"I want my mother!"

May 1959

"Now tell me you had this for lunch."

May/Jun 1995

"Mom said for you to wash up for dinner…
and then to cook it."

Mar/Apr 1997

"That's the last time I try
cooking something from scratch."

Sep/Oct 1997

"Red or white wine with Presbyterian?"

Fall 1972

"My husband ate my homework."

Sep/Oct 1999

Cartoons: Cooking The Saturday Evening Post

Julia Child, born Aug. 15, 1912, would have turned 100 years old this week.

The incident has become legendary. People who know nothing else about Julia Child know what she said when the potato pancake she was cooking accidentally flipped out of the pan onto the kitchen counter.

With a truly French sangfroid, she advised, “If this happens, just scoop it back into the pan; remember that you are alone in the kitchen and nobody can see you.”

However, thousands did see her, and were both amused and reassured; even the great Julia Child, the author of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, could make mistakes. But she didn’t stop cooking. She just kept going.

The story symbolizes how Mrs. Child democratized gourmet cooking. She wanted to remove the mystique of French cuisine and make it accessible so anyone could experience the art of the great chefs of Paris.

It was no easy goal in 1961. French cooking was popularly considered to be strange, fussy, exotic, and less satisfying than an American’s meat-and-potatoes dinner.

Enter Mrs. Child, who had fallen in love with the food of Paris and dedicated herself to exploring, mastering, and sharing its pleasures.

French cooking couldn’t have chosen a better champion in America. Julia Child was relaxed, confident, and just as unpretentious as she was knowledgeable. When Lewis Lapham interviewed her for the Post in 1964, he found her “an even more engaging woman than she seems on television.”

She stands over six feet tall (her dress size she describes as “stately”), her eyes are grayish green, her hair brown and her complexion freckled.

A tall and determined woman, cheerful, steadfast and pure in heart, [she] appears as The French Chef on a weekly television show that is as funny as it is instructive.

Although an excellent cook, she possesses none of the pretentious mannerisms so often associated with practitioners of haute cuisine. She moves around in front of the camera utterly preoccupied with the problem at hand, addressing the television audience as if she were talking to herself or to a trusted friend.

Julia Child's home kitchen is now part of the collection at the Smithsonian Institution.

Each of her cooking lessons has about it the uncertainty of a reckless adventure. She has a way of losing things—either the butter, or the carrots she so carefully chopped into small cubes or, on one memorable occasion, a pot of cauliflower. Sometimes she forgets to put the seasoning in the ragout; sometimes she drops a turkey in the sink. But to Mrs. Child these slight misfortunes are of no importance, merely the expected hazards of a long and dirty war. Smiling and undismayed, secure in the knowledge that her cause is just, she bashes on.

When, at the end of the program, she at last brings the finished dish to the table, she does so with an air of delighted surprise, pleased to announce that once again the forces of art and reason have triumphed over primeval chaos.

Since its publication in 1961, Mastering the Art of French Cooking has sold over 2.5 million copies, thanks to Child’s television program The French Chef, which ran on public television for 10 years. It made converts of many a cook who might never have considered working through Mrs. Child’s massive collection of 542 recipes. But she also gained followers among Americans who rarely set foot in a kitchen.

A surprising number of [fan] letters arrive from people who know or care nothing about food but prize Mrs. Child chiefly for her ingenuous wit.

Mrs. Child gives a cooking demonstation to a public television audience.

 In New York’s Greenwich Village, for instance, a coterie of avant-garde painters and musicians gathers each week in a loft to watch The French Chef. …At first they assumed that she was doing a parody of the traditional cooking program, but even the discovery that she was playing it straight failed to dull their enthusiasm. In the garrets around Washington Square the introduction to the lesson on artichokes stands as the authoritative example of Mrs. Child’s humor and style.

The scene opened on an artichoke boiling in a pot of water and shrouded by a piece of cheesecloth, Mrs. Child, looming suddenly into view, lifted the cheesecloth with heavy tweezers and inquired, “What’s cooking under this gossamer veil? Why here’s a great big, bad artichoke, and some people are afraid of it.”

Of the other two remarks still quoted in the coffeehouses, the first concerned a chicken in a frying pan. “We just leave it there,” said Mrs. Child, “letting it make simple little cooking noises.”

The second had to do with crêpes suzette. As she put a match to it, she said, “You must be careful not to set your hair on fire.”

It’s not hard to imagine Mrs. Child, hair ablaze, telling viewers, “Now this is exactly what you don’t want to do,” before nonchalantly dousing the flames with baking soda.

It took courage, plus a sturdy sense of humor, for a Pasadena girl to master the cooking technique of Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Paris. But Julia Child (née McWilliams) was born courageous. At the start of World War II, she immediately tried to enlist in the Women’s Army Corps, then in the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, but was disqualified both times because of her height. So she volunteered for America’s early intelligence agency, the Office of Strategic Services. “She hoped to become a spy,” Lapham wrote, “but was sent instead to Ceylon as a file clerk.”

Her fearless determination proved invaluable during the 12 years she spent writing her cookbook and the ten years of filming The French Chef. It wasn’t all raw courage, though. She took great care to prepare for the occasional disaster on the program, preparing two sets of all ingredients just in case.

Julia Child poses for a portrait taken by Elsa Dorfman in 1988.

“In the 68 shows that Mrs. Child has so far filmed, the cameras have stopped on only six occasions, the most spectacular of these being the times when a soufflé fell and when a kidney flambé failed to catch fire,” Lapham wrote.

On the day he visited the set, she was cooking lamb stew. “She began with a finished stew in the oven, a half-done stew simmering in a pot on the stove, and the materials for a third stew arranged before her on cutting boards.”

But even the best-prepared chef will meet mistakes, and Julia would move on barely breaking her stride. “At the moment when Mrs. Child proudly picked up the stew and said with a flourish, ‘And now we put it in the refrigerator,’ Mrs. Lockwood [an associate producer] flapped her hands excitedly. ‘Of course I don’t mean the refrigerator,’ said Mrs. Child, unperturbed, ‘I mean we put it in the oven.’”

After reading Lapham’s Everyone’s In The Kitchen With Julia and watching the movie Julie and Julia, you can appreciate Julia Child’s two great contributions to the dinner tables of America. The first was acquainting us with a broad palette of exquisite tastes, which most Americans would never have experienced. The second was encouraging cooks to forget their fears and self-doubts, and boldly explore new worlds of culinary pleasures.

It makes you wonder how many other rewarding experiences in life are waiting for an intrepid pioneer to introduce them to America.

“It Doesn’t Have To Be Perfect”: Honoring the Julia Child Centennial The Saturday Evening Post

Lemon Drop Scones The Saturday Evening Post

Favorite Fare: “Marinated and grilled chicken because it’s great hot, warm or cold. Dips like baba ganush and tzatziki are also great, with crunchy veggies or baked pita chips.”
Savor the Season: “Buy fruits and veggies that are in season. They are tastier, more affordable, and help support local farms and communities.”

No Spoil Suggestions: “I love to have all types of antipasto platters at a picnic. Make a variety of salads and pack the dressing separately. Pour just before eating to keep greens nice and crisp.”

Quinoa Salad

(Makes 4 servings)

Image Courtesy Curtis Stone.

Ingredients

For the quinoa:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot, finely diced
1 clove garlic, finely diced
2 cups uncooked quinoa
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

For the vinaigrette:
¾ tablespoon shallots, finely diced
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

For the salad:
½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup English cucumber, peeled, seeded and small diced
¼ cup red bell pepper, medium diced
1 cup baby arugula

Directions

Heat medium saucepan over medium high heat, add olive oil and sweat shallot for 2 minutes stirring constantly. Add garlic and cook for additional 2 minutes. Add quinoa and stir to coat with shallot and garlic, then add in stock and bring to simmer.

Reduce heat to simmer gently for about 15 to 20 minutes or until quinoa is tender but not mushy. Remove quinoa from pot to sheet-pan to cool. Once cool, fluff quinoa with fork and reserve.

To make vinaigrette, place shallots and vinegar in medium mixing bowl. While whisking, slowly drizzle in olive oil. Add parsley and season vinaigrette with salt and pepper to taste. In separate large mixing bowl, combine cooled quinoa, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, and arugula and toss to mix. Drizzle in enough of vinaigrette to lightly coat and season salad to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate covered, then transport in cooler. To serve, spoon the salad onto 4 serving plates and serve immediately.

Curtis Stone’s Quinoa Salad The Saturday Evening Post

Loin Chops with Lemon Honey Thyme Marinade The Saturday Evening Post

The combination is an easy- and fun-to-make appetizer with a low glycemic index that you’ll want to serve up all season long. (This recipe is courtesy of Kalyn Denny’s food blog Kalyn’s Kitchen, which regularly features South Beach-friendly and low-glycemic recipes.)

Hummus and Cucumber Appetizer Bites

Recipe Yields 10-14 Appetizer Bites

A diet-friendly snack that party guests will appreciate.

Ingredients

• 1 Large Cucumber
• 1 Cup Hummus (Kalyn uses purchased hummus, but we recommend Madge’s Hummus.)
• Black or White Sesame Seeds

You will also need one small Ziploc bag or other thick plastic bag with one corner cut off.

Directions

1. If you are using European-style cucumbers (as Kalyn does), peel them in strips to leave some green color on. Otherwise, you should peel the skin off of regular grocery-store cucumbers.

2. Cut the cucumber into slices around 3/4 inch to 1 inch thick.

3. Put the hummus into a small Ziploc bag and cut off the corner. Use this like a pastry bag and squeeze it onto the top of each cucumber slice, just enough to slightly mound up but not so much that it starts to droop over.

4. Sprinkle the Hummus and Cucumber Bites with sesame seeds and serve.

Hummus and Cucumber Appetizer Bites The Saturday Evening Post

Hoot ‘n Holler Baby Back Ribs The Saturday Evening Post

A graduate of California Culinary Academy (CCA) in San Francisco, Cheryl has worked in top restaurants in France and San Francisco. She now has an urban farm in Napa, California.

“I don’t like cereal.”

“I’m allergic to eggs.”

“I’m not hungry when I wake up.”

“I don’t have time.”

There are plenty of reasons that people skip breakfast. But there are even more reasons why they shouldn’t.

Aside from increasing mental and physical performance, a breakfast of champions can help you to achieve and maintain optimal weight and energy levels. Furthermore, what you put in your mouth (or don’t) in the morning can also be indicative of your future health! Here’s how the first meal of the day can affect your lifelong health:

1. Energy. Who doesn’t want to have more energy? Whether you love working out, have an active lifestyle, or both, skipping breakfast can undermine your best efforts. Our bodies need fuel to power us through busy days and intense workouts. It all starts with breakfast. It’s no surprise that studies show that breakfast eaters have more endurance and strength than breakfast skippers.

2. Weight Control. Some people think that skipping meals, starting with breakfast, is a great way to lose weight. That’s simply not the case. Breakfast-skipping actually has the opposite effect. Holding off until noon for that first meal usually results in uber-hunger. This can lead to an out-of-control appetite when you do eat because you’re so famished. That can result in both eating too fast and consuming too many calories. It also contributes to distorted hunger signals (e.g., you can’t tell when you’re full). Believe it or not, smaller, more frequent meals can make weight control much more likely. And researchers now believe that eating breakfast may reduce hunger later in the day too. It may also be responsible for the tendency to choose less dense (lower-calorie) foods at later meals.

3. Brain power. A veggie omelette + whole grain toast = recipe for a productive morning? Yes, researchers believe that increased clarity and concentration are due in part to replenishing glucose, the brain’s main energy source. Sure, glucose is sugar, but it’s not quite that simple. It has something to do with a concept called the “glycemic index,” or GI. According to Dr. E. Leigh Gibson of Roehampton University in London, most studies suggest that quite a small amount—about 25 grams of carbohydrate (equivalent to a slice of whole grain toast with a tablespoon of sugar-free jam)—can improve performance, especially of memory. However, much more carbohydrate—especially if they’re high-GI foods (such as a cup of sugary cereal or a goopy cinnamon roll)—may actually impair memory. Her explanation for this is that “a high carb dose provokes a big increase in cortisol, which is a stress hormone. If one is doing a challenging task, an increase in cortisol is known to impair memory.” So the quality of your carbs is just as important as the quantity. Complex carbs such as whole grain breads or cereals play a key role in a healthy and balanced breakfast.

4. Blood sugar control. Regular meal timing, starting with breakfast, is important for even blood sugar and to balance the peaks and valleys of our blood sugar throughout the day. Not only does even blood sugar help prevent diabetes, it provides more energy and better long-term health (including decreased risk of heart disease).

A breakfast of champions can help you to achieve and maintain optimal weight and energy levels.

While blood sugar levels are highly regulated, with only minor fluctuations, our food choices (and timing) definitely have an impact on this balance. Sugary drinks or high-GI (glycemic index—see note below) meals can cause more of a spike in blood sugar levels. According to Dr. Gibson, “If you fast all day, your blood sugar would only show a slight decrease over the course of the day. This is because of action of counter-regulatory hormones such as glucagon, cortisol and adrenaline, which can influence blood glucose production, storage and uptake. So one way to think of hunger is as a neuro-hormonal signal to the brain that the body is having to work at maintaining blood glucose. At the same time, outside of the brain, most tissues start to receive an increased supply of free fatty acids, as stored fat is broken down, which, unlike the brain, they can use for energy.”

“If you fast all day, your blood sugar would only show a slight decrease over the course of the day. This is because of action of counter-regulatory hormones such as glucagon, cortisol and adrenaline, which can influence blood glucose production, storage and uptake. So one way to think of hunger is as a neuro-hormonal signal to the brain that the body is having to work at maintaining blood glucose. At the same time, outside of the brain, most tissues start to receive an increased supply of free fatty acids, as stored fat is broken down, which, unlike the brain, they can use for energy.”

This is an elegant and complex system whose mysteries are still being unraveled. What we do know for sure is that blood sugar control is a very good thing.

Breakfast: It’s Time to Make Time The Saturday Evening Post

Blueberry Oatmeal Breakfast Cake

Blueberry Oatmeal Breakfast Cake

(Makes 8 servings)

Ingredients

• 1-1⁄3 cups flour
• ¾ cup quick-cooking oats
• 1⁄3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoons salt
• ¾ cup milk
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 cup frozen blueberries*

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease an 8-inch round baking pan. Set aside.
In medium mixing bowl combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
In a 1-cup measure stir milk, oil, and egg. Pour all at once into flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter will be lumpy). Fold in blueberries. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake until cake is golden and pulls away from sides of pan 20 to 25 minutes.
Cool on a rack, 5 to 10 minutes.
Serve warm.
*Blueberries should be firmly frozen when used in baking.

Salmon and Blueberry Salad with Red Onion Vinaigrette

Salmon and Blueberry Salad with Red Onion Vinaigrette

(Makes 4 servings)

Ingredients

• 1 medium-sized red onion, thinly sliced in half rings
• 1/4 cup Regina red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1-1/2 pounds salmon fillet, cut crosswise in 4 portions
• 6 cups lettuce leaves in bite-sized pieces
• 1cup fresh blueberries

Directions

In microwaveable cup, combine onion, red wine vinegar, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper; cover loosely with plastic wrap; microwave on high power for 1 minute. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until onions turn pink, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat grill or broiler. Brush 1 tablespoon of olive oil on both sides of salmon fillets; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Grill or broil salmon, skin side down, until just cooked through, about 6 minutes. Divide lettuce leaves among 4 dinner plates; place salmon in the center. With slotted spoon, remove onions from vinegar; scatter onions, along with blueberries, over and around the fish. Whisk remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil into vinegar mixture; drizzle vinaigrette over salmon.

Berry Blue Smoothie

Berry Blue Smoothie

(Makes 3 servings)

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh or slightly thawed frozen blueberries
• 1 6-ounce container low-fat vanilla or other flavored yogurt
• 1 cup fruit juice, such as orange, pineapple or apple
• 1 tablespoon honey or sugar, more or less to taste

Directions

In the container of an electric blender, place blueberries, yogurt, juice, and honey. Whirl until smooth. Serve immediately.
 
 

Blueberry-Topped Rice Cakes

Blueberry-Topped Rice Cakes

(Makes 4 servings)

Ingredients

• ½ cup ricotta or cottage cheese
• 2 teaspoons apricot preserves
• 4 apple-cinnamon flavored rice cakes
• 1 cup thinly-sliced fresh fruit (such as apple, pear, nectarine or peach)
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions

In a small bowl, stir together ricotta and preserves.
Spoon an equal amount on each of the rice cakes almost to the edge.
Arrange fruit slices in circles, on top of the ricotta mixture.
Top each with ¼ cup of the blueberries.
Serve immediately.

Blueberry Shrimp Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

Blueberry Shrimp Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

(Makes 4 servings)

Ingredients

• Medium-size shrimp, boiled or grilled: ¾ pound (about 20)
• Fresh blueberries: 1 cup
• Walnut pieces, toasted: ½ cup
• Edamame or green peas, cooked: ½ cup
• Mixed salad greens: 5 ounces (about 4 cups)
• Lemon Vinaigrette: (recipe follows)
• Firm white cheese, such as feta, crumbled: 2 ounces (about ½ cup)

Directions

In a large salad bowl, toss shrimp, blueberries, walnut pieces, edamame (or peas), and salad greens
Evenly divide salad onto six plates. Drizzle with Lemon Vinaigrette (below). Sprinkle cheese around edges of salads
Lemon Vinaigrette
In a small mixing bowl, whisk ¼ cup vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, ½ teaspoon sugar, 1⁄8 teaspoon salt and 1⁄8 teaspoon pepper.

Recipes/Photos Courtesy: The U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council.

Blueberry Bonanza The Saturday Evening Post

So, go ahead and treat your Valentine to chocolate. Cocoa beans are among the richest sources of antioxidants called flavonoids and polyphenols—similar to those found in wine—which benefit both your physical and mental health. I absolutely love to bake for friends and family, and how truly sweet it is when those recipes contain cocoa—and all its many benefits.

Protect your heart: The flavonoids in cocoa can lower your risk of heart attacks and stroke by helping to reduce the blood’s ability to clot. [1]

Quell stress: In a 2009 study conducted by Swiss scientists, eating dark chocolate daily reduced stress hormone levels. [2] Researchers measured stress levels of 30 healthy adults daily over two weeks and found that eating 1.4 ounces of dark chocolate daily reduced stress hormone levels in those who had high anxiety levels. (Just be sure to account for the 235 calories that 1.4 ounces of chocolate delivers—or you may be stressed to see extra pounds creeping on.)

Fight fatigue: Cocoa may help ward off fatigue as well. A small 2010 study in the UK found that polyphenols—the group of antioxidant class that includes flavonoids—helped sufferers of chronic fatigue syndrome combat symptoms, including anxiety and depression. [3]
With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, why not give your loved one a special treat made with cocoa. Not only will it liven the taste buds, but it will provide so many other benefits as well! Nothing better than the delicious, loving gift of health!

Chocolate Almond Pudding

The purer the form of cocoa, the more cocoa solids it has, and the more antioxidants it delivers.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS (1⁄2 CUP EACH)
There are a variety of ready-to-drink nut milks on the market, which are made by soaking nuts or seeds in water, blending, and then straining the liquid. Served warm or cold, this silky crowd-pleaser takes just minutes to prepare. If you have a nut allergy, you can also prepare the pudding using low-fat milk or soy milk.

• 1/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups unflavored almond milk, preferably unsweetened or sweetened with brown rice syrup (or low fat or reduced fat milk)
• 1⁄3 cup agave nectar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons toasted slivered almonds

In a 1-quart saucepan, combine the cocoa, cornstarch, and salt. Add just enough of the milk to make a smooth paste. Gradually stir in the agave and the remaining milk.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Pour into 4 serving dishes and cool. Sprinkle with the almonds just before serving.

Nutrition Facts

PER SERVING
167 calories, 3 g protein, 2 g carbohydrates, 4 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 2 g fiber, 20 g sugar, 218 mg sodium

 
Cheryl Forberg RD is a New York Times bestselling author and a James Beard award-winning chef. Cheryl co-wrote the eating plan for NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” and was the show’s nutritionist for twelve seasons. Her latest book is Flavor First, and she writes a blog of cooking and nutrition tips. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook for more tips and recipes. And continue to read the Saturday Evening Post website for more regular nutrition tips and features from Cheryl.
 
 
 
 

Cocoa: Lovers’ Sweet Can Be a Healthful Treat! The Saturday Evening Post

(William Morrow Cookbooks, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers; $24.99; April 6, 2010; Hardcover)

Here we bring you two weekend favorites.

Double Chocolate Pancakes with Strawberry Sauce

Chocolate Pancakes with Strawberry Sauce (Courtesy of HarperCollins)

(Makes 6 servings)

Strawberry Sauce

• 1 16-ounce package frozen unsweetened whole strawberries
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

Pancakes

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Sauce:

In large saucepan, combine frozen fruit, syrup, and 2 tablespoons water. Bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, about 10 to 15 minutes. As sauce simmers, break up whole berries with wooden spoon or fork.

Pancakes:

In large bowl, whisk flours, cocoa, sugar, flaxseed, baking powder, and salt. In medium bowl, lightly beat whole egg and egg white. Add the milk, oil, and vanilla, and whisk together. Pour the wet ingredients over dry and stir until just blended. Don’t overmix. Carefully fold in chocolate chips. Let batter rest for 10 minutes.
When strawberry sauce has reached syrupy consistency, remove from heat.
Coat large skillet or griddle with oil spray. Preheat over medium heat. When pan is hot (after about 2 minutes), ladle about 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto surface. Cook pancakes until small bubbles form around edges, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip pancakes over and cook about 1 minute longer. Recoat skillet between batches.
Serve 2 pancakes with 1/3 cup warm strawberry sauce and sprinkling of chocolate chips on each plate.

Nutrition Facts

per serving
Calories: 242
Total fat: 9 g
Saturated fat: 3 g
Protein: 7 g
Carbohydrate: 38 g
Fiber: 4 g
Cholesterol: 35 mg
Sodium: 260 mg

New and Nutritious! The Saturday Evening Post

If you’re not churning out large, fast meals for a ravenous family, cooking can be a perpetually fresh adventure. Given time, curiosity, imagination, and a full spice rack, you can pursue hours of adventure, enjoy the satisfaction of creating a sensual pleasure, and get another meal out of the way.

In the 18th Century, American colonists were beginning to move beyond the subsistence diet of pioneers. They had the time and money to look into ways of combining New World produce with Old World recipes. Cooks were combining the familiar fare of corn, beans, squash, ham, beef, and cod with European cooking methods and seasonings that were becoming more available in the larger cities.

Ben Franklin, the patron saint of moderation, was wary of these culinary innovations:

“In general, mankind, since the improvement of cookery, eats twice as much as nature requires.”

He later advised:

“To lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals.”

It was good advice, but hard to follow, even for Franklin, who loved good food and company as much as he loved virtue. So it is not surprising to see that he wrote, late in life:

“I don’t so much mind being old, as I mind being fat and old.”

Haute Cuisine The Saturday Evening Post

He’s the man in front of the camera and behind the scenes of the Food Network’s long-running television series Good Eats, a show dedicated to exploring the history and science of food. Network fans also know him as the host of Iron Chef America and the documentary series Feasting on Asphalt and Feasting on Waves. Brown is the author of the James Beard Foundation Award-winning cookbook I’m Just Here for the Food,and when he’s not writing, directing, experimenting, hosting, or filming, look up … you just might spot him piloting through America’s spacious skies (and possibly doing a little research for an upcoming series).

So, if you answered E, you are correct. However, above all, he considers himself a filmmaker, investing the majority of his time in “the one thing I get my feelings hurt by if people don’t mention” — Good Eats, now celebrating its 10th anniversary on air.

With show titles such as “What’s Up Duck?” and “Flap Jack Do It Again,” each episode is a humorous exploration of the origins of food. Paired with playful skits and unconventional cooking demonstrations, Brown won over audiences by inventing a show that’s not your run-of-the-mill cooking program.

In the spirit of the Post’s “American Ingenuity” issue, we caught up with the Food Network’s celebrity pioneer filmmaker to discover the formula for making Good Eats.

SEP: Why the fascination with food science on your show?

AB: Everything that happens in the kitchen has to do with science. In a way, everything in life has to do with science, and if you want to take control in the kitchen and be self-reliant, you really have to understand what’s going on. My particular conduit for that is science. It’s not enough to know that something works, you have to know why.

SEP: Is there something you’re most proud of for having figured out on the show?

AB: My beef jerky rig. I figured out the problem with beef jerky: It all tasted cooked, and real beef jerky is not cooked — it’s dried. So I got a few furnace filters, bungee-corded them to a box fan with a brine-marinated meat sandwiched between the filters, and used it to make really great beef jerky. Looking outside of the standard apparatus for figuring out how to do that was very satisfying.

SEP: What’s your favorite cooking innovation?

AB: The immersion circulator: the adaptation of a digitally controlled laboratory device into a culinary device. It gives people (who are willing to drop $900 on basically a water heater) the ability to dial in exact temperatures. I can cook spare ribs at a very low temperature for nearly 40 hours, opening up a new dimension of texture and flavors.

Recipe: Alton Brown’s Eggplant Pasta

Alton Brown: Good Eats The Saturday Evening Post

Tips from the Kitchen Getting Garlic Smell off of Your Fingers

Three words: salt, lemon, steel. One way to remove the odor is to rub salt on your fingers. The salt will absorb the odor, and then you can rinse the salt away with hot soapy water. Or, rub lemon juice on your hands or rub your garlicky digits on anything made of stainless steel. Give your faucet a little good-luck rub and see if it does the trick. To be safe, do all three. These tricks work for onions, too.

To Keep Eggshell Fragments Out of Egg White

Crack the egg on a flat surface, such as the counter instead of on the rim of a bowl. It works. If you somehow still manage to get a shell fragment in with the egg, scoop the little piece out with one of the halves of the shell. The thin, curved shell is a natural shell-fragment retriever—much better than your finger or a spoon. You will never make a crunchy muffin or omelet again—unless, of course, you plan it that way.

From The Spectrum, by Dean Ornish, M.D.

Kitchen Tips The Saturday Evening Post

Coming in from the cold to a steaming bowl of chili undoubtedly qualifies as one of the outstanding pleasures of life. And if that chili has the additional benefit of good nutrition and healthful ingredients, so much the better. Fortunately, most of us have the time for many more bowls of chili in our lifetimes. And just in case you haven’t already settled permanently on a favorite, we have rounded up some delicious chili recipes for you to try.

Healthy Chili Round-Up The Saturday Evening Post