Moving Forward

These are tough economic times. Going to museums is something that people may not feel that they can continue to do with as much abandon as before. But we are not stopping. We continue to create partnerships and push forward our mission.

This month we will be announcing the opening of the reading room - the SoFAB Culinary Collection at NOPL (New Orleans Public Library). This brings to fruition the generosity of all of those people throughout the United States who have sent us their cookbooks. We are so grateful. Know that culinary students at two junior colleges, several high schools, and a university will have access to this library. In addition anthropology students and business students studying Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management from local colleges and universities will have access. People from throughout the New Orleans area, 80% of whom lost their cookbook and recipe collections after Hurricane Katrina, will also be able to find recipes and do culinary research.

This is a great note upon which to end 2008.

Mockingbird the Movie—It’s Always Better to Read the Book

As part of The Big Read celebration, the Southern Food and Beverage Museum recently hosted a viewing of the movie, To Kill A Mockingbird at the New Orleans Museum of Art. Roughly 20 people attended the screening of the two-hour and twelve-minute movie. (We had a time limitation and I was definitely conscious of the duration of the movie.)

Believe it or not, I had never seen this classic movie which is odd because I am a devotee of the movie channels that broadcast the old films. I’ve seen bits and pieces of the movie through the years, but never the whole thing from start to finish. Though I am glad to have seen the movie, I have to admit that I was a little disappointed. As a person who had just finished reading the book (also for the first time), I felt the movie just didn’t stand up to Harper Lee’s writing.

For one thing, the movie left out almost all references to food with the exception of the scene in which Water Cunningham is invited home to the Finch household where he proceeds to pour molasses over his lunch. That’s it for the food.

Which means that many other key scenes in the book that involve food are completely left out – the emotional scene in which the townspeople thank Atticus for his defense of Tom Robinson by leaving food at his back porch; the scene in which Dill returns to Maycomb and is so hungry he eats all the leftovers; and the scene in which Scout visits relatives for a holiday meal and is given a profound three-word message by a cousin that “men don’t cook.”

Gone are the references to Lane Cake, scuppernongs, Tootsie Rolls, squirrel and possum, ambrosia, collards and other greens, etc.

Food is important in this book. It helps to set a time and a place. In Mockingbird, the presence of food helps to move along key scenes that define the social status of the characters and define the issues Harper Lee illustrates – hunger, the role of women, the role of African-Americans, the issue of social justice, and the general importance of food at the Southern table.

Besides food, there are other key parts of Harper Lee’s story that are left out of the movie. For example, the story of the morphine addicted Mrs. Duboce gets no attention; Miss Maudie’s house does not burn down; we do not get to see a key scene in which Scout and Jem attend Calpurnia’s church.

I know I’m being a little picky. I also know that it’s tough to transfer a book to the screen and leave it completely intact. Much has been written about Harper Lee being extremely pleased with the way her book was translated to film. She became close friends with Gregory Peck in the process.

Many people claim the movie is one of their all-time favorites. Good for them. However, the bottom-line for me is that the movie is very different from the book. The book is many times better than the movie, and if you want a great experience, sit down and immerse yourself in it. Reading Mockingbird definitely takes a longer period of time than watching the movie, but you will be rewarded for the time you spent.

This will be my last blog regarding To Kill A Mockingbird and The Big Read for quite some time. We are applying now for next year’s Big Read initiative; it looks like our choice will be Zora Neal Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. Our celebration will occur in November and December of 2009. If there’s a movie, we’ probably screen it.

In the meantime, we are undertaking more literary/culinary adventures and we will share them with you in the future.

Kids' Parties at SoFAB

We have finally created kids' cooking birthday parties at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum. They are for kids between the ages of 3 and 12 and the different themes make me want to be that age again.

During our summer culinary camp, one child constantly asked, "If I do _______, will the ______ blow up?" I created, "Mad Chemist in the Kitchen: The Science of Cooking" with you in mind, buddy.

Other themes are Soul Food, Louisiana Food, Southern Vegetarian, Playing with Food, and SoFAB's Top Chef (Cooking Like a TV Pro). For more info, click here.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Southern Food and Beverage Museum!

Maison Blanche Lives!!!

The SoFAB Store carries a variety of one-of-a-kind items by regional artists and artisans. Our Christmas selection is no less unique. Among this years' hot items are the Mr. Bingle Coasters by New Orleans artist Kat Sagers. The set of four 4X4" tiles feature a Mr Bingle imprint of him fluttering about, and sells for $20. Each Bingle tile is a different color.

Mr. Bingle, for those of you not from New Orleans, is an iconic figure in the city's Christmas history whose importance to Christmas far outweighs that Santa Claus dude and his reindeer- even Ernie K. Doe! Bingle was employed by the Maison Blanche Department Store in 1947 as a spokesmodel for Chrismas and is considered the saviour of that company's bottom line for many a year.

Please visit his website at www.myspace.com/mrbinglenola, get in the Christmas spirit, then visit the SoFAB Store and buy...buy till it hurts!

Dedication

On Saturday SoFAB dedicated and named the tasting room. What was once generic is now the Edward A. Johnston and Carolyn T. Pearce Tasting Room.

I want to celebrate Edward and Carolyn. This desire to celebrate them is very personal, because they are two very accomplished people who listened to me for 4 years talk about the creation of a food museum in New Orleans that would preserve and educate, exhibit and collect, and become an important intellectual institution. They not only did not laugh at the idea, but they saw its merit and they believed that it could be done. When they talked about it with their friends and family, I am not sure that all shared their faith. But Edward and Carolyn made the leap of believing that we could create a real institution at the kitchen table.

I would like to honor their imagination, their perseverance, and their ability to see the mission through. Thank you Edward and Carolyn.

Mockingbird and Ambrosia Salad: Who'd a thunk?

One of the pleasures of reading Mockingbird was becoming re-acquainted with ambrosia salad.

When a family member says they will be bringing ambrosia to a party or event, chances are they are talking about a popular salad that generally contains oranges, pineapple chunks, grapes, cocoanut and nuts. Some versions contain marshmallows, whipping cream, or sour cream while other recipes contain fruit cocktail, grapefruit or vanilla pudding. It’s a salad with plenty of options.

To the ancient Greeks, ambrosia has had many meanings too. Though researchers are not certain what the ancient Greeks thought the composition of ambrosia was (or its liquid counterpart “nectar”), it is believed that these mythical foods had some connection to honey.

In ancient Greek mythology, ambrosia gives immortality to those who consume it. Ambrosia also was guaranteed to satisfy the hunger or thirst of the residents of Mount Olympus. It was said that ambrosia was delivered to the gods by sacred doves.

There are several examples in Greek myth in which ambrosia is used by the gods and goddesses as a sort of balm, indicating the conference of to confer grace or even immortality (in the case of mortals) onto the recipient. When Achilles is born, Thetis anoints the infant with ambrosia and passes the child through the fire to make him immortal. In the Iliad, Apollo washes blood from the corpse of Sarpedon and anoints it with ambrosia, readying it for its ethereal return to Sarpedon's home of Lycia. Later, the sea-nymph Thetis uses ambrosia and nectar to preserve the body of the dead warrior Patroclus.

Making ambrosia involves no cooking, just mixing. Start with a very basic recipe, such as the one below.

Ingredients:
· 1 cup orange juice
· 3 medium oranges, peeled and sectioned
· 1 can (8 ounces) pineapple chunks, undrained
· 1/2 cup seedless red grapes, halved
· 1/2 cup shredded coconut
· 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preparation:

Combine juice, orange sections, pineapple, and grapes, stirring gently to blend. Refrigerate until time to serve. Fold in coconut and pecans just before serving.This recipe serves six people.

Election Food

While writing last week’s newsletter piece on election cake, I began to wonder what sort of things political people currently eat on election night. I imagined a friend of mine, who works on Capitol Hill, tasting different election cakes, arguing over which was better, kicking back in a large leather arm chair, maybe drinking a blue cocktail while watching the results roll in. Nope.

According to my friend, “Campaign offices are all about junk food and leftover Halloween candy. People bake brownies. Lots of pizza. We've been getting fat eating donuts and drinking coffee.” In four years, maybe I’ll mail his office an election cake.