Headlines to Die For

HALLIE EPHRON: A few months ago I had the great pleasure of meeting Deb Pines at an MWA chapter meeting in New York that she'd organized. She's working on a mystery, of course, but what floored me is her day (actually, night) job: she writes headlines for the New York Post, a paper famous for its headlines.

After the JetBlue pilot had a meltdown in midair, her headline:
"THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN FREAKING"

Is that a great headline or what??

Deb, how did you come up with that headline? Did you sit in a cubicle and experience a visitation from Captain Kirk? Or is it a group process?

DEB PINES: At The Post, my team, the copy desk, doesn’t write the screaming Page 1 headline – the wood – every day. When the top editors are stuck, they come over and say something like, “Why don’t we run it by Barry’s boys?” That means my seven male colleagues (on most nights) and me.

Sometimes, the wood is a collaborative brainstorming effort with everyone calling out suggestions. Often – probably due to girly reticence – I submit my ideas on paper.

We all re-use old words or headlines (short ones that fit).  Or we build on prior headlines or concepts. Or, in rare cases, we come up with something new and original. I owe part of my “THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN FREAKING” to an earlier wood written by a now-deceased colleague, Joe Cunningham.  When a JetBlue steward in 2010 ranted at passengers then fled the plane, beer in hand, out an emergency chute, Joe wrote, “FREAKING FLYER.” I took the “FREAKING” from him and went from there.

HALLIE: Day in the life... what time do you go to work, are you in a big noisy newsroom, and how many headlines do you have to come up with in a given night?

DEB: I work in a big old-school noisy newsroom on the tenth floor of a modern Midtown Manhattan skyscraper.  My shift is from 3:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.  I’d like to say all I do is write headlines.  But, alas, my main functions are far less sexy.  I chop stories to fit the space they’re assigned to.  And, in what’s often a mad rush, I try to catch typos, inconsistencies, misspellings and other mistakes.

Each night, I write between three and fifteen headlines. The number depends on the size of  – the next day’s paper, available staff and stories assigned to me.

I can do many little postage-stamp-sized stories with one-word or two-word headlines like: Luftwaffler (when a Holocaust-denier changed his tune), Mazel Tough (when a family, denied a bar mitvah at the Plaza Hotel due to renovations, lost a lawsuit against the Plaza) and Eyeful Tower (about a different hotel that got cheers and jeers for allegedly encouraging guests to stand naked or have sex in front of curtainless floor-to-ceiling windows).

HALLIE: I inadvertently stayed in that hotel! I wondered why the room was so reasonable.

How on earth did you end up with this job?

DEB: I’m a former newspaper reporter. When I got bitten by the mystery-writing bug, I wanted a “day job” that gave me time and energy to write fiction, too.

My first “day job,” writing entries for a course-catalog from home, turned out to be deadly dull and lonely. My second “day job,” copy-editing a hip-hop magazine (where I changed gangsters to gangstas, players to playas, motherfuckers to muthafuckas, and so on) ended in me being fired.

Missing the camaraderie and adrenaline rush of a newsroom, I applied for copy-editing jobs at every New York newspaper. I got a try-out at The Post that led to the job that I’ve enjoyed since.

HALLIE: Headlines and short, attention grabbing, and pithy. Novels are 80,000 words long. Is there any cross-over in terms of what it takes to get it done?

DEB: Some similarities exist between mystery-writing, headline-writing and any kind of writing. Each has its own rules as specific as those required of writing loftier stuff like, say, a sonnet in iambic pentameter.

All require a consistent voice. For my mystery, I’m aiming to speak in my own authentic voice.  For my headlines, I’m aiming to channel the voice of some leering old right-wing New York guy (who uses words like perv, fiend and thug and loves cheesecake photos of hot models and celebs).

HALLIE: You know, that wouldn't be a bad voice to channel for a mystery novel.

DEB: For both, I try to withhold something – saving a punchline.  For instance, when a Post columnist denounced greedy unions, I headlined it: “Unions sing same old song: Me, me, me, me.”

HALLIE: Last but not least, please tell us about the novel you're writing. Is it about the news business?

DEB: I’ve just finished the first draft of my novel, tentatively called “All I Really Needed to Know I Learned from the O.J. Trial, ‘Law & Order’ and the New York Post: A Mimi Goldman Murder Mystery.”

HALLIE: Laughing! That will take the "longest book title ever" award. And Mimi is...??

DEB: Mimi Goldman, is – no surprise – a tabloid copy editor.  A younger, braver and prettier version of myself, Mimi thinks it would be a lark to solve her own “Law & Order”-type murder mystery.  But, when a neighbor dies and she gets the chance, her efforts – at times comical, at times harrowing – turn into life-or-death struggle. Mimi could end one of two ways – that, at my other job, I might sum up as:

Back at The Post
or she’s toast!

HALLIE: Well, we wish you great success with your novel -- it sounds wonderful. And anyone can tell,  you definitely have a "voice." We can say we knew you when...

Deb will be checking in today, so please chime in. (Any books that need catchy titles? I bet she'd be great at it.) And I'll bet she could have come up with a much snappier headline than I did.

Kathy Gunst Dishes from her Maine Kitchen

HALLIE EPHRON: We are so excited to have the wonderful food writer and public radio commentator Kathy Gunst visiting today on Jungle Red. Kathy's new book, "Notes from a Maine Kitchen," came out in the fall. It's a literary cookbook with scads of new recipes. Since the year 2000, Kathy has been the "Resident Chef" on WBUR radio's "Here and Now." Listen to her recent shows at http://hereandnow.wbur.org/tag/kathy-gunst 

Kathy, where are you living in Maine and what is it that makes Maine cooking special?

KATHY GUNST: I live in southern Maine, not all that far from Boston. It's a part of Maine that some Mainers don't call Maine, but you know what? It is Maine through and through.

What makes Maine cooking special is a question with a long answer, but let me keep it brief. I guess the answer, in a word, is authenticity. This is a state with a strong sense of place. If a state were a person, I would say that Maine is like a really grounded middle-aged woman who really knows her place in the world and isn't interested in trying to be like New York or California or even Chicago. It's proud to be who it is.

Maine food is, first and foremost, about the jewels that come from the sea, but also so much more. Obviously lobster, but also clams and mussels and the best, most buttery sweet filet of sole. The number of people farming here has grown enormously in the past decade, and don't get me even started on the amazing bakeries, breweries, jellies and jams, locally raised meats.....and so much more.

HALLIE: When I think MAINE, I think soups, stews, and of course lobster. And my favorite combination of the three: lobster bisque. Do you have a philosophy about lobster bisque? Sherry or not? Pink or white? Thicken with flour, rice, or not at all? Add corn or heaven forbid?

KATHY: Lobster bisque is a rich, gorgeous stew that benefits from a splash of sherry (sure, why not?). Pink or white? Well, if you use enough lobster it will have a pink blush like a gorgeous wine and the sweet, natural, briny flavor of lobster.

That's what its all about. Rice? Excuse me! Flour? Well, as little as possible. Corn? Might be delicious, but as a purist I have to say NO! When you're cooking with lobster (or any excellent food, be it garden lettuce, a just-picked blueberry, or an organic chicken) the goal is to keep it simple and honor the beauty of the ingredient. In my new book, Notes from a Maine Kitchen, I have an entire chapter on lobster offering up everything from the best lobster roll to lobster and corn chowder to lobster salads and grilled lobster with garlic-lemon-herb butter

HALLIE: I don't keep a lot of cookbooks because I don't have the room, but this one sounds like a keeper.

It's spring in New England, and I've already cooked our first soft shell crab  of the season. After hearing you talk about ramps on the radio, I'll be looking for them at my local farmer's market. What other special spring-only ingredients should we all be looking for?

KATHY: Spring (and, in particular this year) is a season of gifts. I adore soft shell crabs, but they are hard to find in northern New England (they thrive in the South). I have been eating the first spinach from the garden (sautéed in olive oil with garlic), fiddleheads (a true New England specialty that grows wild by the side of rivers and streams and tastes like asparagus and earth and a hint of artichoke) and soon we will have local strawberries (locally raised berries being the only berry worth eating, the kind of berry that stains your shirt because it is so juicy and sweet).

Fava beans, another spring specialty, are buttery and pea-like but so much more unique. They require double shelling which can be a pain, but the flavor reward is huge. Use them in pasta sauce, sauteed with garlic and olive oil, pureed with olive oil as a dip for pita, and added to soups and stews

Also look for garlic scapes, the scrolled top of a new garlic plant that has a subtle garlic flavor and is fabulous chopped into salads, vinaigrettes, sautéed meats or fish, soups, stews....Oh ,and a garlic scape pesto is something to talk about.

HALLIE:  Love your philosophy: "Fresh simple food is best." Do you have a kitchen garden and what are you growing?

KATHY: Yes we have a vegetable garden where we grow all kinds of food. I always grow dozens of varieties of tomatoes (that I eat fresh all season and then use all the ones I haven't devoured for my annual roasted tomato sauce and canning party each fall), garlic, eggplant, arugula, lettuces, baby bok choy, leeks, onions, herbs. I always tell people to grow fresh herbs, even if they live in a tiny city apartment, because fresh herbs wake up any type of cooking with a fresh blast of flavor.

The idea behind "fresh simple food is best" is this: if you have really good, fresh ingredients you will have good food. You don't need to add fancy sauces or techniques because really fresh food means you will eat well no matter how good--or bad--- a cook you may be.

HALLIE: When you shop for produce, are you looking for organic only?

KATHY: Yes, when there's a choice I always opt for organic. But, more importantly, I buy local. I like to know where my food was grown and how it was grown. I have learned too much about the dangers of pesticides and genetically altered food to "pretend" that eating just any food is O.K. When I buy locally I can talk to the farmer about how my food was grown.

Some might call this "elitist," but I truly believe that spending a bit extra on local or responsibly raised food is worth it in the end. Lets face it: it’s expensive to get sick. Sorry, I just got kind of heavy there. Yes...those crazy buzzwords that are so overused --"local" and "organic" -- mean a whole lot to me.

Recently Thomas Keller, the great master chef of The French Laundry in California and Per Se in NYC, told a New York Times reporter: "With the relatively small number of people I feed, is it really my responsibility to worry about carbon footprint?" Between his many restaurants and bakeries, Mr. Keller actually feeds many lucky diners every year. He is a major trendsetter and, as far as I'm concerned, he does indeed have a responsibility to support local and organic agriculture. In fact, I would say we all have a responsibility.

HALLIE: Kathy, You've appeared on lots of TV shows. Is it nerve wracking, cooking in front of a camera? And has anything unexpected ever happened while you were cooking on TV.

KATHY: HA! How much time do you have? For some inexplicable reason I don't get nervous in front of a camera. But it's a lot to think about: how's my hair, how's my nails, how’s my outfit, how’s my food look?

HALLIE: Nails?! Of course, never occurred to me you'd need to worry about that on TV but of course your hands are front and center.

KATHY: I guess my best story goes back about 20 years when I was on the Regis and Kathie Lee show and I had just written a book on creative ways to use leftovers. I got to the studio and there was a portable burner on a makeshift plywood table and they said, "We want you to cook 6 dishes live and you have 4 1/2 minutes!"

HALLIE: I hope you still have the tape! Are there cookbooks that you come back to over and over?

KATHY: Yes, I have a gigantic stack of cookbooks (in almost every room of my house) but there are only a few I really refer to over and over. Julia, of course. I turn to "Mastering the Art" for techniques and non-nonsense fundamentals, but also several baking books like Dorie Greenspan's "Baking" and Nick Malgieri's "Perfect Cakes" and Boston bakery chef Joanne Chang's "Flour." Baking is a science and I am more of a "lets-see-what-happens-if-we-add-a-pinch-of-this" kind of cook, so I need some guidance when I want to tackle a cake or a tart or a soufflé. But I always add my own riff.

HALLIE: I've got to ask:  years ago you wrote recipes for a book about Lundy's, the legendary seafood restaurant in Brooklyn's Sheepshead Bay where I went with my Brooklyn-born husband-to-be and his parents WAY back. Did you ever eat at Lundy's, and how did you research those recipes?

KATHY: Wow, I am so happy you brought up Lundy’s. I went to Lundy's many times and it WAS a wonderful place. I was lucky enough to work with (then) Chef Neil Kleinberg and go through some huge stacks of Lundy recipes.

The original Lundy family didn't give me any of their original recipes, so much of it was recreating some of the favorites. I was given a recipe for, lets say, biscuits, and at the top of the page it would say: "Feeds 850." There was lots and lots of testing and retesting, but I love the biscuit recipe, and all the seafood recipes. The crab cakes, the Oysters Rockefeller, the linguine with clam sauce.

But one of my favorite recipes from that book is Angry Lobster, where you cut a live lobster into pieces (much less cruel than it sounds, trust me) and roast it at 450 degrees with olive oil, garlic, red chile pepper flakes, and fresh rosemary and serve it over linguine. Just thinking about this dish makes me VERY hungry.

HALLIE: "Angry lobster!" That sounds FABULOUS! Thanks, Kathy!

Kathy will be checking back today so please join the discussion. Spring vegetables? Favorite recipes and cookbooks? Legendary restaurant recipes you wish you had. Dish!

Afraid of butter? Use cream...

HALLIE EPHRON: Once again, science triumphs. After being advised for years to shun transfats in favor of "good cholesterol" (HDL) to lower the risk of heart disease, the New York Times reported a new study finds, lo and behold, raising HDL levels makes no difference. To which I say, estrogen supplement anyone?

Never mind HDLs and transfats -- for me there are definitely good fats and bad fats. Bad fats taste bad and they leave a greasy aftertaste. Think margarine, some brands of potato chips that shall go unnamed, and most store bought donuts. I can easily imagine their fat coating my arteries just like they coat the roof of my mouth.

Good fats taste rich and yum-shish, to use the technical term. Think butter, olive oil, and beignets from Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans. Also chicken fat. Really. If you don't like chopped liver, it's probably because you've never had it made with freshly rendered chicken fat.

I never needed an excuse to eat avocados or shrimp or salmon which were, until recently, supposedly brimming with good-for-you fats. And despite the bad-for-you label, there's simply no better tasting pie crust than one made with lard.

So here we all are, once again bewildered in the supermarket, trying to make healthy choices and foiled at every turn. As in all things, I turn to Julia Child for wisdom: "Everything in moderation, including moderation."

Another of her quotes which I find often comes in handy: "Every woman should have a blowtorch."

So Reds, where are you on the fat question? Have you shifted to "good fats," and where does this latest bit of wisdom from the medical community leave you?

LUCY BURDETTE: Well, when I'm cooking I go through organic olive oil like crazy. Although, if you read all the buzz about what's really EVOO, you could get frozen on that subject too. And we eat butter in moderation--mostly organic unless the prices are way out of this world. And cheese. I'm a cheese fanatic and I figure I can make up for that by hardly eating red meat. And trying to eat local veggies and fruit.

I think Julia was right about moderation, though I suspect her idea of moderation wasn't much like mine. And I don't care for chicken livers Hallie, but I'll try your pate one day. The thing that's got me going in circles these days is being fair to the animals we eat. Sigh. The old farming days were so simple, weren't they? And they didn't write blogs about their meals either :).

RHYS BOWEN: We've always eaten butter and cheese, although in moderation. Always cook with olive oil these days and eat very little red meat. But I'm becoming more and more concerned about the antibiotics fed to animals and chickens, since we're reading so much about resistant super bugs. And like Lucy, I'm going through a moral crisis about eating animals at all. But I do adore pate, Hallie. And lamb chops. Sigh.

HALLIE: I so agree, Rhys. IMHO, fat on a lamb chop is in its own category: sublime fat.

RHYS: If you decide on no meat because of steroids and antibiotics
No fish because of mercury
No plants because of pesticides
There isn't much left. Now we read that all organics are not truly organic. Buy a small farm and raise my own everything, I suppose.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: We actually have friends who have, if not a small farm, free-range chickens and turkeys. We get the most wonderful eggs for them. I'd love to go organic, etc, but frankly, with my food budget including two teens, one eleven-year-old who's starting to eat like a teen, and whichever of their friends who happen to be around at dinner time, I just can't afford it. Now the Smithie is home, we went through FOUR GALLONS OF MILK IN ONE WEEK. 

My solution to eating healthy on a budget has always been to use meat in a Mediterranean way - as an accent to the rest of the dish. So we have pasta with a little chicken, rice with a little beef, stew with a little pork. Always the real stuff - butter, olive oil, real cheese. As someone smarter than me pointed out, we've been eating "fat-free" for the past thirty years - so why are Americans fatter than ever?

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I've always been an "unprocessed food" nut. I use butter, unsalted organic, usually, on my toast and the few other things that MUST have butter. Bake about twice a year, but use butter when I do. Cook with EVOO--actually it's more like "everything tastes better with olive oil on it"--but who knows if it's really EVOO unless you've grown the olives? I don't use cream much since I don't tend to cook many saucey things and I put milk in my tea, but I usually keep some organic half and half in the fridge just in case something needs a splash.

I'm with everyone else on the meat issue.  We have been eating more red meat simply because we have a local organic meat market that raises and processes their own cows, so we know the animals were treated humanely and not fed horrible stuff.  Tough choices these days.  I'd go with Julia, except like Lucy, I suspect her idea of moderation was not mine:-)

Do you all remember "Julie and Julia" from a couple of years ago, where the woman cooked all four hundred some odd recipes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a year? Talk about butter overload!

JAN BROGAN:  If you just wait long enough everything that was determined bad for you will be declared health food.  Or its low-fat non-fat substitute will be declared much worse. I'm holding out for the study that says bacon adds years to your life.

DEBS: I'm with Jan on the bacon. I just wish it wasn't so damned much trouble to clean up after you cook it!

JULIA: As far as I'm concerned, better sixty-five years with bacon than eighty-five with toasted kasha.

ROSEMARY HARRIS: There really isn't anything that I will absolutely stay away from although I probably only eat meat once or twice a year. And it's hardly filet mignon - Once a year I must have pepperoni pizza.

I can't be trusted with a hunk of cheese (it will disappear in record time no matter how thin I shave the slices) so I try not buy it except for parties. But it's not the fat, it's the calories.

Bacon..haven't had it for years. Pate..used to love..I've had it once in the last 15 years.

What was the question again..? Butter? Love it. Scary how much of it I go through when I'm baking, but just to spread it on good bread..only if I've had so much wine that I'm no longer capable of making a good decision.

HALLIE: Latest news bulletin for Dr. Oz: Raspberry ketones are a miracle fat burner. No, you cannot get enough by eating raspberries -- you have to eat 90 pounds of raspberries to get the equivalent of a 100 mg capsule raspberry ketone. Apparently it's effective "especially when paired with regular exercise and a well-balanced diet of healthy foods." Hey, bacon is effective when paired it with a exercise and a diet, too.


So where are you with fat? Had you embraced HDLs? Given up butter? Or are you a lard-fried Twinkie die-hard?