New York Magazine - USA (2020-03-30)

66 newyork| march30–april12, 2020

thefirstthingmy daughter, Alicia,usuallydoeswhen

shewakesis useupherdailyallotmentofscreentimeon

TumbleLeaf.After 25 minutes,shesays,“Papa,it’s breakfast

time,”andweheadtothekitchen.Thismorning’s project:

stratawithbacon,onions, peppers, mushrooms,andColby-

Jack.Weeat a lotofpancakesbutnottoday.

Lunchischilithatmy wife,Adri,madefromoneofthose

SunBasket kits.It’sfunforher, I lovewhenotherpeoplecook

forme,andthechiliis prettydarndeliciouswitha dollopof

Greekyogurtanda dashofTapatío.Adriis stillworkingfull

timefromhome,soI hangoutwithAliciaallday, takinga

precioushourortwoduringhernapsforZoomconferences

andwork-relatedphonecalls.It’sa finearrangementforme,

ashangingoutwithmydaughteris my favoritethingtodo

andkeepinghappyis oneof thebest thingswecando.Happy

peoplehavestrongerimmunesystems.Butit doesmeanthat

I’mleft nightsforwork.Eversincemy restaurant,Wursthall,

closedfordine-inservice,I’vebeenspendinga fewnightsa

weekthere,cookingfreemealdeliveriesforfirstresponders,

emergency-roomandotherhospitalstaff,folksoutofa job,

peoplewithkidshomefromschool.I wasgoingtoheadinat

six,thenthoughttwice.Nobodyhaseversaidontheirdeath-

bed,“I wishI hadspentlesstimewithmychildren.”Andfuck

it,I’mthechef, I canjust workextralate tonight.

Dinneris anothermealkitAdriwasgoingtomake,carni-

tastacos,butshe’s playingwithAlicia,soI take over. After

dinner,I finallyheadintoWursthallandmake abatchofpork

sandwichesdestinedfortheSanMateoSamaritanHouse

andfurloughedemployees.Before I startcooking,I strapa

GoProtomy forehead.Forsomereason,peopleseemtoenjoy

watchingfirst-personcookingvideosonmy YouTubechannel,

assillyasit is.Thesedays,I relishany opportunitytobesilly.

Alissa Nutting and

Her Anthropomorphic Cereal

onmonday,mytenthdayofshelterinplace,I beganthemorning

witha Theranos-capsule-sizecontainerof[thehomeopathicflumedicine]

Oscillococcinum.I lovehowtragicandShakespeareanI feelwhenI knockone

back.I sawthemrecommendedona doomsday-prepperwebsiteandfigured,

Whynot?Workis,ofcourse,virtual.Ourwriters’roomnowmeetsviaGoogle

Hangout.Recently,I realizedthat if youeat thin,white-chocolatepeanut-butter

cups(relativelyquickly)onZoom,they don’t looklikepeanut-buttercups. For

lunch,I hada bowlofCinnamonToastCrunch. Most ofthethingsI eat fallinto

a colorpaletteof“yarnusedtomake thosemacramé-owlwallhangingsinthe

’70s.”Onenicethingaboutthebox I got:It featuresananthropomorphizedpieceofcerealwitha cuteexpression.It’sa built-

inquarantinebuddy, almost asif CinnamonToastCrunchknew thiswascoming.Later,I dranktwopouchesofEmergen-C

(twobags,onecup)anda shotofLypo-SphericvitaminC.Fordinner, I wentbacktoCinnamonToastCrunch,butthistime

I addedh gbago s theculinaryequivalentofmelooseningmy tie.I stoppedalcohol

abouta y n my di s enoughchallenges.

PHOTOGRAPHS: COURTESY OF THE SUBJECTS

J. Kenji López-Alt

and His Carnitas and

Breakfast Strata

RUTH REICHL

and HER PARMESAN

STOCK and MAPO TOFU

my husband and i flew back from l.a. There was

nothing in the house except what was in my freezer

and pantry, so I went out and did a big shopping trip, and

I haven’t left since. I still

had lots of olive oils and vin-

egars and flour and sugar

and a lot of things that were

frozen: sour cherries and

blue berries and corn and

spinach and Parmesan rinds

for stock. For breakfast, I had

coffee, a baguette from the

freezer, and orange mar-

malade that somebody gave

me last summer. My husband had coffee and fresh juice that

used up the last of our oranges, plus vanilla cake that I’d

baked. That’s probably the last cake I’ll bake. I’m running

outofflour, andI’m saving

whatI dohavetobake bread.

Becauseas longas I have

bread,I ama happyperson.

I mademapotofuthe night

beforeandhadthat for lunch.

I alsomadea liverwurst-

and-onion sandwich with

mustard.Fordinner, I had

thisnicebeefandbroccoli—

a recipe I got when I was in

China. You add a little oyster sauce, soy sauce, ginger, gar-

lic, and Shaoxing wine, which is a pantry item I almost

always have. I usually have a good bottle and a cheap

bottle,butGodknows when I’ll get to the city again.