Post by Dante on Apr 13, 2013 2:40:57 GMT -5
Thought I might as well post these together.
www.tampabay.com/features/books/whats-lemony-snicket-reading/2114146
What's Lemony Snicket Reading?
Piper Castillo, Times Staff Writer
In his new book, The Dark, Lemony Snicket, a.k.a. Daniel Handler, writes, "You might be afraid of the dark, but the dark is not afraid of you.'' Then he lures a young boy named Lazlo through some spooky scenarios. But don't despair; as he did in his 13 books known collectively as A Series of Unfortunate Events, Handler doesn't just scare the bejeebers out of young readers, he also continues to make them smile. For adults looking for a few laughs, Handler is the co-creator of the website whywebrokeupproject.com, which invites the heartbroken to share their worst breakup stories with the world. If they're lucky, they'll receive a reply from Handler himself.
What's on your nightstand?
I am currently reading Christoph Hein's The Tango Player, a wickedly Kafka-esque novel I wholeheartedly recommend, and Matthew Dickman's latest collection of poetry, Mayakovsky's Revolver, which keeps making me cry.
What was the scariest book you have ever read?
Angelina at the Palace, starring the horrifying Angelina Ballerina.
How old were you?
I was 36.
How did you shake off the fear, and would you recommend the same tactic to a child who is scared after reading one of your books?
I told my 3-year-old that the book was a library book that had to be returned tomorrow, and that no copies were available to purchase, so it was impossible to have Angelina at the Palace in our home ever again. Then I put him to bed and mixed a martini. ... Children should not mix themselves martinis (after reading a Lemony Snicket story). They should mix them for any adults who happen to be around, which is a much more worthwhile activity than indulging in the work of Lemony Snicket.
You've got this crazy website about breaking up. What's your favorite book when it comes to romance or a love story?
Lolita always moves me, although the ending of Tom Drury's The Driftless Area, in which the doomed ne'er-do-well and the ghost of an arson victim must part ways, is its own special heartbreak.
Cooking With Lemony Snicket
The best-selling children's-book author, known to some as Daniel Handler, is as prolific at the stove as he is on the page
THOUGH HE HAS sold more than 60 million books, even some devoted readers don't know that children's book author Lemony Snicket is actually San Francisco-based writer Daniel Handler—or that he's also a cocktail aficionado and ambitious home cook. Under his own name and his nom de plume, Mr. Handler has written more than two dozen books, including "A Series of Unfortunate Events," about the misadventures of the orphaned Baudelaire children. Last fall he launched a new series called "All the Wrong Questions." Out this month from Little, Brown, his new picture book is the tale of a young boy, Laszlo, and his efforts to get acquainted with the thing he most fears, spelled out in the book's title: "The Dark." The suitably spooky illustrations are by Jon Klassen. As prolific as he is, Mr. Handler often curtails his workday in midafternoon to prepare dinner for his wife, illustrator Lisa Brown, and their young son, Otto. Mr. Handler spoke to us from the sun-drenched kitchen of their San Francisco townhouse as he chopped radishes for a tandoori feast.
We moved into this house in 2002. The fridge is kind of lousy, but I love a big open space to cook, and a big island. It's pretty great.
We own an absurd number of machines to make coffee. I have a double espresso in the morning, and Lisa has coffee from the Krups (which I make, I might add). We also have a French press, a Melitta and two stovetop espresso makers.
My favorite frying pan is a zillion years old. It cooks evenly, and it's really big. My favorite soup pot, from Sur La Table, is lightweight and easy to clean. I have no idea what it's made of; I'm not really that kind of cook. I'm top of the amateur class, but not even bottom of the professional class.
We mostly eat vegetarian at home, but when we go out, we order whatever we want. I like greens many people don't—beet greens, parsnip greens, radish greens. Parsnip greens are good with a strong meat or an interesting grain like red rice or farro.
I love pimentón de la Vera, a smoked Spanish paprika. I first had it at a restaurant, on French fries, and thought it was the most delicious thing in the world. The owner had this story about how it was a secret spice blend. Then the waiter came by and showed us the tin. This spice is the savior of the organic vegetable box we have delivered, when everything starts to wilt. You can make a soup—just fry up some onions, add some broth and chop up whatever vegetables are looking miserable. Add pimentón and it's delicious.
We get seltzer delivered from the Seltzer Sisters. When I first saw their delivery truck, I literally ran after it. All my life I wanted enough seltzer in the house. And the bottles are so neat.
My primary indulgence is a fancy after-dinner something if we're having people over. I just got this [Marolo] camomile grappa. I had some at a restaurant and they called it Italian Ambien.
We have a small collection of cocktail books. The beautiful ones are tucked away, where people won't spill on them. But the most useful ones are in the kitchen—"The New York Bartender's Guide," "The Savoy Cocktail Book." Our favorite is called "Bottoms Up," illustrated with paintings of naked women, often in martini glasses. It's real classy.
I don't care much for dry vermouth. In a Martini, I want to taste the gin. There are so many interesting gins now, like Bluecoat, from Philadelphia. It's got these dry, powdery spices, really good. I like a Hendrick's Martini in the summertime; you taste all that cucumber and grass. But Carpano Antica sweet vermouth is super good. I use it in Old-Fashioneds, Manhattans, Negronis, Old Pals.
The Old-Fashioned changed my life. It's my literary agent's drink; the first time I met her, she ordered one. I didn't have any idea what it was, I think I was 25 at the time, so I ordered one, too. It was sweet and delicious. I find it's a great beginner's cocktail and an advanced cocktail, too, because it's easy to drink and has endless variations.
The most overrated ingredient is bacon. It depresses me that in restaurants Brussels sprouts are now just the way bacon is conveyed to the table.
The most underrated ingredient might be radishes. I think most people are afraid to eat them. I usually eat them raw or in soups; they're good when you don't quite want an onion. I put them on top of things, too, where one might use parsley—an enchilada or a piece of fish.
I'm not much of a dessert person, so if I'm going to serve dessert, I like something trashy. Not nouveau-trashy like s'mores with homemade marshmallows, but actual trash, like It's-It ice cream sandwiches. There's just something delightful about a ridiculous packaged dessert on a plate after a carefully prepared dinner.
Our son embarrassed us in front of his pediatrician, who was asking what green foods he ate. He does actually eat a lot of broccoli and romaine lettuce. But the only one he could think of was mint-flavored It's-Its.
—Edited from an interview by Emily Kaiser Thelin
www.tampabay.com/features/books/whats-lemony-snicket-reading/2114146
What's Lemony Snicket Reading?
Piper Castillo, Times Staff Writer
In his new book, The Dark, Lemony Snicket, a.k.a. Daniel Handler, writes, "You might be afraid of the dark, but the dark is not afraid of you.'' Then he lures a young boy named Lazlo through some spooky scenarios. But don't despair; as he did in his 13 books known collectively as A Series of Unfortunate Events, Handler doesn't just scare the bejeebers out of young readers, he also continues to make them smile. For adults looking for a few laughs, Handler is the co-creator of the website whywebrokeupproject.com, which invites the heartbroken to share their worst breakup stories with the world. If they're lucky, they'll receive a reply from Handler himself.
What's on your nightstand?
I am currently reading Christoph Hein's The Tango Player, a wickedly Kafka-esque novel I wholeheartedly recommend, and Matthew Dickman's latest collection of poetry, Mayakovsky's Revolver, which keeps making me cry.
What was the scariest book you have ever read?
Angelina at the Palace, starring the horrifying Angelina Ballerina.
How old were you?
I was 36.
How did you shake off the fear, and would you recommend the same tactic to a child who is scared after reading one of your books?
I told my 3-year-old that the book was a library book that had to be returned tomorrow, and that no copies were available to purchase, so it was impossible to have Angelina at the Palace in our home ever again. Then I put him to bed and mixed a martini. ... Children should not mix themselves martinis (after reading a Lemony Snicket story). They should mix them for any adults who happen to be around, which is a much more worthwhile activity than indulging in the work of Lemony Snicket.
You've got this crazy website about breaking up. What's your favorite book when it comes to romance or a love story?
Lolita always moves me, although the ending of Tom Drury's The Driftless Area, in which the doomed ne'er-do-well and the ghost of an arson victim must part ways, is its own special heartbreak.
Cooking With Lemony Snicket
The best-selling children's-book author, known to some as Daniel Handler, is as prolific at the stove as he is on the page
THOUGH HE HAS sold more than 60 million books, even some devoted readers don't know that children's book author Lemony Snicket is actually San Francisco-based writer Daniel Handler—or that he's also a cocktail aficionado and ambitious home cook. Under his own name and his nom de plume, Mr. Handler has written more than two dozen books, including "A Series of Unfortunate Events," about the misadventures of the orphaned Baudelaire children. Last fall he launched a new series called "All the Wrong Questions." Out this month from Little, Brown, his new picture book is the tale of a young boy, Laszlo, and his efforts to get acquainted with the thing he most fears, spelled out in the book's title: "The Dark." The suitably spooky illustrations are by Jon Klassen. As prolific as he is, Mr. Handler often curtails his workday in midafternoon to prepare dinner for his wife, illustrator Lisa Brown, and their young son, Otto. Mr. Handler spoke to us from the sun-drenched kitchen of their San Francisco townhouse as he chopped radishes for a tandoori feast.
We moved into this house in 2002. The fridge is kind of lousy, but I love a big open space to cook, and a big island. It's pretty great.
We own an absurd number of machines to make coffee. I have a double espresso in the morning, and Lisa has coffee from the Krups (which I make, I might add). We also have a French press, a Melitta and two stovetop espresso makers.
My favorite frying pan is a zillion years old. It cooks evenly, and it's really big. My favorite soup pot, from Sur La Table, is lightweight and easy to clean. I have no idea what it's made of; I'm not really that kind of cook. I'm top of the amateur class, but not even bottom of the professional class.
We mostly eat vegetarian at home, but when we go out, we order whatever we want. I like greens many people don't—beet greens, parsnip greens, radish greens. Parsnip greens are good with a strong meat or an interesting grain like red rice or farro.
I love pimentón de la Vera, a smoked Spanish paprika. I first had it at a restaurant, on French fries, and thought it was the most delicious thing in the world. The owner had this story about how it was a secret spice blend. Then the waiter came by and showed us the tin. This spice is the savior of the organic vegetable box we have delivered, when everything starts to wilt. You can make a soup—just fry up some onions, add some broth and chop up whatever vegetables are looking miserable. Add pimentón and it's delicious.
We get seltzer delivered from the Seltzer Sisters. When I first saw their delivery truck, I literally ran after it. All my life I wanted enough seltzer in the house. And the bottles are so neat.
My primary indulgence is a fancy after-dinner something if we're having people over. I just got this [Marolo] camomile grappa. I had some at a restaurant and they called it Italian Ambien.
We have a small collection of cocktail books. The beautiful ones are tucked away, where people won't spill on them. But the most useful ones are in the kitchen—"The New York Bartender's Guide," "The Savoy Cocktail Book." Our favorite is called "Bottoms Up," illustrated with paintings of naked women, often in martini glasses. It's real classy.
I don't care much for dry vermouth. In a Martini, I want to taste the gin. There are so many interesting gins now, like Bluecoat, from Philadelphia. It's got these dry, powdery spices, really good. I like a Hendrick's Martini in the summertime; you taste all that cucumber and grass. But Carpano Antica sweet vermouth is super good. I use it in Old-Fashioneds, Manhattans, Negronis, Old Pals.
The Old-Fashioned changed my life. It's my literary agent's drink; the first time I met her, she ordered one. I didn't have any idea what it was, I think I was 25 at the time, so I ordered one, too. It was sweet and delicious. I find it's a great beginner's cocktail and an advanced cocktail, too, because it's easy to drink and has endless variations.
The most overrated ingredient is bacon. It depresses me that in restaurants Brussels sprouts are now just the way bacon is conveyed to the table.
The most underrated ingredient might be radishes. I think most people are afraid to eat them. I usually eat them raw or in soups; they're good when you don't quite want an onion. I put them on top of things, too, where one might use parsley—an enchilada or a piece of fish.
I'm not much of a dessert person, so if I'm going to serve dessert, I like something trashy. Not nouveau-trashy like s'mores with homemade marshmallows, but actual trash, like It's-It ice cream sandwiches. There's just something delightful about a ridiculous packaged dessert on a plate after a carefully prepared dinner.
Our son embarrassed us in front of his pediatrician, who was asking what green foods he ate. He does actually eat a lot of broccoli and romaine lettuce. But the only one he could think of was mint-flavored It's-Its.
—Edited from an interview by Emily Kaiser Thelin
