The European cookbook for American homes (from Italy, Spain, Portugal and France)

But the recipes are usually the highly conventionalized versions carried around the world by that curious Parisian export product, the French chef, and, more often than not, they have come to us through restaurant and hotel kitchens known as "French." Alas, one finds them from Tokio, to London, to New York, to San Francisco, and back to Tokio again. The name and the semblance are there, but the spirit is sadly lacking; and this explains why the travelling gourmet avoids the hotel with the menu written in French, and takes up his abode, by preference, in one served by a good native cook, even at the sacrifice of walking down long corridors to the bath. Much of this same stylish but dispirited cooking can be found within the ramparts of the sacred city itself, although, of course, eating can also be done magnificently in Paris. The French, themselves, complain, especially if they hail from any of the gourmandizing provinces. Could they but enjoy a so-called morue a la creme, as originally made by its inventor, Bechamel; or the supper Mme. Du Barry offered to Louis XV, brought up through the floor on a table volante, or filets de volaille a la Bellevue as concocted by Pompadour for Louis XVI; or the sauce Vatel made just before he committed suicide because the sea fish to go with it did not arrive in time, at Chantilly, for the fete dinner of his master, Conde, author of 'TEscuyer Tranchant" (The Art of Carving) ! The Frenchman, sojourning in his capital, seeks out a regional eating place, uncorrupted by foreign influences, except when he goes, en fete, to one of the great restaurants. By the same wisdom this chapter is made up largely of regional cooking, with a minimum of internationally known dishes. Care has been taken to give the recipes as they are used in the districts themselves. One may eat a delicious bceuf en daube a la Provencal in Brittany, or a wonderful bouillabaisse in Paris, but of course the beef dish is at its best in the land of its origin, Provence, and nowhere else does the bouillabaisse reach the perfection it attains in its home town of Marseilles. Just as pepper pot should be eaten in Philadelphia, although it may be ordered in San Francisco where the very air will likely detract from its excellence; and Boston baked beans and brown bread in New Orleans would never be anything for the visiting foreigner to write home about. Note: Throughout this French section the names of provinces where the recipes originated are given in italics at the top of each recipe. APPETIZERS (Hors d'CEuvres) Provence ANCHOADE 8 anchovies Olive oil 1-3 garlic cloves, sliced Wine vinegar Pepper 1 loaf stale bread Soak anchovies a few minutes in cold water, clean, and remove fillets. Put them in a bowl or mortar and mash with the garlic. Add an inch-cube of the bread, crumbled, and mash all together, add pepper and a little oil and work into a smooth paste. Season to taste with a few drops of vinegar. Cut bread in small squares, spread with the paste, and put under the grill. This anchoade is known as Lou Pan bagna, when the bread is first "bathed" in olive oil.