When I was a kid, I was such a food nerd, I got Bon Appetit instead of some pimple magazine for teen girls (yikes, atrocious at any age). I would pour over each issue, reading the recipes, visualizing how to do each step. They were the protocols (as we call them in the lab) for success, guides to new flavors and precious experiences.
In some ways, it was almost enough to know the recipe and see the photos, the eating never really came close to the imaginative savorings. You would know what I mean if you read the Harry Potter books and then saw the movies – almost there but nothing is ever as vivid and fantastic as one’s own imaginings.
I remember making a homemade peach melba ice cream cake (made the ice cream by hand and all the meringue, by hand). My family seemed to enjoy it!
