Thanks for mentioning Pierre Franey. I used to follow his 60-Minute Gourmet and the Cuisine Rapide tv show, still my favorite cooking show--I sometimes watch episodes I have on tape--and enjoyed his memoir, too. He's one guy I really miss.

My Slovak grandmother made exactly the same plum "kuchen", as she called it, in my childhood in the 60's and 70's.
My Czech cousin makes it with blueberries instead, which are abundant in the Czech Republic in the summer. I had no idea it was so popular outside my family!

I'm an avid cook.

I'm always amazed at the amount of cookbooks out there, yet people seem to be cooking less and less.

Your interview with Amanda Hesser is wonderful! A couple of notes:

In the 1950s, my mother entertained with franks and beans served in wonderful individual ramekins, and also, seemed to get most of the recipes she compiled from "women's" magazines rather than newspapers.

Re: the plum torte: it adapts beautifully to a gluten-free preparation!

Thanks for the great work!

Ms. Hesser just said that salsify isn't common in NYC markets. I agree, but it can be found if one knows where to look. The Union Square Farmer's Market is a good bet. I wanted to roast it for Thanksgiving, which I had in Portland Oregon, and I found it in beautiful condition in the first good market I walked into.

I tasted a sliver of it raw and it was much like coconut.

It is a great vegetable and I hope it is about to get more common!

I love my grandmother's old recipes. Many of them are just note cards with a list of ingredients. Maybe someday I will be able to cook like that.