Cuisine d'Amour
- mrymntcpw
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
Joyeux Noel
"Peppy" at 90, and Noelle to you!
What type of meal does one experience when the ingredients include a famous chef, a composer, a poet, a singer, and a pianist? Cuisine d'amour!
In this season of celebration, I draw your attention to two birthdays: the 90th birthday on December 18th of Jacques Pépin, (see an article in the NYT by Melena Ryzik below) and a HBD today
(December 14) to our friend, Noelle Woods Chesney.
Unfortunately, I only know of Chef Pépin through his book: “Art of the Chicken: A Master Chef’s Paintings, Stories, and Recipes of the Humble Bird”, but in this blogpost, I have chosen an excerpt to share with you.
Chicken and egg cooking, chicken stories, chicken lore, and chicken painting are all aspects of who I am… The unique characteristics of chicken is that it fits and is part of all levels of cooking in all parts of the world, from the very rich to the very poor…Country cooking, to bourgeois, to haute cuisine-dress up the humble chicken and it can go anywhere…Chicken will certainly be on the table at my last meal, along with a bottle of Champagne.
-Jacques Pépin
Happy Birthday Noelle!
It is appropriate for us to recognize Joy Noelle Woods Chesney during this holiday season for her name alone shouts out for celebration. It has been almost thirty years since last I saw Noelle (Yikes! unbelievable) and yet her presence is firmly etched in my memory. Simply put, Noelle is the most talented singing actress that I had the pleasure of knowing during my years as a teacher. Noelle currently lives with her family in Santa Fe, NM.
So here is a toast to Noelle and a taste of Cuisine d'amour, a song by John David Earnest, composer; on a text by Robert Bode; performed by Noelle Woods Chesney, singer, and Lee David Thompson, pianist.
I have dined in all the finest spots, New York to Monte Carlo.
I have breakfasted al fresco In cafes beside the Arno.
And though I treasure each soufflé And the chefs who did prepare them,
Its the sauces I remember most And the men with whom I've shared them.
I've had bechamels with barons, And bernaises with marquis.
I've had remoulades and curries That would drop you to your knees.
I've had truffle sauce at Buckingham And caper at Versailles.
I've had tartar at the Vatican And Hoisin in Shanghai.
I've had hollandaise in Amsterdam On Benedictine oefs;
I've had Worcestershire and Paprikash On shepherd's pies and wurst!
But of all the sauces that I've shared With lovers strong and true
There is none, my dear,
That can compare, my dear,
To the roux
I had with you!
Robert Bode
CPW
P.S.
