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EAT MY MEMOIR is an ongoing series about family and food. It gives me great pleasure to remember and then try to recreate these family dishes. Along with the recreations are layers of familial memories that I had almost forgotten. The recipes have been tested two or three times, until they taste pretty damn good to me. But of course you may want to introduce your own tweaks, or scold me for going about things all wrong. Be my guest. —Ann Landi

Eat My Memoir - stories about family & food by writer Ann Landi

“ ‘Eat My Memoir’ is simply delicious. It’s like being invited to a family dinner where old stories are told and secrets revealed, amid a clatter of cutlery and plenty of laughter. And, oh yes, the food. I defy you to resist making Ann’s Devils on Horseback after reading about the Coogans’ cocktail parties and Mrs. Coogan’s ‘hollow leg.’  Enjoy, eat up, and get ready to giggle.”

—Mary Gabriel, author of “Ninth Street Women,” “Love and Capital,” and “Notorious Victoria”

15. A Tom Jones Dinner and Slow-Cooker Ribs

In early August, before moving to New York, before my brother left for freshman orientation at Dartmouth, we held a special farewell family dinner for him. We had all seen Tony Richardson’s movie of Tom Jones—yes, even the 12-year-old me, […]

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14. Chicken Pot Pie at the Gramercy Park Hotel

And then, glory hallelujah, my father got a job offer in New York City, a better management position with a company called Joy Manufacturing, whose name would be the butt of jokes for years to come. The timing was perfect, […]

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13. Emmy Bence’s Thoroughly Disgusting Mashed Potato Candy

I have lost so many photos over the years. Too many moves, too little interest in preserving the past. The boxes upon boxes of family snaps, the little albums of black-and-white photos, held together with a metal clip. I see […]

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12. The House on South 22nd Street

The house in Allentown is another I return to often in dreams and memories. Not all of it, because I’ve forgotten the look of the main rooms, but downstairs was a cherry-paneled den as an extension off the back of […]

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11. Hoppy Heel Pork Chops in Allentown, PA

  My dad was a company man, which meant he expected to be with the same firm, Ingersoll Rand, from recruitment through retirement. That is not how it turned out, but it was the way it looked in 1960. So […]

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10. Dad’s Dark-Beer Pancake Syrup

Before we leave Mountain Lakes—as we must, because my father was transferred to Allentown, PA, around 1960—I offer up some random snapshots of that blissful little town. Written snapshots because that seems to be how memory works for me, little […]

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“Ann Landi’s memoirs are as sprightly and witty as she is in person—and she’s a great cook, too.”

—Katherine C. Hill-Miller, author of “From the Lighthouse to Monk’s House: A Guide to Virginia Woolf’s Literary Landscapes,” and “My Hideous Progeny”: Mary Shelley, William Godwin, and the Father-Daughter Relationship”



  • Ann Landi, writer. Owner & Editor-in-Chief of Vasari21.com

    Eat My Memoir" is an ongoing series about family and food by Ann Landi, a journalist with more than 25 years' experience reporting on the art world for ARTnews, The Wall Street Journal, Smithsonian, and other publications. Landi is the owner and editor-in-chief of Vasari21.com, a community of artists.
  • Recent Posts

    • 15. A Tom Jones Dinner and Slow-Cooker Ribs
    • 14. Chicken Pot Pie at the Gramercy Park Hotel
    • 13. Emmy Bence’s Thoroughly Disgusting Mashed Potato Candy
    • 12. The House on South 22nd Street
    • 11. Hoppy Heel Pork Chops in Allentown, PA
    • 10. Dad’s Dark-Beer Pancake Syrup
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    The studio on the Vasari21 homepage for the next t The studio on the Vasari21 homepage for the next two weeks is Diana Creighton’s lair in Oracle, AZ. The bear in the middle was a 40th birthday present and has traveled with the artist to all her studios, occasionally serving as a model (his name: Grinnen Bearit). The new Facebook cover is a detail from her most recent series on borders and crossings. “I’m telling the story of the  U.S.-Mexico border,” she says. “No politics, no point of view, just a record of the humanity and the activity of crossings and checkpoints. #immigrationart #migrantart #realism #Arizonaartist #Vasari21
    This weekend and next offer your last opportunity This weekend and next offer your last opportunity to catch the three-person show at PeepShow (37 North 15th Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn) featuring works by Joshua Rosenblatt, Jason Phillips, and Vasari21 member William Norton (aka “Norton”). Norton’s single dramatic piece, a 20-foot-long charcoal and pastel drawing on paper, is entitled “Ghosts in the Machine: 3 Figures and a Potted Plant Celebrating Spring in the Subway.” As source material, the artist assembled hundreds of photographs taken during his subway commute, which to him recalled Dante’s “Inferno,” as stairs lead down from sunlit surfaces to the dirty, noisy, and overcrowded meat wagons below. Open this weekend and next from 2 to 8 p.m.   #brooklynartist #worksonpaper #contemporarydrawing #vasari21 #urbanart #subwayart
    It’s a great day all around. And I was so please It’s a great day all around. And I was so pleased yesterday to get this note from Carol Kunstadt about her profile on Vasari21. “I have had a few re-connections which suggest possibilities of a studio visit, a solo show, a presentation and an interview by an art history student.....and it's only been 24 hours! The response has been amazing!! So many positive reactions unlike ever before when I have sent out articles, PR, or announcements. Your writing/storytelling of my journey has really intrigued a wide number of people.” You can read more about Carole by scrolling halfway down the homepage, and please consider supporting the site if you have not done so already. People are reading! Shown here: Pressing On: Homage to Hannah More (2018), 20-inch circular grouping of antique sad irons, scorched lace and paper: pages by Hannah More, 1791 #mixedmediaart #hudsonvalleyartist #Vasari21 #feministart #assemblageart #assemblageartist
    This is the final week for “Rock Wood Paper Scis This is the final week for “Rock Wood Paper Scissors,” an exhibition at The Lockwood Gallery in Kingston, NY, that includes three Vasari21 members—Ellen Jouret-Epstein, Mimi Graminsky, and Ellen Weider. The show, says curator Alan Goolman, “evolved from a potentially interesting concept into a strong, viable narrative the moment I set eyes on Ellen Weider's Bounce. Everything rolled smoothly, gaining momentum from there. Because this is an architect-owned gallery (Michael Lockwood), Weider's work connected immediately on many levels. Most importantly, Weider's paintings provided the first and strongest of the many surprising visual connections created that support our narrative, enabling ‘Rock Wood Paper Scissors’ to develop into a seamless group show, showcasing 18 powerhouse artists.” Google the gallery to schedule an appointment. Here’s Weider delivering her work Cubism to the show. #abstractart #upstateartists #newyorkartists #hudsonvalleyartists #Vasari21
    Vasari21 Pic of the Week: It’s been a horrific f Vasari21 Pic of the Week: It’s been a horrific fortnight in America. Let’s end it with something blissful. Phillis Ideal’s Blue Slant (2019), acrylic, collage, and spray paint on canvas (framed), 30 by 40 inches. It’s presently part of an alcove show at the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe, which I’m told is online only though I can’t find it on the website. No matter. It’s out there somewhere.”These artist-centered showcases feature new ideas, artists at all stages of their careers and artwork that is being made by artists from across New Mexico,,” say the curators. Sooner or later we’ll all be able to see it in person. #santafeartist #newmexicoartist #abstractpainting #contemporaryabstraction #mixedmediaart #vasari21 

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    As announced a couple of weeks back, I want to do As announced a couple of weeks back, I want to do a post for the site about artists’ stores. I’m mostly interested in items related to your “fine arts” practice—like pillows, kimonos, scarves, etc.—but not the sort of thing you would show in a gallery. I may include prints, though, so please get in touch to let me know how you’re handling these items and if you’re having much success with the endeavor. Email me at ajlandi33@gmail.com. Here’s one of Leslie Fry’s delightful throw pillows. #artistsstores #artistsshope #vasari21
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