The Food Almanac: April 13, 2011
In The Food Almanac, Tom Fitzmorris of the online newsletter, The New Orleans Menu notes food facts and sayings.
Eating Around the World
The Songkran Festival, Thailand's celebration of the new year, begins today and continues until April 15. The exciting, absurdly healthy food of that country has become extraordinarily popular around America. The flavors of Thai curries, noodle dishes, and spicy soups always get me going. Most dishes are jammed with fresh vegetables and herbs. The cuisine has been popular long enough that more than a few chefs of other kinds of restaurants have borrowed Thai flavors. You even see that in chain restaurants.
Annals of Winemaking
Baron Philippe de Rothschild was born today in 1902. At age 20, he took over management of Château Mouton, which his grandfather bought in 1843. For the next two decades, he was single-minded in the pursuit of first-growth status for Mouton, which had been a second growth in the great Bordeaux classification of 1855. His motto: "Premier ne puis, second ne daigne. Mouton suis." (First I am denied, second I disdain. I am just Mouton.) He reached his goal in 1945. Baron Philippe also created the world's first branded wine in Mouton Cadet. And the first French-California partnership in Opus One. He was a revolutionary.
Thomas Jefferson — who in addition to his achievements as a statesman and philosopher, was a serious gourmet and wine lover — was born today in 1743. He planted vineyards in Virginia using vines from Bordeaux, and thought that some day American wines could rival French wines. But his favorite wine was Château Lafite.
Deft Dining Rule #236
Just to be on the safe side, never order a famous, very expensive wine. You're already on the safe side by ordering wine at all.
Edible Dictionary
marchand de vin, [mar-shan-deh-VANH], French, n., adj. — A style of serving roasted meats — most commonly beefsteaks — with a sauce made with a good deal of red wine and beef stock (sometimes demi-glace). Some versions also include a dark roux (especially in New Orleans, where the sauce is a standard in Creole-French restaurants) and mushrooms. The name means "merchant of wine."
Gourmet Geography
Wine Hill is in southern Illinois, 73 miles south of St. Louis, Miss., and seven miles northeast of the Mississippi River. It's a country crossroads town in the middle of rolling cornfields. The hill itself reaches 612 feet, which isn't nosebleed territory exactly, but still about a 100 feet higher than the surrounding terrain. Despite the name, there is no evidence of significant vineyards anywhere nearby (although wine is grown in Illinois). The community supports a church but no restaurant. The nearest eatery is the Roadhouse, four miles west in Chester.
Eating Calendar
It's Peach Cobbler Day. Peach cobbler is easy enough to make: you bake some fresh peach slices with a little sugar and cinnamon until they're soft. Then you drop spoonfuls of sweetened biscuit dough into the baking dish, mix them up, and bake again until it browns. Not enough restaurants serve peach cobbler. Those that do usually make it too sweet. It would be better made with fresh peaches and less sugar.
Bad Taste Through History
In 1883, Alferd Packer was convicted of acts of cannibalism. Since this happened in Wild West Colorado, he became a folk hero. After he served his sentence, he became a vegetarian, and supported himself by selling autographs and memorabilia. There's a museum of his stuff, and a web site. His name, by the way, is indeed spelled Alferd — that's not a typo.
Music to Eat Barbecue By
Bob Nolan, the long-time leader and baritone of The Sons of the Pioneers, was born today in 1908. The group — founded by Roy Rogers, and appearing in many of his movies — was the most famous of the many cowboy harmony groups in the 1930s through the 1950s. In addition to having an immediately recognizable voice, Nolan wrote hundreds of songs, of which the most famous are Cool Water and Tumbling Tumbleweeds.
Annals of the Soda Fountain
Today is the birthday, in 1852, of F.W. (Frank Winfield) Woolworth. He founded the dime store chain that bore his name. While most of what they sold were dry goods, most of us remember Woolworth's (or, as they pronounced it on Magazine Street, "Woolswoit's") for its lunch counter. Many breakfasts, burgers, grilled cheese sandwiches, and malts were enjoyed at Woolworth's in those pre-fast-food times. It was a very big deal when I was a kid.
Culinary Royalty
Today is the birthday, in 1519, of Catherine de Medici. She was the granddaughter of Lorenzo ("The Great") de Medici, one of the major figures behind the Renaissance in Italy, and a practitioner of a high style of living. Catherine inherited a taste for the finer things. Legend has it that when she married King Henry II of France, she brought her Italian chefs with her. Supposedly, those chefs inspired French grand cuisine. Italian chefs love that story, but it's not really true. French cuisine was already fairly well developed by that time, if not quite up to the level to which the Medicis were accustomed. Still, Catherine was quite a woman. Among other accomplishments, she was the mother of three French kings.
Food Namesakes
Actor Harry Leek — better known as Howard Keel (leek spelled backwards) was born today in 1919. He was in Dallas on TV, as well as Kiss Me, Kate and other movies. Janet Cook won a Pulitzer Prize today in 1981 for an article she later admitted she made up (the award was taken away). Schalk Burger, a professional rugby player from South Africa, hit the big field today in 1983.
Words to Eat By
"An apple is an excellent thing — until you have tried a peach." — George du Maurier.
Words to Drink By
"Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a fatted ox and hatred." — Unknown origin.