Ever interview a Spanish matador? Ever wonder what Christie Brinkley keeps in her nightstand, or how Mad Men‘s Matthew Weiner stocks his liquor cabinet? Edward Lewine has, and we are all luckier for it.
Lewine is another of our New York-based journalists, trained in conducting and then condensing hours of interviews before interlacing their results throughout his finely-researched books and articles. He kept his journalist hat on while writing his essay for Cassoulet, and his solid research anchors a smart, funny, and occasionally maddening piece about how crazy we can be about the food we feed our children. I have read this essay over a dozen times, and I shake my head each time. I don’t know the people — especially the parents — in his essay, but I know them… and you do, too.
Luckily, his essay ends with an unimpeachably healthy and delicious recipe for banana bread, so read his essay, tell yourself that you’re not really like those people, and bake up a loaf.