THE JOY OF JULIA

No question about it, it is a Julia Child summer. The day I’m posting this is (Aug. 13) exactly 5 years after her death at almost 92. America has rediscovered and fallen in love again with the culinary Demi-goddess. The book, the movie and just about every publication on the market right now has some “Julia” story to tell or some take on the phenomenon.

…not my first admiring commentary
In the face of such a barrage of “all things Julia,” I will also add my thoughts to the din, but will defend myself slightly by noting that this is not my first admiring commentary about the great lady. My first recorded statement concerning her was in the cookbook that I co-authored in 1980’s, not the current summer of ’09.

“Serve your mistakes…”
A Texas Family’s Cookbook was published way back in 1985 by Texas Monthly Press. In the preface, among other ramblings I wrote, “Due to such step-by-step books as Mastering the Art of French Cooking and to the work of other modern culinary pioneers, Americans began to embrace French cooking. We were able to attempt, successfully, beautiful French classics, and we learned not to be disheartened by failures. To paraphrase Julia’s attitude on her television show, she told us things like ‘Serve your mistakes-they’ll never know.’ This led to a vastly broadened appreciation of French cooking.”

…few assumptions and lots of explanations
Most French cookbooks of the time (before 1960), were written by French chefs in French, then translated into English, and assumed much expertise on the part of the reader. Then, in 1961 came the publication of volume 1 of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck. This book was a detailed approach to the art of cooking with few assumptions and lots of explanations. Also, it had beautiful illustrations by Julia’s husband, Paul Child. It was followed by a second volume of the same title and, in early 1963 by the famous “The French Chef “cooking show on Boston’s public television station.

TV cooking show as entertainment…
Every celebrity chef cooking show and personality today owes their existence to this seminal event. Long before the term “foodie” became a familiar part of our day to day conversations, Julia had sown the seeds. Absolutely and without question in my mind, Julia created the “TV cooking show as entertainment genre,” that we take for granted in today’s world. Even the less than sentimental Anthony Bourdain wrote…” the saintly Julia Child sought to raise expectations, to enlighten us – teach us – and in fact did…”

…her innate generosity
It was not just her cooking expertise, amazing confidence and colorful personality that has secured her place in the public’s imagination, even though those gifts should not be underestimated. Her talents were enormous, but it was another aspect of her character that made her more than the sum of her parts- her innate generosity.

…enthusiasm and encouragement
There were no “chef’s secrets” that Julia tried to conceal, no elitist celebrity distance that she sought to maintain. Her enthusiasm and encouragement to other aspiring chefs and authors is legendary.

…culinary “gospel”
As a young cook in the early 70’s seeing her shows had certainly been inspiring and fun. It was her books; however that were for me culinary “gospel.” I never considered cooking all the recipes in her books, but I knew friends who did or at least claimed that they did. Many times, I found myself consulting volume I or II of Mastering the Art of French Cooking for some dish or technique that I had claimed as part of my repertoire and was required to prepare professionally. More than once, I found myself up in the wee hours of the night perfecting a recipe, being guided step by step by Julia Child.

I was as excited as though I was meeting royalty…
I have never forgotten it either and always felt a great sense of personal connection with her, as did thousands of other fans and cooks. So, when the chance came to actually meet her in Seattle in the mid 80’s, I was as excited as though I was meeting royalty, a rock star or great entertainment figure, which in a very real sense, I was.

…the book had been well used.
My book had just been released and I wanted to present her with a copy. I didn’t imagine that it would be of any real use in her kitchen, but I did hope that she would be pleased by my thoughts expressed in the Preface about her contribution to American cooking. Of course, I took my old battered and food stained copy of Mastering the Art for her to sign, which she and husband Paul, graciously did. She also noted that the book had been well used. That signed copy remains one of my career treasures to this day.

…not even my own name.
Upon receiving the gift of my book to her, she politely asked that I sign it, as well. Just for the record this was one of the first times I had autographed the book, as it was newly published. I sat down and opened the book, took pen in hand and sat there. If I had made any mental notes about what I was going to write at that moment it was lost to me entirely. In a lifetime of food service and catering, I have certainly met my share of celebrities. This though was somehow different. I was star struck, I couldn’t think of a thing, maybe not even my own name.

…being from Texas and all
The Childs waited patently with the statuesque (6ft. 2) Julia towering above Paul and smiling at me. I think that after a few minutes (she must have had plenty of experience with this sort of thing) it dawned on her what my situation was. Then, in that distinctive and singular voice she came to my rescue, saying in a stage whisper, “You know Joseph being from Texas and all; you could sign your books with Bon Appetit Y’all!” With that suggestion she relieved me of the autographing angst and gave me a theme and a story to last the rest of my life. This is a story that I have told at the conclusion of my cooking classes, programs and demonstrations for many years and I always will.

Thank you Julia and Paul and Bon Appetit Y’all!

THE “LUCK O’ THE IRISH” REVISITED

…more than an estimated 36 million other Americans
My wife and I can both trace some of our ancestry to Ireland, as can more than an estimated 36 million other Americans. We do celebrate St. Paddy’s Day, but mostly because it’s there, rather than for any inherited tradition.

…popular “history”
In any case, much of the popular “history” of the life of this Irish saint is certainly myth. It is believed that he was born in Britain, but taken to Ireland by raiders. It seems that he was held as a prisoner and labored as a Shepard for several years before escaping and returning to Britain.

…he began to have visions
It was apparently after his return to his homeland that he began to have visions and turned his heart to religion. He did train as a priest and legend has it that he was told by an angel in one of his visions to return to Ireland as a missionary. Tradition has it that he died on March 17th around the year 460AD.

… stories that my Irish Catholic mother told me
As we know, story telling and music is a strong part of the Celtic tradition in Ireland and it is difficult over 1500 years later to separate fact from fiction. I remember quite well learning from the stories my Irish Catholic mother told me that the saint drove the snakes from Ireland. Today it is thought that this story is a metaphor for his opposition to the Irish pagans. St. Patrick is also credited with combining the Celtic symbol of the sun with the Christian cross to create what we know today as the familiar Celtic cross.

Legends aside…
Legends aside, many of the customs that we associate with our modern St. Patrick’s Day are American in origin. Our first St. Patrick’s Day parade originated in New York City and our culinary tradition of Corned Beef and Cabbage is an Irish tradition in the cabbage part alone. Although cabbage has most certainly long been a part of the Irish diet, corned beef only became part of the duo at the turn of the last century, again in New York City.

…quirk of fate
It is an interesting quirk of fate that the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day and all things Irish has become such a part of our American experience, considering the extreme negativity with which Irish immigrants experienced just a little over a century ago. Now there are at least 100 St. Patrick’s Day parades across the country, with the largest taking place in (where else?) New York City. Boston and Chicago are also well known for their celebrations with the dyeing green of the Chicago River as one of the more outlandish events.

…public imbibing
Americans also associate St. Patrick’s Day with the public imbibing of some serious liquid refreshment and such aberrations as green beer. However, this image is somewhat Americanized as well, considering that in Ireland itself, pubs were closed by law until the 1970’s.

...we have taken considerable license…that…has virtually nothing to do with…Ireland
So, considering the propensity of Americans to interpret traditions in our own way, we have taken considerable license in our own cuisine for this Irish event. A couple of years ago, my wife and I were pondering a menu for our own St. Patrick’s Day merrymaking. Not realizing the truth behind Corned Beef and Cabbage tradition, we started with the idea of smoking the brisket instead of cooking it in or on the stove. That led to our decision to make a super-duper Reuben sandwich, which we did and it was delicious, although it has virtually nothing to do with St. Patrick’s Day or Ireland!

…that’s the way I like it
Here are the components: my wife, Gail’s homemade Rye bread, Smoked Corned Beef Brisket, Bavarian Sauerkraut, good Swiss cheese and homemade Thousand Island dressing. Yes, I know that most recipes call for a “Russian” dressing, but I first had a Reuben made with Thousand Island dressing and that’s the way I still like it and there you have it.

Gail’s Rye Bread
Before I met my wife, I did not own a bread maker and didn’t have a very high opinion of them either. But you know, after the first time I tasted a loaf that she made in her bread machine, I thought -why on earth am I being so uppity about this? The machine makes a perfectly decent product, easy to slice AND I don’t have to make it.

Place into the mixing case of the bread machine the following three ingredients:
1 cup warm water
2 Tblsps. Molasses
1 ½ Tblsps. Butter

Next, add:
2 cups unbleached white (Bread Machine) flour
1 cup rye flour
1 Tblsp. sugar
½ Tblsp. dry milk
2 tsp. salt
2 Tblsps. Caraway seeds
1 package active dry yeast

Turn on Bread Machine to whole wheat mode and allow to process and bake. Cool thoroughly before slicing.

Thousand Island dressing
Yields about 4 cups

1 ½ cups celery, finely chopped
½ cup sweet or dill pickle relish
1 Tblsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 cup chili sauce
1 tsp. Tabasco sauce (or to taste)
½ tsp. sea salt
2 cups mayonnaise (homemade if you have the time)

1. Combine all ingredients and stir together well. This can be made in a food processor; just do not over process it.

Smoked Corned Beef Brisket

One 2 or 3 lb. piece of brisket

1. Allow brisket to sit overnight in the brine and pickling spices that usually come with it, pickling your own from scratch is easy, but we will get into that another time.
2. To smoke the meat: Light your fire (natural hardwood charcoal is best)- as a matter of fact, the famous French chef Jacques Pepin feels that natural wood charcoal produces a significantly lower amount of tar on the cooked meat than does processed briquettes.
3. Place wood chips (we have had good results from hickory, wild cherry and mesquite) for smoking on top of charcoal and place brisket on top of clean rack. Depending on the type of grill that you are using and the heat that is generated it will take about 45 minutes for each side. We generally cook ours to about an internal temperature of 140 degrees. When done remove the meat from the grill, cover with aluminum foil and allow to sit for at least15 minutes before slicing.

Next, all you need is a 14oz. can of Bavarian Sauerkraut and some slices of a good Swiss cheese. Spread a little dressing onto the sliced bread and pile it up with thin slices of the smoked meat, sliced cheese and a hearty pile of sauerkraut and top it with another slice of bread. Toast the sandwich slightly in a toaster oven or a Panini machine. Serve with a little more dressing on the side and a great dill pickle.

Here’s to an excellent St. Paddy’s Day celebration- make a Reuben, put on CD by the Chieftains, open a Guinness and enjoy!

“May you never forget what is worth remembering or remember what is best forgotten.”