Featured Post

TOURIST FOR THE DAY in PUERTO RICO

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Julia Child's "Chick Flicks" (and SOS!)



A Peep of Chickens: Smith Graduate,

Mrs. Julia Child, gives us an amusing -and quirky-lesson!

Presenting Miss Roaster of the Year!!!

[Note: Just in case you actually wanted to view a selection of Chick Flicks -click here to view recent films]


~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oasis Remembers: Recipes



Grandma Alice- my French maternal grandmother-had her own ideas about how to approach cooking.
Cooking is serious business!!!

Pardon et moi





Grandpa Al likes to cook! He is my 100% Polish maternal grandfather-a fisherman for fun...and a baker in the Navy and Merchant Marines.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wonder what Grandpa Al thought of Julia Child?

I remember when he gave me a lesson (one of many) on how to make poached eggs on toast. I can see him now in my mind's eye, he would gently lift the egg out of the boiling water and lay it atop the toast-then he'd ladle over the egg a generous portion of a white colored sauce, which I later discovered was a roux based sauce. (Click on the link for an excellent photo based lesson on how to make a roux.)

Grandpa Al was a born teacher-though that was not his profession. (He retired from General Motors.) Often, he would combine the breakfast cooking demonstration to include creamed chipped beef on toast. He had definite opinions on the correct presentation and quality.

What is chipped beef? It's dehydrated beef-or more specifically a smoked and salted meat product. (Is it actually beef? What part is it from?) I'm sorry about your (and my) delicate sensibilities but our creamed chipped beef on toast was once a food popularly know in military slang as SOS or 'shit on a shingle.' My grandfather occasionally used this reference (with a chuckle) but my young ears had no idea what he was talking about. The "shingle" (as in roofing tiles-rhymes with piles) would be the toasted triangles, which are white bread with the edges cut off-and you can figure out the rest of the reference!!

Julia was also exacting in her opinions. A dinner part for 300? Julia suggests making the flat French omelet-NOT puffy.




And that was the recipe my own mother used... Bon Appétit!
at
Labels: , , ,

21 comments:

  1. AnonymousSeptember 19, 2009 at 10:46 AM

    I love your family stories!
    What an exotic background you come from.
    Do hope all is going well with you.
    Your grandmother looks quite a character.
    Happy and peaceful weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 19, 2009 at 12:28 PM

    hahah love the SOS.I remember my fatherinlaw telling me it was an army term for dried beff and flour and milk.Oh ugh my husband used to like that too.yuck.lol.When he was living I think he had that noticed I said HE lol.Maybe once twice a week.
    As far as Julia goes I guess she was a great chef.But you know everytime I saw what she was making I wasnt impressed.
    Enjoy the weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousSeptember 19, 2009 at 12:28 PM

    that was beef not bff,typing fast isnt my thing ha!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousSeptember 19, 2009 at 5:12 PM

    Oh, I feel so entertained! The fish cracked me up for some reason. Thanks for the great post!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sarah LaurenceSeptember 19, 2009 at 5:14 PM

    Julia was amusing. I love that photo of your grandpa with all the fish. Congratulations on your POTD below – well deserved.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Phil LoweSeptember 19, 2009 at 5:31 PM

    I am new to Julia Child as I come from the UK. I understand she was a great influence on the folks of the USA to encourage Fench Cooking. She is wonderfully eccentric! Brilliant.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Phil LoweSeptember 19, 2009 at 5:32 PM

    make that French cooking... lol

    ReplyDelete
  8. Everyday GoddessSeptember 19, 2009 at 7:57 PM

    Julia Child is one person I would love to have dinner with when I get to the other side.

    I love stories about family chefs. And I have eaten some delicious SOS!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Rosaria WilliamsSeptember 19, 2009 at 9:33 PM

    Great stories. Nothing beats these personal connections to food and family rituals.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Fire ByrdSeptember 20, 2009 at 5:31 AM

    I love food stories related to our pasts, they make the continued use of receipes so precious when we know who they came from.
    xx

    ReplyDelete
  11. ShadowSeptember 20, 2009 at 5:45 AM

    now that's what family does... creates beautiful memories. but please excuse me, it's time for a snack....

    ReplyDelete
  12. French Fancy...September 20, 2009 at 7:03 AM

    Until I read about Meryl's latest film I'd never heard of Julia Child (Phil - you're not alone) but having seen a trailer for the film I can see what a good job La Streep has done.

    Cyn, haven't you got an exotic background?. My grandparents were from Russia and Bellarusse and I've always enjoyed not being a typical 'English' person. There is also nothing typical about you, my dear - you are a one-off in the best possible way.

    (I still feel a bit rotten about that time I went on a bit about my little French Fancy award - sorry again)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Cynthia PittmannSeptember 20, 2009 at 10:54 PM

    Thank you all for your comments. You make my day when they arrive in my email at work...my computer is out again. I'm borrowing a mini computer. It's a challenge.

    French Fancy...thanks my the praise...what a delight to be considered unique. Don't worry about the award...your a dear with strong ideas...I like that about you. <3

    ReplyDelete
  14. Writing on BoardSeptember 22, 2009 at 7:26 AM

    I will not eat the SOS, but reading you is tasty. :0)

    ReplyDelete
  15. ArtistUnpluggedSeptember 22, 2009 at 9:47 AM

    Ha, ha, ha!!! My dad used to make sos too and called it the same thing!!!! I love all the interesting tidbits you posted here!!! Hope you are doing very well. :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. karenSeptember 22, 2009 at 10:25 PM

    Oh gosh I LMAO reading about SOS...we grew up on that. Coming from a family with 6 kids sometimes called for economical meals. I hope with todays economy as it is... this dish doesn't make a comeback!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Tess KincaidSeptember 23, 2009 at 8:48 AM

    I grew up on dried beef gravy on toast. Haven't thought of it in years.

    The pics of your grandparents are priceless!!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. NishantSeptember 23, 2009 at 2:29 PM

    love the SOS.I remember my fatherinlaw telling me it was an army term for dried beff and flour and milk.Oh ugh my husband used to like that too.yuck.lol.When he was living I think he had that noticed I said HE lol.Maybe once twice a week.
    As far as Julia goes I guess she was a great chef.But you know everytime I saw what she was making I wasnt impressed.
    Enjoy the weekend!
    Web hosting india

    ReplyDelete
  19. SanSeptember 24, 2009 at 6:31 PM

    Shit on a Shingle. Comfort food at its best. It was Julia Child's guilty pleasure.

    ReplyDelete
  20. A Cuban In LondonSeptember 25, 2009 at 9:49 AM

    What a fantastic story! I loved those snippets of your life. SOS, brilliant acronym.

    Greetings from London.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Cynthia PittmannSeptember 26, 2009 at 8:04 AM

    Thank you all for the comments. I soooo enjoy your feedback. See you soon with a new Saturday post. <3

    ReplyDelete

Start a conversation with your comments here...

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)