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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
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| In Praise of Pale Food | In Praise of Pale Food |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| IT’S ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS people mention when they learn I have a 4-year-old daughter. | IT’S ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS people mention when they learn I have a 4-year-old daughter. |
| “Dahlia must be an adventurous eater,” they say. The assumption is that because I have a penchant for anchovies, pungent cheese and spicy regional cuisines, my daughter must, too. | |
| But she doesn’t. And adventurous isn’t really the word I’d use to describe her eating habits. Picky would be more accurate. | But she doesn’t. And adventurous isn’t really the word I’d use to describe her eating habits. Picky would be more accurate. |
| This is despite my best efforts at eating a varied, spicy, green-vegetable-heavy diet when I was pregnant, with hopes of influencing my child’s taste buds in utero. Instead, Dahlia arrived a staunch lover of white food. It began, as it always does, with rivers of milk and has since settled into anything carb-heavy, creamy and unchallenging, preferably anchored by pasta, bread or rice. | |
| It’s not that every morsel Dahlia eats is white. She makes exceptions for plain pizza, hot dogs and almond butter and jelly sandwiches, all things I’ve come to see as metaphorical “white foods,” uncomplicated and familiar as they are. | It’s not that every morsel Dahlia eats is white. She makes exceptions for plain pizza, hot dogs and almond butter and jelly sandwiches, all things I’ve come to see as metaphorical “white foods,” uncomplicated and familiar as they are. |
| And just as a hot dog can be a “white food,” pale cod fillets, endive, cauliflower and squid are not. Dahlia would be no more likely to eat squid than she would beets, which is to say highly unlikely. | And just as a hot dog can be a “white food,” pale cod fillets, endive, cauliflower and squid are not. Dahlia would be no more likely to eat squid than she would beets, which is to say highly unlikely. |
| Meanwhile, I’ve endured hearing my friends and colleagues list the exotic morsels their preschool darlings eat: the raw oysters and sardine sandwiches, the sautéed mustard greens, curried lentils and roasted eggplant. At this point, I would be ecstatic if Dahlia consented to soup, which she has rejected as an entire category. | Meanwhile, I’ve endured hearing my friends and colleagues list the exotic morsels their preschool darlings eat: the raw oysters and sardine sandwiches, the sautéed mustard greens, curried lentils and roasted eggplant. At this point, I would be ecstatic if Dahlia consented to soup, which she has rejected as an entire category. |
| I know Dahlia’s narrow (or shall we say, still-maturing) palate puts her in good company. Children who eat solely white food abound. | I know Dahlia’s narrow (or shall we say, still-maturing) palate puts her in good company. Children who eat solely white food abound. |
| And while most children outgrow their white-food phase, others do not. They carry it with them into adulthood, forever reaching for the baked potato. My friend’s husband freely admits to having the palate of a 5-year-old; she usually reads menus online before they go out to see if there’s something her spouse will eat. Then there’s my former neighbor, who once admitted that she was so embarrassed by her limited palate that she made sure all her dates took her to Italian restaurants so that it wouldn’t look odd if she ordered only fettuccine Alfredo. | And while most children outgrow their white-food phase, others do not. They carry it with them into adulthood, forever reaching for the baked potato. My friend’s husband freely admits to having the palate of a 5-year-old; she usually reads menus online before they go out to see if there’s something her spouse will eat. Then there’s my former neighbor, who once admitted that she was so embarrassed by her limited palate that she made sure all her dates took her to Italian restaurants so that it wouldn’t look odd if she ordered only fettuccine Alfredo. |
| Not that there’s anything wrong with fettuccine Alfredo, or the wider universe of white food. There is a lot to love about soft bread, sweet puddings, creamy mashed potatoes and buttery noodles, all of which are appealing in a nursery kind of way. These foods speak to the child in all of us, no matter how many rarefied tastes our palates have acquired. | Not that there’s anything wrong with fettuccine Alfredo, or the wider universe of white food. There is a lot to love about soft bread, sweet puddings, creamy mashed potatoes and buttery noodles, all of which are appealing in a nursery kind of way. These foods speak to the child in all of us, no matter how many rarefied tastes our palates have acquired. |
| So before the last of winter’s cold has passed, or colorful spring produce arrives, let’s pay tribute to all that is good about white food. These three white (or beige) dishes are a last hurrah for coziness. | So before the last of winter’s cold has passed, or colorful spring produce arrives, let’s pay tribute to all that is good about white food. These three white (or beige) dishes are a last hurrah for coziness. |
| Those with sophisticated palates, take heart. Although these dishes look pale and bland, I created them to please white-food-loving children and their families. What they lack in color they make up for in flavor, which in these recipes is rich and deep without being in any way pungent or spicy (though serving hot sauce on the side is energetically encouraged). | Those with sophisticated palates, take heart. Although these dishes look pale and bland, I created them to please white-food-loving children and their families. What they lack in color they make up for in flavor, which in these recipes is rich and deep without being in any way pungent or spicy (though serving hot sauce on the side is energetically encouraged). |
| For example, wine and diced celery root subtly add character to a biscuit-topped chicken potpie. Mascarpone, Brie and Parmesan yield the most velvety macaroni and cheese imaginable. And although I think rice pudding needs no improvement, using a whole vanilla bean instead of extract increases the luscious factor by leaps. | For example, wine and diced celery root subtly add character to a biscuit-topped chicken potpie. Mascarpone, Brie and Parmesan yield the most velvety macaroni and cheese imaginable. And although I think rice pudding needs no improvement, using a whole vanilla bean instead of extract increases the luscious factor by leaps. |
| What did Dahlia think? I’m happy to report that all three recipes easily passed through the locked gates of her pursed lips for a taste, with the macaroni and cheese and potpie both declared yummy. The only miss was the rice pudding, though she did contentedly pick and eat all the raisins before proclaiming the pudding dish “too mushy.” That just left more for me. | What did Dahlia think? I’m happy to report that all three recipes easily passed through the locked gates of her pursed lips for a taste, with the macaroni and cheese and potpie both declared yummy. The only miss was the rice pudding, though she did contentedly pick and eat all the raisins before proclaiming the pudding dish “too mushy.” That just left more for me. |
| I have faith that Dahlia’s tastes will evolve. After a childhood diet of macaroni and cheese, roast chicken and grilled cheese sandwiches, mine eventually did. | I have faith that Dahlia’s tastes will evolve. After a childhood diet of macaroni and cheese, roast chicken and grilled cheese sandwiches, mine eventually did. |