Flammable Prose — Works by Jen Laskey

Projects in Progress

April 28, 2011
NY NELLA LANGHE (NY IN THE LANGHE)

Fabrizia & Jen (Photo by Roberto Damonte)

My friend Fabrizia is an award-winning documentary filmmaker from Turin, but we became friends while she was living in New York. These days she’s living and working back in her hometown. I was delighted to learn that she’s sussing out a project focused on the wines of her region, so when I went back to Piedmont after VinItaly, I invited her to drive out and meet some of the winemakers I was interviewing. This is her account of our wine-tasting day in the Langhe. (It’s in Italian, but you can use Google Translate — just be warned that the translation will be a bit comical and not especially precise.)
Read Fabrizia’s post on NY Soundbites.

April 21, 2011
5 HIGHLIGHTS FROM MY 5 DAYS AT VINITALY

Every year, approximately 4,000 exhibitors (mostly, but not all, Italian) descend on Verona to showcase their best selection of wines and spirits, and in some cases, gastronomic foodstuffs at VinItaly, the world’s largest wine and spirits exhibition.
Read more in “Your Daily Wine” on Food Republic.

March 25, 2011
APRES

My new column “Après” just launched in Elevation Outdoors, a Rocky Mountains-based lifestyle magazine for outdoor adventurists. Après is a monthly cocktail column that redefines and revels in the après as an all-season and all-sports tradition. April’s cross-country skiing après: The Spruced Collins by Mark Stoddard (Bitter Bar, Boulder).

March 22, 2011
APERITIF ALCHEMISTS

The Aperitif Alchemists transform cocktail hour into an artisanal affair with delectable hors d’oeuvres and luscious libations. Inspired by the French apéritif and Italian aperitivo, Erica Duecy and Jen Laskey have taken up catering to help champion a new aperitif tradition in America. Check us out!

January 1, 2011
NEW YEAR, NEW WORK

Photo by Roberto Damonte, owner & winemaker of Malvirà

It’s deep winter here in New York City, and I’m still daydreaming about my harvest season in Piemonte — the landscape, the vineyards, the nebbiolos, Piemontese pasta, mountain cheeses, Alba white truffles, the exceptional people I met, and even the work. Much of the time, it was a lot of really dirty, physical work, but my responsibilities at Malvirà also included controlling the fermentation of all the new vintage wines, acting as an English-Italian translator, conducting daily wine tastings and vineyard/cellar tours for guests, and attending local wine and food events, such as the opening of the Barolo museum, the Salone del Gusto, and Terra Madre.

Since I returned, I’ve been writing about everything from winter cocktails, holiday food gifts, and new year’s bubbly to embarrassing skin problems, heart health, diamonds, and blizzard preparedness (during a blizzard). In my spare time, I’m chipping away at my personal projects, including a series of personal essays about the harvest.

Wishing a happy, healthy, inspiring, productive, and prosperous new year to all!

September 15, 2010
ON THE ROAD TO MALVIRÀ

We’re two days into the grape harvest at Malvirà winery, and documenting it has been a hands-on experience — sometimes so hands-on that it’s impossible to take notes, photos, or video, and not just because my hands are occupied, but because when we’re pressing grapes I am up to my elbows (shoulders, really) in sticky grape goo. The idea, though, is to take a vacation from my regular work and experience the harvest firsthand while documenting and writing about it. I wonder if by the end I will want to trade in my laptop for grape-cutting shears and a pair of rubber boots for good?

September 10, 2010
BAROLO OR BUST!

Today, I am returning to the Piedmont region of Italy to apprentice with a winemaker during the grape harvest, study the Slow Food movement, indulge in another intoxicating truffle season, and write about my adventures in Italian gastro-land.

January 5 through February 13 & June 2010
EATING, DRINKING & WRITING IN ABRUZZO

I’ve been in Abruzzo, Italy, researching regional dishes and wines for my Abruzzese cookbook.

In addition to dining at Brancaleone, hanging around the kitchen, and working with Sabrina Di Renzo (cook and proprietor) on recipes, I’ve also been visiting local wineries, including Masciarelli, Pasetti, and Zaccagnini. And I attended an inspiring event in Chieti — a panel discussion featuring Carlo Petrini, founder of the Slow Food movement and author of Terra Madre.