All this talk about food is making me hungry

For the last month, NPR and other sources of my news have been obsessed with food and food culture. The current fad on radio magazine programs is to talk about food, food movies, the benefits of fine foods, cooking, the foodie lifestyle, and especially food movies. I didn’t realize that the food movie is a recognized genre. All this foodie craziness stems from the recent release of Nora Ephrom’s Julie and Julia. It tells two stories together- that of Julia Child and her life in France and also about some wanna-be writer with a blog.



Actually, I have been looking forward to this film for a long time. I read Julia Child’s autobiography (My Life in France) in June and fell in love with it on many layers. First, there was the inspiring story of a tall, rather obnoxious American from Pasadena living in Paris and pursuing her dream of bringing French cooking to the USA. What she lacked in grace and beauty she made up for with unyielding fearlessness and an endearing character. Next, I developed an appreciation for a person I could only vaguely recall from my childhood. I knew her better from Dan Akroyd’s classic finger-butchering parody on SNL then from her show on the then-fledgling WGN in Boston. Hearing her words describe cooking in France and the US following World War II, I better understand the context into which her cookbook entered and exploded. Finally, there is the sublime seduction of an American in Paris, describing new foods, sauces, wines, cultures, tastes, accents, words. From the flaky croissant to the ubiquitous baguette, even the most simple of dishes become an art.

In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell tries to identify factors that lead to exceptionally accomplished people. He argues quite convincingly that talent is not simply innate. It is cultivated. In a gross over-simplification of his premise, Gladwell finds that “outliers” have an interest, get a unique opportunity of timing to develop that interest, and practice a ridiculous amount of time (10,000 hours at least). Julia Child, who arrived in France at age 37 without cooking in mind, proves that it is never too late to pursue a second career. Following Gladwell’s principles:

1) Julia developed a taste for world culture while working for the OSS (precursor to the CIA) in China – yes, she was a spy.

2) Julia developed an interest in French cooking when she tasted the Sole Meniere in Rouen, their first stop off the boat

3) Julia found herself in post war Paris, the wife of a embassy worker, and looking for something to do with her time.

4) Julia was surrounded by the greatest chefs, wines, and foods, all eager to share their techniques with this endearing yet loud and tall American

5) She practiced constantly, awaking at 6:30 every morning and would cook until late at night. All day. Every day.

Julia Child became, well, Julia Child. Upon returning home to the USA and selling ridiculous editions of her cookbook, she shattered the trend toward casseroles and TV dinners. She taught America to cook. And we all eat better because of it.

I have visited her kitchen. It’s in the Smithsonian Institution, in the basement of the American History museum. As I stared at her dozens of pots and pans (she was a kitchen gadget freak), a video was playing with highlights from her WGN show. In those few minutes, Julia taught me how to make an omelette. I had been making them for years, of course, but they never turned out quite right. She showed me that with a change in technique, the result is totally different. I now make them like Julia and they are fantastic.

But my favorite dish for breakfast during Autumn has to be Game Day Pancakes. Julia knew that ingredients and measurements are important. But the technique for preparing the dish and the setting for the enjoying the dish are even more important. So, with that in mind, here is my recipe for

Game Day Pancakes:

1 Box Complete Pancake Mix

Filtered Water

Enough butter to harden your arteries on sight

Pure, real maple syrup, from Vermont or Quebec



In a bowl, pour out 1 cup of mix per person in the house not too hungover to eat. Add ¾ cups of water for each cup of mix. Mix batter until smooth. Prepare a griddle (not a frying pan- those are for fish and crowded mushrooms, not pancakes) with medium-high heat. Let it get just hot enough to be dangerous. Gently coat griddle with cooking spray, making sure a little of the spray falls short of the stove top and cascades to the floor where it can be enjoyed by the family Labrador. Drop pancake batter in 4 – 6” rounds across griddle. Turn them when the bubbles on top start popping. Cook the other side briefly, no more than a minute.



Flip completed pancakes onto a waiting plate, piling them at least three stacks high in a little mound. While still hot, smear with enough butter to draw disapproving looks from your wife. Then add a little more. Then drown the whole pile in thick, sweet maple syrup.



Turn on ESPN college game day and enjoy the pile. I suggest pairing the pancakes with a vintage 2009 Florida Noveau Orange, the fresher the better. Then, until Corso dons the headgear, fall asleep and dream of beating the Bruins / Cyclones / Domers / Tigers / Tide / Gators / etc.



Fight On,



Hans