An Honor for Julia.

This past September what would have been Julia Child's Birthday. So many have written, talked and blogged about her. They even made a movie about one blogger.

I was so lucky to have worked a number of times with her at events from Teaching underprevliged kids how to make pies to opening new cooking schools as the ribbon cutters. We traveled from Texas to San Francisco together..

Many of you know I conduct Culinary tours of her former home in the South of France. Well this picture is her childhood home in the Suburb of Los Angeles in Pasadena.

I will be the guest speaker this upcoming Saturday for the Pasadena Hertitage Group. I will be talking about the many times Julia and I worked together (funny never in the kitchen). Also a display of some of the tools I was given and my collection of autogaphed cookbooks and covers of magazines. We will also be serving appitzers fitting as to what Julai would have served. Simple yet elegant. This is a closed event for the Hertitage Associates. But if you would like to join them the website is: www.pasadenaheritage.org .

If you cant join us, here are a few recipes for Saturday:

Les Canapes du Beurre du Salmon 

Pissaladiere de Nice 

Tapenade 

Central Market and Texas Students

I'm Back!!!!!

In a few weeks I will be back to Central Market throughout the state of Texas. Next week any former students that I have US Postal addresses for will be receiving information about the classes and all of my books including my new book coming out this week. This will be my last US Mail to all of you. I will be corresponding though here and my newsletter. Please make sure you are in my email data base.

All classes are from 6:30pm to 9:00pm                                                           Monday Oct.1^st:     Dallas Location                                                                 Tuesday Oct. 2^nd:   Southlake Location                                                               Wed. Oct 3^rd:       San Antonio Location                                                           Thurs. Oct 4^th:     Houston Location                                                                 Friday Oct 5^th:      Austin Location

I will be teaching a class, all on chocolate desserts. With a recipe from my newest cookbook all on donuts!  150 Best Donut Recipes!

Extraordinary Fall & Holiday Chocolate Pastry Party

The fall and holiday season is upon us and time to create showstopper deserts with ease. Learn from George how to make perfect pastry. Author of 9 award-winning cookbooks, George will create desserts that will have all of your guests in Awe. 

Menu: Semi-Sweet Mocha Flour-less French Torte, 5 Chocolate Brownies Drenched with Bittersweet Glaze, Pots de Crème, Milk Chocolate Mini-Cakes with Truffle Filling and Baked Chocolate Donuts with Vanilla Macadamia Sauce.

www.centralmarket.com to register

Norway.... Waffles

The Waffles of Norway

I recently returned from a 7 day cruise of The Netherlands and Norway. We started in Rotterdam the home port of Holland America Lines and also the ms. Rotterdam. We sailed to Oslo, the Fjords, Flam and a few places in-between.

Many places served waffles. cold waffles. I am used to a nice crispy hot butter melting waffles. Not the Dutch or Norwegians. They make waffles and stack them up with just a towel on top to keep warm. Served with a nice raspberry compote and thickened cream or sour cream. Here are the waffles I had above Flam, Norway

Norway Waffles

Moist Southern Hummingbird Cake

Here is a moist cake that is all "Southern" With using Canola Oil is will stay much moister longer.

It is a cross between a banana cake with pineapple and pecans. 

Enjoy! 

Hummingbird Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

This and many more cakes you can find in my books. 

America in Summer

Last week I was in Chicago judging contestants (James Beard winning chefs to home chefs) for a new show called The Taste with Anthony Bourdain and Nigella Lawson it will be on ABC in the fall. It was exciting to see the process for the first 20 contestants. Then… I was tired of the same “point of view” everyone had. Nobody was original. Everyone used the words.. Fresh, localized, close to home, organic, farm to table etc. It was like everyone heard it and penned it! I questioned most of them on the view they had. Fail!

Now I ask restaurateurs if you are into farm to table and nothing being grown/raised further then a 50 (or what ever you have chosen) mile radius, what about your supplies such as dishes, pottery, tables, linens, glassware etc.

After the Los Angeles Open Cast Call I drove to Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice, CA to a wonderful place that carries pedestal cake plates and domes. Speaking with Sue the owner of Bountiful, she told me that the cake plates come from one of only two American glass manufactures left in business. She carry’s about 40 different colors, shapes and sizes. All in all the shop had hundreds stacked all over the place! It’s a site to see. I picked up a Buttercream colored plate.

I love road trips! This past July 4^th weekend I set out to show the Midwest to Neil and Jonathan. Neither had been to the areas we setout for. We started at Cedar Point on the 4^th. What says America then a rollercoaster ride off of Lake Erie? Small towns of Ohio to the big cities, we covered hundreds of miles in 6 days. A goal was American Products and small towns.

Last June I was impressed with the new “Made in America” campaign from Starbucks. Many products are coming to market and a great heavy mug that I gave to my father for Fathers day. It was made at the American Stein and Mug Company in East Liverpool. This area that overlooks the Ohio Rver and borders West Virginia is in dire need of production factories to return. Only a few pottery makers were still in operation.

Homer and Hall had tours and a warehouse with seconds, remainders and first run pottery. I bought too much to where we had to ship boxes home. The Homer Pottery was packed with hundreds of shoppers looking to get the great deals.

Put your food on US Made pottery! It will taste so much better…

Homer Laughlin Co. “Fiesta” Pottery  

http://www.hlchina.com/

Hall China Company

www.hallchina.com

Bountiful

1335 Abbot Kinney Blvd

Venice, CA 90291

310-450-3620

www.bountifulhome.com