Citymeals on Wheels

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Last night my son Aaron and  I have the great honor of participating in  the grand Citymeals on Wheels benefit at Rockefeller Center.  Ruth Reichl picked the theme of Family Meals so many of us who have  given birth to daughters and sons and have been turned  into “this is Aaron Sanchez’s  mother” instead of Aaron Sanchez is my son.” made food that they ate as children and we still eat at home.

Ruth is slowly taking chefs to their roots and making them proud. Who else would have asked me to write an article about lard when she was food editor of the LA Times! I thank Ruth and the Gourmet Institute for naming one of the 50 top women in cooking for promoting Mexican regional cooking.

Since closing the restaurant I’ve been  cooking more than ever and as I go back to dishes that I mix with my own  hands I am realizing  how much I have missed   and how much I enjoy it!  And everything seems so simple. I marvel. It’s not that our wonderful chef Hilario (my other son did not do a wonderful job in the kitchen  but we had different responsibilities: I was on the floor, he was in the kitchen which he ran beautifully.

Of course I am mostly making simple things like we are serving tonight: chorizo, sopa seca, chorizo, pepian es, tamales, even a sacahuil (the giant tamal from Veracruz is a breeze.   Of course, devoted Emma is here to do the mis-en-place and clean up and that makes a huge difference,  believe me.  I’m not kidding when I say that Mexican girls are raised to prefer to starve  than be without a help. That way they are not too tired when your husband or companion come home and can concentrate of feeding his senses.

Gael Greene, the queenh, whose idea it was

And  that is precisely what CutyMeals on Wheels does!  It feeds thousands of home bound elderly people, brings them cheer and contact with  the outside world. Most of all, it calms their skin hunger because everyone gets a hug.  This is one organization where every penny raised goes to the serving the people and generous sponsors like Nick Valenti of the Patina restaurant group who donate the space, Fiji Water, American Airlines and lots of smaller companies who provide everything from wine, to coffee and  to the artisanal goodies that go into fabulous the goody bags.

This year my favorite were the chocolate -covered wine grapes.  Can I have another bag?