First of all, thank you to the new subscribers who’ve joined up the last few weeks. I greatly appreciate your interest and I have been thinking a lot about what this space should offer readers. To that end I’ve come up with a one sentence descriptor:
Personal politics for the politically homeless
It’s a newsletter that combines personal experience, long-form cultural/political/social commentary, and shorter thoughts music and food usually sent out on Fridays. Kind of like a dinner party, just in newsletter format, since dinner parties are verboten these days. Does that make sense? Feel free to comment or message me with your thoughts.
So randomly these past two weeks I’ve become a bit obsessed with processed, highly plastic, bright orange American cheese. For context: I love all types of cheese. When I was a teenager, on a French exchange with a family in Corsica, I ate that infamous sheep’s cheese with live maggots in it and I thought it was delicious. (As far as I remember, the maggots stopped wiggling when you spread the cheese on the bread, so it didn’t really feel like you were eating bugs. It tasted sharp and pungent, like the local sheep herders smelled.)
So when it comes to cheese, I’m down for anything. But before this month, I cannot remember the last time I bought American cheese. (I also ate breakfast cereal for the first time in years — I’m on some processed food nostalgia trip I guess.) There is something about the mouthfeel and the way American cheese melts that is just totally unique. And that makes it the best cheese there is for grilled cheese sandwiches and burgers of all sorts. I said what I said…
Just don’t tell me how the cheese gets made. That would ruin the fun.
Have been living in Italy for the last several years and thoroughly enjoy the variety and quality of the cheese here, but I must admit I miss good old American cheese. There is no cheese here suitable for a good cheeseburger which brings up another problem, the Italians don't understand burgers, they make flat seasoned meatballs and call them burgers.
I agree! The second best cheese for a cheeseburger is cheddar, which also mysteriously there is no Italian version of...Italy has the most amazing food but sometimes you miss good ol' American junk! 🤣
Have been living in Italy for the last several years and thoroughly enjoy the variety and quality of the cheese here, but I must admit I miss good old American cheese. There is no cheese here suitable for a good cheeseburger which brings up another problem, the Italians don't understand burgers, they make flat seasoned meatballs and call them burgers.
I agree! The second best cheese for a cheeseburger is cheddar, which also mysteriously there is no Italian version of...Italy has the most amazing food but sometimes you miss good ol' American junk! 🤣