Dining with Duvall: Bon Appetit!

Lynn Duvall

If you clipped the recipe last week, please discard it and replace it with today’s revision. The last two paragraphs were accidentally omitted. I am so delighted to have an easy recipe from a local, highly praised chef released exclusively to our Sun readers.

Most chefs’ recipes require considerable re-working to make them appropriate for the home cook, but this one arrived in nearly perfect condition. Red snapper works best, but there’s been a shortage of snapper, so if it’s not available at your market, try tilapia. Watch it closely as it will cook much faster than red snapper.

Even if you’re not much of a cook, give it a try. Did you know that Julia Child did not start to cook seriously until she was in her forties? One of the few blessings I have discovered, as an empty nester, is that I have time to perfect my techniques without a brood of hungry children asking, “When’s dinner?” Still, I could never match the skill and knowledge of Julia. I miss her. Last year Julia’s memoir, “My Life in France,” was published. The book was written with her late husband’s grandnephew Alex Prudhomme. I just finished it a few weeks ago and was thrilled to discover that her “years” in France were much longer than I had assumed. The Childs returned to France for decades, staying in a second home they had built in Provence. The book retraces Julia’s arrival in France in 1948 up to her final evening in the house in 1992.

Soon after arriving in Paris, Julia took a course at the Cordon Bleu. She did not complete her training, which in those days was geared toward preparing the professional chef. Instead, she began to teach cooking with two French women. They collaborated on a cookbook that Julia tentatively titled “Le Bonne Cuisine Francaise.”

Julia followed Paul around Europe as he continued to work for various U.S. agencies. In 1961, he retired and the couple returned to America a few months before for the long-awaited publication of the cookbook, now titled “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” The three women toiled for almost ten years on the book with Julia doing the lion’s share of the difficult work of testing, writing and formatting the recipes.

The idea of a serious French cookbook for American cooks was not an easy sell. As soon as the book hit the bookstores, Julia set out on the promotional trail, doing cooking demonstrations, radio and television interviews. Co-author Simone Beck came from France to join Julia. Craig Claiborne gave “Mastering” a rave review in the New York Times.

One of Julia’s cooking demonstrations took place on the local PBS station in Boston during a book reviewer’s show. The station liked the positive responses from viewers and arranged for Julia to do three half-hour pilot programs for a projected 26-week series.

Julia wrote, “Perhaps our timing was good. Since the war more and more Americans had been traveling to places like France … the Kennedy’s had installed a French chef, Rene Verdon in the White House … “ Julia taped the series and the rest is history.

Reading “My Years in France” made me feel like Julia had come for a visit. As though she were drinking a glass of wine while regaling me with stories of her life. I always wanted to meet Julia Child. I read the book a little at a time, not wanting it to end.

Child’s co-author did a fine job of including all the facts and details while preserving Julia’s unique voice. Her ebullient personality shines through on every page. A must-read for anyone who loves food or misses Julia.

Coincidentally, as I finished the Child book, I picked up “Last Bite” because I was bemused by the subtitle: “A Novel of Culinary Romance.” Only when I started to read the book, did I discover that Nancy Barr, who was Child’s executive chef from 1980 to 1998, wrote it. Barr has written cookbooks and articles for all the top food magazines. She turns out her first novel with wit and flair. Drawing on her own experience both as a culinary producer with “Baking with Julia” and for “Good Morning America,” Barr creates a heroine, Casey Costello, who is an executive chef for a morning television show. Casey’s madcap adventures in the studio, in New York and on a whirlwind taping tour in Italy kept me in stitches. Her boss is obviously loosely based on Julia Child. A light-hearted romp with loads of insider knowledge of food and television.

I took my own copy of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” out of the bookcase to check the spelling of Beck’s first name. Child always called her Simca. The cookbook looks well used although I haven’t turned to it in many years. I remember finding it daunting. Now, I realize that even though the recipes are dated (no one cooks with gallons of butter anymore), the classic French techniques are beautifully illustrated both in text and drawings. Maybe I will take it into the kitchen and give myself a second chance — to master the art. Hearing Julia’s voice in my mind as I read her words has inspired me.

RED SNAPPER

Five Spice and Star Anise Braised

Baby Carrots

4 red snapper filets

1 tablespoon Five spice powder

2 bunches of baby carrots, peeled &

stemmed

3 cups carrot juice

3 inches ginger root, peeled and sliced thin

2 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

2 limes cut in half

2 Thai red chilies, stemmed and sliced thin

Salt & white pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Season each snapper filet evenly with the five-spice powder and season with salt and white pepper to taste. Reserve.

In a heavy bottom baking dish place the baby carrots, carrot juice, sliced ginger, star anise, cinnamon stick, limes and chilies. Season lightly with salt and white pepper.

Place on top of the stove and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

Place the snapper, skin side up, on top of the baby carrots. Cover with aluminum foil and place in the oven for approximately 15 minutes or until the fish is cooked opaque.

Remove from the oven and place the fish and baby carrots on a serving platter. Strain the broth to remove ginger and spices. Pour broth over fish and serve immediately. Serves 4.

Recipe courtesy of Joseph Antonishek, executive chef at Minx Restaurant & Lounge.

Write Lynn Duvall at boblynn@ix.netcom.com or in care of the Valley Sun.