Save Your Fork… There’s Pie

I’m working my way through a stack of books received as Christmas presents, and while different both topically and stylistically, all seem to have one underlying theme; They’re all about chefs.

The United States of Arugula – How We Became a Gourmet Nation by David Kamp is less the history of gourmet food as it relates to the home cook, and more the evolution of fine dining in the US. Kamp traces the progression of the modern restaurant from the first Escoffier-trained French chefs brought to the US to the current trend towards Food Network “celebrity” chefs and the debate over their validity in the kitchen. Touching on every 20th century food icon from Julia Child to Alice Waters (about whom Kamp seems to have little good to say), he intertwines the history with the development of the careers of two major food writers, James Beard and Craig Claiborne. The book gets more than a little dishy at times (oh, those crazy kids at Chez Panisse!), but that’s part of its charm.

Gordon Ramsay’s autobiography Roasting in Hell’s Kitchen (a title change from the UK version, Humble Pie) offers another look at the back of house. With his characteristic cursing (I’m guessing he dictated the text rather than sat down at a keyboard), Ramsay tells the story of his life so far, a rags to riches tale which includes an abusive parent, a drug-addicted sibling, betrayal by a colleague and mentor, and the fallout from some sketchy business dealings. Ramsay offers a lot of personal information and anecdotes, but the reader cannot help but sense an overall tone of reserve. The chef also betrays a level of defensiveness when discussing the various criticisms directed towards his business expansion as well as his behaviour in the kitchen. While Ramsay was brought up through the ranks of an old-school, pot-to-the-head-style method of running a kitchen, he insists that he’s really a big pussycat. Given that the man’s business has expanded partially on the reputation of his temper (Fox has signed him for the third season of Hell’s Kitchen and a US version of the award-winning Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares will be filmed around the same time), I don’t know that he should be protesting too much. A fun read in the vein of Kitchen Confidential or for any Ramsay fans.

Finally, a bit of fiction to finish the mix. Soul Kitchen is the third in a series by New Orleans writer Poppy Z. Brite. Centred around a pair of chefs running a restaurant called Liquor, Soul Kitchen is the story of John Rickey and his partner (both personal and business), Gary “G Man” Stubbs. Brite’s husband is an award-winning chef in New Orleans, so she manages to paint a vivid picture of the restaurant business, from the exquisite creations coming out of the kitchen right down to the shady dealings taking place at the tables out front. Her hilarious and cynical portrayal of the current (and incredibly foolish, in this writer’s opinion) “molecular gastronomy” trend sweeping the food world is more than worth the cost of the book. When lead character Rickey injures his back carrying a sack of oysters, he is led down a path of pain-killer addiction by a prosperous local doctor looking to take advantage of him. Brite herself suffers from chronic back pain which she documents in her LiveJournal, and I found her descriptions of Rickey’s ailments to be particularly well-written. Soul Kitchen is a fun read all on its own, although it’s better when paired with the first two books in the series; Liquor and Prime.

Copyrights can be confusing things, but it’s a generally accepted rule that if you’re going to use someone else’s art to make a profit, you require, at minimum, their permission. In most cases, they’re going to expect either to be paid a lump sum for the use of their artwork or to receive a percentage of the cost of each item that their efforts have helped to sell.

Which is why I’m a little bewildered by the line of pin-up girl chocolate bars by MarieBelle New York. Maybe they’re expecting that no one will recognize the “pin-up calendar girls” they’ve chosen to grace the wrappers of their chocolate bars. But as a bit of a pin-up aficionado, particularly regarding the work of a couple of specific artists, there are a few pieces that are almost instantly recognizeable.

So what I’m wondering is how they got away with it. Or if they’ve just been lucky so far.

There’s no reference to any of the artists on the web site. And all of the girls have been given names that don’t correspond to the titles of the artwork. Many of the original artists are dead now, but the body of work is often closely guarded by the family or heirs. In the case of Gil Elvgren (of which wholly six of the twelve wrappers appear to be his work), his family has maintained very tight control over the use of the artwork.

Maybe MarieBelle figured it was such a small run they’d be able to get away with it. They have another selection of bars with what they refer to as “classic images” (romantic Victorian photos), on which the copyright has probably expired. But the pin-up bars were featured today on SlashFood, which means news that the likely illegal use of this artwork is now worldwide.

Jam on biscuits, jam on toast,
Jam is the thing that I like most,
Jam is sticky, jam is sweet,
Jam is tasty, Jam’s a treat,
Raspberry, strawberry, gooseberry, I’m very
FOND … OF … JAM!
from Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell and Lillian Hoban

Unlike little Frances, I never tire of jam. Perhaps if I ate it at every meal as she did, but if I’ve got a variety to choose from, probably not. Having a jam fetish means that you’ve got to find new and different ways to get the jam from jar to mouth, and when you run out of toast and biscuits, cookies make a fine jam transportation device.

I’m not sure why I grew up knowing these an Thimble Cookies, they are elsewhere referred to as Thumbprint Cookies, JamJams or with a slight variation to the recipe to make the dough a bit more raggedy, Bird’s Nests. They’re most interesting to me when I’ve got a whole hoard of jam flavours to work with, so that I have a variety of little jewels on the plate. For this batch I’ve used organic raspberry jam, a gorgeous apple and blackcurrant jam from France, orange marmalade, red fig jam and some fabulous spiced apple jelly my Mom picked up for me in Nova Scotia’s world-renowned apple growing region, the Annapolis Valley.

Thimble Cookies

1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1-1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
jam

Preheat oven to 375′F. Cream butter and sugar together. Add egg and vanilla and beat well. Sift together flour, salt and baking powder, add to sugar mixture and blend well. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Dent each ball with thumb and fill with jam, being careful not to overfill as some jams will run. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until bottoms are just golden brown.

For a healthier variation, use half whole-wheat flour.