James Beard was a giant in American cooking, influencing the cuisine in the last century. A new biography on him is out and it delves into the dark corners of his life. Yet despite it all, his recipes and legacy still endure.
Julia Moskin gave an interesting article on this American master in today's New York Times Food section. Beard is the subject of a new book The Man Who Ate Too Much by John Birdsall. James Beard was a visionary, creating such dishes as a full charcuterie platter long before the Instagram and Pinterest crowds claimed it for their own. Yet not many home chefs use his recipes nor do they know of his enormous body of work. Ms Moskin is familiar with him because her mother both cooked from Beard's and the other great American's cook, Julia Child's cookbooks. Mr. Beard handled the everyday recipes like potpies, potato salad, bean soup and cornbread. However he was visionary with what he made. He was the first to write about sliders and sunchokes,scallion tarts and roasted figs with prosciutto. He also included such international dishes as ceviche, Syrian lentil soup with swiss chard, menudo and basil pesto, the last a radically raw and shocking flavorful sauce not yet embraced by all of America. All modern chefs owe their repertoire to Beard who embraced all aspects of the immigrant melting pot that is American cuisine. He accepted them as Seventies home chefs bought Moroccan tangines , Indian spice blends and Japanese pottery.
Yet , according to his biographer, Mr. Birdsall , it was not all great. He was the only child of Elizabeth Beard, famed for her cooking at the elegant boarding house she ran in Gladstone,Oregon near Portland. He grew up eating Chinese food thanks to Jue Let, a master chef from Guangdong, China who worked for his mother.. He fed Beard congee , steamed salt fish and lychees and both him and Beard's mother gave the young chef to be a good background for food. Yet his mother was not attentive and more impatient with him. She never accepted or understood his "difference" - his homosexuality. His father was often missing from the scene. Beard was expelled from his college Reed College in Portland for being caught with a male professor. Later on he was despondent about his weight 350 pounds for a 6'3" tall man. In later years, he suffered from edema and had to wear stockings. Other health problems plagued him. However he did find happiness later years with his partner Gino Cofacci in Greenwich Village. They had parties and barbecues where he ruled. Ms. Moskin includes his Farmer's Chicken recipe , sauteed chicken with onions and peppers, flavored with red wine , raisins and olives along with paprika and oregano. It's served with toasted almonds , rice or garlic rubbed bread.
James Beard was a driving force in American cuisine. This new biography should pique interest in his recipes and life. It's time for a new generation to discover his philosophy and food.
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