HOW DID RECIPES Originate, Evolve and Change?
Let’s visit an old, established restaurant in Italy. The Antica Pesa – a trendy celebrity restaurant in Rome serves a zucchini flan as an appetizer that takes its inspiration from a cookbook from Columilla, a Roman farmer.  Third generation Chef /owner Simone Panella  developed his recipes in his  family’s restaurant.  Among the honors and awards, Antica Pesa received the prized Michelin star in 2012. This location  began as an cobbler’s shop and a meeting place for the locals who drank coffee and enjoyed local snacks. Later, converted into the eatery you see today.  Panella said “His recipes are his own. But, in these modern times he had to change the recipes to become more lighter.”
This is our philosophy too at Simply Splendid Food as  we also strive towards healthy eating.

FIRST SALAD RECIPE
“The Columella Salad”, named for its author, Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella, is the perfect side dish and would fit easily on any modern menu. Yet it was created in the first century CE!”  published by www.antiquitynow.org”

GOOD RECIPES:  Good Chefs
There is a myriad of recipes out there. Some are good, some are so-so. Sometimes we use our mother’s or grandmother’s recipes like Lidia Bastianich of Lidia’s Italy American-Italian dishes. Look at these lovely ladies with their pearls…just like Julia Child.

Julia Child was most likely the first American female to graduate from the prestigious French Cordon Bleu cooking school.  The Cordon Bleu  boasts of having the highest level of culinary experts to train young chefs and foodies alike. Even though they have their roots in France, you can now  find a “Cordon Bleu Cooking School almost anywhere around the world.  Cordon Bleu culinary schools are now found in countries such as Peru and Australia. Their reach is far and wide.

PEARLS OF WISDOM
I would like to share this classic Julia Child’s video on “How to make Hollandaise Sauce“. She is not wearing her signature pearls. That came later. I do like watching Julia Child for her cooking style, that has lasted the test of time.  You can tell she put a lot of work into each show.  It warms my heart to know that we can still watch some of her cooking shows on video.

FIRST TV  COOKING SHOW
You can see that Julia is getting a workout whipping those eggs. The food processors was not invented yet.

Julia Child was the first female to host her own cooking show on TV where she showcased her recipes. Her cookbook “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”  that had gone through 34 printings (with new plates) , shows us how to make spectacular, great sauces ( and more ) started from her days at the Cordon Bleu. How to fix a ruined sauce is right on her TV show.  A true pioneer of culinary delights.

VERSATILE HOLLANDAISE SAUCE
I really like Eggs Benedict with Julia’s version  of  Hollandaise Sauce-> 1 dash cayenne pepper, salt, to taste and fresh ground white pepper, to taste.  When I came home from University on the weekends, Saturday morning was Eggs Benedict with smoked ham on toast. Dad would get the mixing bowl out and start whipping. His hollandaise was not as thick as Julia’s sauce (see above video). It poured well and was not runny. In fact, it was really good! Dad used a dash of paprika. The paprika was quite good. I never asked where he got his recipe. I never saw him with a cook book. It didn’t matter to me one bit. The key  to any recipe is that  “less is more“. You could not distinguish the paprika – only the very, very slightest hint of a spice.  I enjoyed this dish so much I tried to eat it ever so slowly so that every bite would linger on.

Some recipes come by accident when you have to improvise or experimenting with different flavours. Sometimes great new creations (recipes) are in the making when you allow yourself to take a chance.

BON APPETITE!…in memory of Julia Child.