A friend of mine recently sent me a book by Portland-native-and-knower-of-all-things-food, James Beard called Delights and Prejudices. And that is exactly how the book is written. He tells you what he likes, why he likes it, how he prefers it, what he doesn’t like, and how you shouldn’t like it either. It is brazen, bold, forthright, and more stunningly honest than anything I’ve read in the food world, well, ever–and I love it.
I especially liked the beginning of the book where he describes the roots of his life and his mother–Elizabeth Beard. She was a spitfire lady who knew what she wanted and worked hard to get it–she was direct, business minded, smart, and wholeheartedly herself. James Beard, in describing his mother wrote, “[Portland] was a food conscious city, then, that Elizabeth Brennan ran her hotel. Her day would begin at five in the morning. She rose, attired herself smartly in a divided skirt, well starched blouse, fedora hat, fashionable gloves and shoes, and set off for a three or four mile bicycle ride, arriving back fresh and pink, in time to greet many of her guests at breakfast. Then over a cup of tea she planned the day’s menu with the chef. Like a director prepared to assume any role in her play, she never put a dish on the menu which she couldn’t execute herself, should her chef fail her in the last minute.” This was all in 1896. She ran her hotel up until she got married. And when she did marry at 39, she decided it was time to have a child. So she had James at 41 and then sold the hotel at the age of 45 “to pursue other projects.” She was a force to be reckoned with and so interesting to read about!
Beard also talks about what Portland used to be like. The street vendors, the smallish town on the river, the flashy food city of San Fransisco to the south–it was interesting to imagine Portland back in it’s origins through the eyes of a foodie. He describes, more or less, what the city tasted like. And while many of those are still lingering such as the fresh berries, fish, and produce, the other flavors Portland is so famous for, like coffee and beer, are not mentioned at all. These are relatively new additions to the food scene here in Portland–but it is good to be reminded of what was here first and the foundations the food culture here was founded on.
Delights and Prejudices is not to be without recipes either. They are written in that old style that you may find in your grandmothers, or great grandmothers recipe box: just a paragraph, measurements are approximate, and you might want to check oven temperatures out with a few different batches. I found a dinner roll recipe that sounded a lot like something my grandmother used to make–so naturally, I had to try it. They were really good–good in a way that I immediately heard my grandmother’s voice telling my brother and I about the days on the farm, when the whole family was sitting around the table, food piled high for the hungry farm men. The flavor instantly became something else for me, it was intense and comforting all at once. I then started thinking about how recipes travel like people–or even faster than people–and can really bind a family together even if they are far. Beard’s account of living in France in Chapter 3 is a testament to this, where he is recounts his mother’s recipes while he builds a vast repertoire of his own. Quite simply, food connects. It crosses boarders, time, cultures, languages, and generations alike. Elizabeth Beard was a woman before her time, yet blazed ahead during her time like there was no tomorrow. And thank goodness she did! Her son James became the “Dean of American Cookery” and has helped blaze a trail for the beginnings of the American food movement.
Parker House Rolls, by Elizabeth Beard
Combine 2 cups scaled milk, 4 tablespoons butter, 2 teaspoons salt and 2 tablespoons sugar; and when cooled, add 1 1/2 yeast cakes or 2 packages dry yeast dissolved in a 1/2 cup warm water. make a sponge with 2 to 3 cupes flour and when it is blended, allow it to rise for 1 hour in a warm place. Punch down the sponge and beat in enough flour to make a light dough that may be kneaded with ease on a floured board–it will take about 6 cups in all–a bit more or less according to the quality of the flour. Allow it to rise again until almost doubled in bulk. Punch down the dough and roll it out to 1/2 inch thickness on a lightly floured board. Cut it in rounds with a cutter (I used a drinking glass) about 4 inches in diameter. Make a heavy indentation with a pencil or the handle of a knife and fold each round one-third over.
Dip the rolls in butter and arrange them on a buttered baking sheet. Let them rise again until just doubled in bulk. Brush them with egg wash (1 egg beaten slightly, blended with two tablespoons milk or water) and bake at 350 degrees F for about 15 minutes or until delicately browned and nicely risen.
