpeting: Sprinkle with salt to absorb the fat in the chocolate, then vacuum. Spray the stain with laundry or carpet stain remover; let stand for 10 minutes, then blot up stain with cool water, folding and turning a clean cloth to absorb the chocolate. Do not use hot water.
Coffee: Sponge with cold water. Work in a drop of two of mild, clear dishwashing liquid and rinse in cold water. Repeat if needed.
Gravy on your tie: Blot with paper towels and sprinkle with salt or cornstarch to absorb grease. Brush off. Dilute a bit of liquid laundry detergent in cool water and work gently on the stain, remembering that most ties cannot be laundered. Do not let the tie get soaked with water, and keep blotting with clean paper towels.
Ketchup or tomato sauce: Soak in cold water, then apply a few drops of mild dishwashing liquid; rinse. For stubborn stains, mix 1 tablespoon white vinegar with 3 tablespoons water and apply to stain; rinse and launder as usual.
Mayonnaise, oil, or butter: Soak in cold water for 15 minutes, then work liquid detergent or laundry stain remover into grease stain. Rinse and let dry (not in clothes dryer). Repeat if necessary.
Red wine: Sponge immediately with cool water. Mix 1/2 teaspoon of mild dishwashing detergent into 1 cup of water and apply to stain, working from the outside toward the center. If necessary, mix 1/3 cup white vinegar and 2/3 cup water and apply to stain. Rinse and launder.
Every town has it: a special food or dish that is intrinsically identified with the community. Sometimes the food is "owned" by a cook or group of cooks who have perfected the recipe. Sometimes one restaurant has a signature dish that just can’t be duplicated. In my hometown, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, there are a couple of humble hamburger joints that grill the best hamburgers and bratwurst I’ve ever had, anywhere. (Readers of "An Ode to Bratwurst" in the August issue of this newsletter already know more than you ever wanted to about this subject.) If I had lived in Cincinnati, it might be chili (three-way, four-way, or five-way); in Newcastle, Wyoming, it might be the morning glory pancakes at the diner; in our small town in New Hampshire, I’d nominate the man who always makes the spaghetti sauce for the annual "Italian Extravaganza" dinner.
"Keep your
knives sharp.
Above
all, have
a good time."
Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume I (1961)
This month, Julia Child, easily the most famous cook in the world, will leave Cambridge, Massachusetts, to settle in a retirement community in Santa Barbara, California. She grew up in Pasadena, so she is heading home. Her kitchen, however, is going south — to Washington’s Smithsonian Institution, which will display it, Garland professional range, pegboard hung with cooking pots, huge kitchen table, and all.
I’ve never met Mrs. Child, but like so many people who like to eat and like to cook, I know I owe her a huge debt of gratitude. She is the person whose books could all have been titled "The Joy of Cooking." Her recipe directions are crystal clear and impeccable. Her delight in good home cooking inspires confidence. Her focus on taste helps us all to appreciate a ripe raspberry, a perfectly cooked omelette, a glass of good beer. Her wonderful sense of humor, demonstrated so many times on her cooking shows, reminds us that if the roast chicken falls on the floor, the world won’t come to an end — just pick it up, wash it off, brush on some pan juices, and serve it with aplomb.
In the 1960s, Russell Morash produced "The French Chef" for WGBH-TV, launching Julia Child’s television career.
