With the exception of two departures, which I note later, I have kept the recipe as close to Julia’s original as possible. One of the great lessons when attempting recipes is to discover the points where changes, additions or omissions can occur or have occurred over time.

[Read more →]

I have and continue to prepare many items from the book, but one that has stood out over all these years is a simple cucumber salad that Jeff included on page 24 and he noted that its origins are from Israel. Jeff also mentions that this salad has a flavor very close to what New York Jews call a “new pickle.”

[Read more →]

The origins of this dish in the U.S. lead back to Creole heritage, as the word ‘okra’ is also known as quibombo in Spanish, and gombo in French. Slaves from West Africa introduced okra to the Caribbean and U.S. most likely in the 1700’s, and then the Creoles in Louisiana learned to thicken soups with okra (gumbo) which is now the essential ingredient in Creole Gumbo.

[Read more →]

The beer adds moisture in addition to flavor during the slow grill roasting process, and if wood chips are added a nice smoke flavor also imparts the most wonderful tasting chicken.

[Read more →]