Amid the shows of celebrity chefs making impossible dishes and adventurous gourmands eating foods most people wouldn't touch is a local show that takes a different approach.
"Dinner and a Book" is in its ninth season on WNIT-TV, the local public television station still based in Elkhart.
Gail Martin, who also raises money for the station, started the show and hosts it with other foodies from the community. Over the years the show had two or four regular hosts, but now it's her and a guest host. This weekend, that's me. Martin and I taped a show in August that aired at 10:30 a.m. Saturday and again tonight at 5:30 p.m. on broadcast channel 34.
It's the highest-rated show of the ones WNIT produces. All of them involve conversation. The others are about politics and economics. This one is about food and books.
"It's dinner and a book," Martin said. "We have to balance talking about the book."
Martin and her guest hosts cook as they talk about a book, often a novel. In our case, we picked Thomas Fox Averill's "The Secrets of the Tsil Cafe," a food novel that includes recipes.
Martin stays busy preparing for the show by reading and then preparing by planning a menu to prepare during taping. During our show, she fixed zucchini fixed in both Old World (European) and New World (early Latin American/American) ways. I fixed chocolate guava dressing (New World) and a grain salad that combined both cuisines.
With others, she'll cook French and other cuisines. Last year, Martin and I cooked Irish, highlighting the Dining A La King trip to Ireland and the years before that it was Italian and Guatemalan.
Martin studied French and English in college and taught French at local colleges before becoming a professional fundraiser. The show gives her a chance to combine her love of literature and food. She uses "Good books, good food and good friends make for a very good life," as the tag line on the show.
She produces the program with Angel Hernandez, WNIT's vice president of production. Together, they've created something that's fun to watch and fun to be a part of.
Preparing food for the magic of television is a thrill in its own right. The viewer can't smell or taste the food, so it has to look good, which is more than can usually be said of me. Television lights can be bright and hot and it's a struggle for someone like me not to sweat.
But this isn't in HD, the same way some other programs or sports are. Have you seen the hosts of "60 Minutes" lately? The journalism is good but those were faces designed for low-def television.
The WNIT studio at the Elkhart Area Career Center doesn't have a working sink and the stove runs off a small propane tank. It's a bring-your-own ingredient and kitchen equipment game, too.
Unlike cooking at home, you have to talk and cook at the same time, which can present its own challenges. But it's a blast to try not spill something on yourself, let alone burn or cut yourself, while trying to sound intelligent about a book you read.
"It's so much fun to find people that like to read and like food," Martin said.
I was an English major in college. I use words -- and eating utensils -- for a living, so this is just a ton of fun.
In coming weeks, Martin and her co-hosts will discuss Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food" and Julia Child's "My Life in France." In November, Alice Martin, who with her husband Rex has been a sponsor of the show since its beginning, will be on the show. The season continues through Dec. 21 and the shows will re-air in the spring. You can find more information at www.wnit.org and click on the "Local Productions" button.
QUICK BITES
* Football season is prompting places that weren't open on that day to do so. As mentioned last week, Harrison Landing is opening for NFL games Sunday afternoons. In addition, Constant Spring, 219 S. Main St., Goshen, will be open every Sunday until the Super Bowl from noon to midnight, with the kitchen open until 10 p.m. Drink and food specials will be offered.
* Crimaldi's, 117 W. Jackson, is planning to open for lunches, but hasn't been able to yet. Last week's column reported they were doing so, but they're not quite ready.
* Lisa Glon is the new manager of the Mill Race Farmers Market in Goshen. In recent weeks, the market has been full of great locally grown fruits and vegetables. A fundraiser is being planned behind the farmers market also as part of the First Friday. Homegrown Americana 6, will have music and food starting at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 2.
* Reader question: Joe Weiler of Leesburg e-mailed to ask about a tapas restaurant opening in Elkhart. I don't know of one, though McCarthy's on the Race is likely to have small plates. The only tapas restaurant I know of in Elkhart county is Kelly Jae's in Goshen, which musician Doc Severinsen visited twice when he was here to play a sold-out concert at Goshen College a little over a week ago. I'm told he raved about the food.
* Reader question number 2: Doug Nierle was coming to town from out of state and wondered where to go for a meal after the Notre Dame game. He and his brothers attend an ND game once a year and had gone to Casey's. I recommended Heinnie's. After the visit, Nierle wrote that the steaks were cooked perfectly and they enjoyed chatting with co-owner Bill DeShone. "Great food, great service and ice-cold Blue Ribbon - it doesn't get any better than that," he wrote, noting that his brother said, "If I was a steer I would want to be served up at Heinnie's in Elkhart."