So a few weeks ago, I made musakhan for the first time, thanks to a woman in the Netherlands who I've never met and wouldn't recognize in person.
There are any number of food communities on the Web -- from Serious Eats to Chowhound and beyond -- but my favorite is eGullet, and that's the one that has influenced my development as a cook the most.
So if it weren't for a woman in the Netherlands looking for ideas for her husband's birthday dinner, I never would have found Paula Wolfert's recipe for musakhan, which is awesome and delicious and wonderful for a party, and also a great way to use up the sumac I ordered from Penzey's for completely unknown reasons.
But if it weren't for me, she never would have served butternut squash and chickpea salad at the birthday dinner in question, since that was what I suggested when she asked for ideas for a warm vegetable side. So it's total fair trade. What goes around (toward Europe) comes around (back toward Philly).
Speaking of the internet, and things that go in two directions, today my Intrepid column is about... um, this blog. Hello! Welcome to the blog! I'm officially relaunching and trying to get on a semi-regular update schedule. Hopefully we can start drawing a crowd.
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