Arkansas Cooks

Got this from my friend Linda D. and wanted to share! Just love Julia!

Julia Child, chef, author, and television personality, defended the dignity of real butter and heavy cream in the face of the food police. She made a mess in a kitchen and laughed about it. She dried lettuce by swinging it in the air. She pounded veal into submission with wild abandon. She stood over 6” tall. And, in 1968, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a mastectomy. She kicked the beast to the curb like so much silver skin to be discarded from a filet. The French Chef we saw on TV all those years was a survivor, a member of the club no one wants to join.

Julia didn’t attend the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) but she worked for the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) as a spy. After graduating from Smith College in 1934, she found work with the Office of Strategic Services (later the Central Intelligence Agency). Her first successful recipe was for shark repellent, to prevent underwater explosives meant for Nazi vessels from being jostled and detonated by sharks. She met Paul Child, fellow OSS agent and culinary expert, and she married him against her father’s wishes. (Her dad was an ardent supporter of Richard Nixon; Paul was a Democrat.)

In 1948, the Childs were jointly assigned to the U.S. Information Service in Paris. She wasn’t much of a spook by modern CIA standards. While living in France, she attended prestigious Le Cordon Bleu and studied with private chefs. In 1962, with French chefs Simone Beck and Louisette Bertolle, Julia wrote “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” She did an interview on a public television station in Boston. They offered her a cooking show of her own, and “The French Chef” went on the air in 1963.

Julia believed in real food, real ingredients: butter, meat, cream and wine. She died of kidney failure 2 days before her 92nd  birthday. Her secret to long life? “Meat and gin.”

I have not blogged in many days. But a great food night deserves the space. I wanted everyone to know that Ashley’s at the Capital Hotel continues to turn out some of the best food ever! Lee Richardson has a beautiful Farmers Menu that is all supplied by local farmers. His menu is the crème de la crème of Arkansas. There is a great 49. price fix that is some of the best food you ever eat. I am not a fan of chicken livers, however when my husband ordered the Oat Crusted Chicken Livers over Fresh Greens, I tasted them and don’t regret it one bite! My Sable fish was the tenderest and sweetest fish I have ever had. My husband beat again with his desert, Banana Cream Brule and Cake served with Browned Butter Ice Cream. The fact that everyone treats you like you are the Stephens is another reason to go to Ashley’s and the Capital Hotel. They even had our names on the menus because it was our anniversary, Wow!  You really can’t beat and the wine pairing was only 20.00 with the meal. A great bargain for some amazing wine!

So lately I have really been shouting about slow food and buying local. And then my 24 year old daughter, Brennan, (who lives out in the idyllic world of Oakland,CA where going green is the only way to go and buying local is expected ) says, ‘there is not a Slow Food Chapter in Central Arkansas, you should start one!’  As much as I am in favor with The Slow Food Movement, I can not put one more thing on my plate. Also, I think it would be much better served if the Chapter was formed by a real food expert, say a farmer. She also told me about a very cool movie, Food Inc. , that has changed the way she eats and buys food. So, there is lots of press out there right now that looks at what we are eating and where it is coming from. EAT & BUY LOCAL!

We just returned from a trip to Madison. MS, just outside of Jackson. This is a very social community that is supposed to be a hotbed of activity.  We had a great pizza Saturday night at Soulshine Pizza Factory in Ridgeland.  Super place and very busy. The Pizza was great! The next morning we were going out for breakfast and found three restaurants in the area closed, as in “we are not going to open again”. You can see where the economy really has effected the local restaurants. I kept thinking, is it this bad in Little Rock? Well I know that one of the first things folks cut from their budget is the eating out part. There are lots of jobs out there that depend on the eating out. So if you are going to eat out, support your local restaurants and let’s keep people employed!

Buy Local! There are so many great new places in Little Rock right now that you can buy anything you need locally. The ones that come to mind are Maddie’s Place on Rebsamen Park Road. Great cajun po’boys and a Parmesan bisque that will make you weep. Also Patio Pizza and Beer Garden. A super pizza and believe it or not, banana pudding that will make you think you are at your grandmother’s house. Last, but not least, is the Station Grocery & Deli on the corner of  Markham and Kavanaugh with some of the freshest produce you could possibly want.  So support your local stores & restaurants!!! What does that mean exactly? Well, it means that you don’t have to go to chain to great food, as a matter of fact the local places are always better than the chains. You will always get fresher more local food. We were just in Oakland,CA to see my daughter and I did not see a chain restaurant for miles. The local places are all trying to out do each other in the local market and boy are they proud of where they get their meat, veggies, etc. The best part is that these places are thriving! So do your self and your community a big favor, BUY LOCAL!!!