292699 Fri May 02 18:39:33 -0700 2003 13 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1598484 A post below made me think of this. I have the Jeff Smith's book On Our Immigrant Ancestors, which I enjoy pulling off the shelf and reading (well, not his sappy intros, but the recipes) from time-to-time. The recipes sound good, but I wonder about their authenticity and haven't tried any yet. Any general views on how good the end products are? Fri May 02 18:39:33 -0700 2003 0 Emma 1 1598491 I was never a fan of Smith's..I loved Barbara Grizutti Harrison's heroic whack at him "P.C, on the Grill" and would make it required reading in cooking schools if I could. Anyway, I looked at his stuff years ago and was not thrilled with it. I have Russian friends who have sneered at his "russian" stuff and Harrison let him have it with both barrels over his Italian cooking. So, although I cannot vouch from having had any of his stuff myself, I've heard a whole pile of invective thrown his way. Fri May 02 20:06:22 -0700 2003 1598484 0 Hazelhurst 2 1598527 Where can I find the Harrison article? I'm ready for the required reading! My only experience with the IMMIGRANT ANCESTORS book is that my son has cooked a delicious Moroccan Chicken from it. Sat May 03 11:02:12 -0700 2003 1598491 0 Lew P. 1 1598496 I remember laughing til I couldn't see straight when he made what he called a classic New England soup by putting a raw onion and a can of Campbell's baked beans in a blender and whizzing it up. Imagine what that looked like. No garnish in the world could redeem such a mess. Fri May 02 21:32:08 -0700 2003 1598484 0 lucia 1 1598498 I ate at both his restaurants in Tacoma WA when I lived there in the 70's - (Chaplain's Pantry and the Judicial Annex, which was set up for the UPS Law School in "downtown" Tacoma.) Not very impressive, especially by today's standards, but to give the devil his due, he broke a lot of ground. In 1978 in downtown Tacoma, there was Taco Grande (or something like that), a pizza place, and then there was the annex where you could get a cafeteria steam line quiche lorraine... hey - you can eat just so many taco salads for lunch before you're ready to try the quiche. I never did hear the end of the pederasty story - he did disappear awfully quick - I wonder if it's cause he was serving time or just got tired of the shtick. Fri May 02 21:52:09 -0700 2003 1598484 0 applehome 2 1598516 There was no criminal case; the statute of limitations had expired. However, Smith was the defendant in three civil suits filed by seven plaintiffs, most of whom had worked for him in the '70s at the Chaplain's Pantry. He settled, reportedly for around $5 million, just before the cases were to go to trial in July 1998. And you're right, he did disappear from public view after that. Well, not completely. A couple of years ago "The Frug" appeared in a music video for the Cake song "Love You Madly." It was an "Iron Chef" spoof, and the judges were played by Smith, Phyllis Diller and Rick James, three people not often mentioned in the same sentence. (Want to see the video? It's linked from Cake's web site below. Look under "Newsflash for November 26, 2001.") Link: http://www.cakemusic.com/news.html Sat May 03 05:32:12 -0700 2003 1598498 0 squid-kun 2 1598699 He's living in his Condo down in the Pike Place Market, and can be seen riding his electic cart through the Market. Many vendors that I know don't care for him, and tell some pretty awful stories. Mon May 05 12:36:22 -0700 2003 1598498 0 Louisa 1 1598508 Well, there is a recipe for chicken cooked in a cranberry-orange sauce in The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American, that we like. The sauce would be a good glaze for pork, too. I used to make his carne adovado until after I went to Santa Fe and Taos last summer; when I got back some New Mexico hounds very kindly gave me better recipes. Fri May 02 23:09:02 -0700 2003 1598484 0 Zorra 1 1598525 I've got all the Frug's cookbooks (plus another 200) and cook from the Immigrant Ancestors and Three Ancient Cuisines the most. I like his Cuban Black Beans. I guess the gist is that while they may not be *authentic* in a traditional sense, they approximate the authentic taste which for me is more than sufficient. He takes short-cuts to get the authentic taste and I don't mind that. I think the Three Ancient Cuisines book is a great concept and he was one of the first to start looking into culinary history, which is now all the rage! Give it a try -- what can you lose? Sat May 03 10:26:44 -0700 2003 1598484 0 Gordon 2 1598581 I was given a copy of the "Immigrant Ancestors" book. I know a bit about some of those cuisines from other sources. The recipes raise the 'hound bugaboo of authenticity. Authentic? Probably not. One can see what Smith does as dumbing down. Or one can see it as making an unfamiliar cuisine accessible to a wider audience of home cooks, and inviting them to explore it further. Both sides have a point. Sat May 03 22:42:50 -0700 2003 1598525 0 squid-kun 1 1598603 I have all of his books and have used them frequently throughout the years. One of my favorites is his "American" cookbook. Maybe all of his recipes are not truly ethnically authentic, but many were good. They opened some new doors for many viewers to different cuisines, and I found his books an interesting read . I also have a soft spot for The Frug. I remember watching his PBS series as a youngster with my folks. He introduced the world of cooking and eating for me. I learned a lot that I still remember today ("hot pan, cold oil, food no stick" and my first introduction to that wonder kitchen tool--the wooden lemon reamer). Sun May 04 11:08:17 -0700 2003 1598484 0 Jennifer G. 2 1598841 I still make his carrot sauce (essentially grated carrots infused into heavy cream with white wine) at least once every two or three months to go with roast chicken or pork. He opened my mind to the idea of French sauces, when I was a young and very ignorant cook. The flavor of vegetable balanced with the cream and wine just blew me away. I ate it on practically everything the first time I made it. Other than that, I carry no memories of the Frug. Was he ever convicted of the said crime (pedophilia, terrible, if I remember) or was it all slander? Tue May 06 15:18:25 -0700 2003 1598603 0 Mrs. Smith 1 1599491 Jeff Smith's Ethiopian Doro Wat Chicken is one of the best and least dumbed down Ethiopian recipes I've come across. It is also leagues better than most of the other recipes in the book. He doesn't take shortcuts on the Berbere Sauce (16 ingredients!) or the Spiced Butter. And that's what this Ethiopian dish is really all about. Despite the great chicken, his horrible injera bread is shameful (club soda to imitate the bubbles from fermenting yeast?!). Use a mix of regular and tef flour (health food stores usually have it) and let it sit for 1-3 days. Tef is a pretty amazing flour. Very healthy and it is the only grain to have "symbiotic yeast," meaning it starts to ferment on its own. If you're interested, do a web search for injera and tef and you can find a lot of stuff. Overall, I look back and laugh a bit at the Frug's books. Though my cooking has moved beyond his recipes, I used to watch his shows when I was little and even before I ever cooked (Julia Child was way beyond me back then). He's one of the reasons I got into cooking and as a result I've got a soft spot for him. Mon Mar 08 13:51:12 -0800 2004 1598484 0 Photis 2 1599492 So, tef has a yeast on it that will start to ferment, while, say wheat, doesn't? Interesting. Mon Mar 08 17:43:42 -0800 2004 1599491 0 Jim Dorsch