Julia Child Re-runs

 Boeuf Bourguignon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA2ys8C-lNk

 

I am not one to watch cooking shows- it is a sink hole of time along with food blogs. Having said that this was a pleasure and informative. I own a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and have attempted to tackle many recipes in its depths. This made me go out and get the ingredients to make beef bourguignon I also blame the film Juile and Julia (I watched last year) for my urge to cook this dish.

Bouillabaisse a la Marseillaise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDOQOXm3iPc

This episode really got me thinking. Seafood is all grey water when it comes to knowing what to eat why, when and where. The fish industries of my past have collapsed and fish farming has ruined coast I love and lobster is what is left. When I was a little landlocked girl I desperately wanted to be an oceanographer when I grew up, mapping the depths of the ocean with sonar sounded quite fun and admit to having the Monetery Bay Seefoodwatch App on my phone (http://www.seafoodwatch.org/seafood-recommendations/our-app). Knowing what you eat these days is really hard and pretty depressing. Two years ago I got my hands on a copy of Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood by Gresco where the author ironically goes around sampling/investigating seafood and fishing/harvesting/growing techniques. I was raised to love seafood- Dugeness and Alaskan Crab, Steelhead Salmon and Muscles my mother being raised in Seattle. Later lobster (once a poor person's food and now a delicacy and a "bottom feeder" what Gresco deems a species we should eat, along with jellyfish) and oysters  became my love during subsequent years on the East cost. In this seafood extravaganza Julia Child makes a broth out of fish carcuses and throws whole "cute" fish into the pot. She says entertaining words like "flimsy fish" "fancy fish". She explains and handles many lean fish ideal for Boullabaisse and tells you in detail how to skin an eel. She clips and whacks and talks about how americans are finicky about leaving the heads on and says that they the dish is much prettier with them on. I also noticed how when she holds up a fish she used the eye socket as a grip. I could never really stomach a fish out of water as a kid- when we fished tons. I was interested to hear he elude to how even then in the 60's no one wants to see the face of the fish they are eating. The separation of location, animal body and the act of eating is extra convoluted when it comes to seafood. Julia in this case even sits down to show you how to eat it: 

 I was inspired to make a chowder and even bought some fish to go with the clams. We had a shindig at the house and boiled the rest in white wine garlic and butter. It was a joy, a feast. There is nothing like knowing where your food came from and having some emotional connection to it, I swear it tastes better. 

Another interesting tid-bit from the shows I watched were that each show was made available by a grant or sponsor... 
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Need some foodie stories to listen to in the studio?

http://themoth.org/posts/stories/white-house-pastry-chef

http://themoth.org/?s=food