Dinner and a book is supported by the Rex and Alice A. Martin Foundation of Elkhart, celebrating the spirit of Alice Martin and her love of good food and good friends.

Many of us were introduced to author Ludwig Bemelmans through his charmingly illustrated Madeline series for children, but he was also a prolific cartoonist and artist and wrote books and magazine articles for adults to name.

Bemelmans' work offers delicious social commentary, and behind the scenes peeks into the bustling world of legendary hotels and restaurants in the mid 20th century.

I'm April Lidinsky filling in this week for Gail Martin.

And joining me today is Lisa Barnett de Froberville, managing editor of Edible Michiana magazine.

Welcome, Lisa, and thank you for recommending this wonderful book.

Thank you.

So tell us a little bit about Ludwig Bemelmans .

Who was he?

So he is this incredibly quirky, worldly, creative person.

He was a prolific artist and writer.

He basically lived most of his life in hotels and restaurants.

It's kind of his natural habitat.

He said that he was born in a hotel and spent the first years of his life in a beer garden in Austria.

Nice.

Yes.

And then so by 14, he's working in his uncle's hotel.

By 16, he's shipped off to New York, where he starts working in hotels and restaurants.

And so he's just, you know, Anthony Bourdain, who was a fan of his work, calls him the original bad boy of the New York hotel scene.

And there really is kind of an element of Kitchen Confidential in this work, because there's a lot of behind the scenes episodes of the, you know, the staff stealing food off the banquet tables and the draconian bosses.

And so there's this whole drama that's happening.

Yeah, wonderful stories, which we'll get to.

So let's talk about what you're making today.

You've already got things sizzling in the pan.

It smells incredible here.

So tell us a little bit about the menu and I'm going to get started on the dish after you describe what what's going on here.

All right.

So I'm making Oeufs en Meurette.

So this is a recipe that appeared in the most recent issue of Edible Michiana.

This is poached eggs and a red wine sauce.

This is a classic kind of dish from the Burgundy region of France.

And so I have bacon sizzling here, and I've cooked this down crisp this up.

I'm now going to remove it with a slotted spoon.

Kind of set this aside, but keep all that wonderful grease in there for the next step.

And that'll give it a lot of flavor for the vegetables.

All right.

And while you're finishing that up and getting ready for the next vegetables, I'm going to start the first part of.Poire Belle Helene or poached pears that are so delicious.

They were named after Helen of Troy.

So I've got to ripe but not too ripe Bosc pears here.

And actually, I need to start my poaching sirup here with four cups of water and two cups of sugar.

And then why don't you tell us what the next steps are for yours here?

So I'm adding all the vegetables now.

So this dish is a little bit like a beef bourguignon without the beef, so it cooks in a lot less time and your protein will be the poached eggs that will be served on top of it.

There's also the bacon, of course, gives it a nice roundness.

And then the red wine sauce.

So we're going to get all of this.

browning Yes.

You know, fantastic.

And I'm putting two cups of sugar in two four cups of water here for a poaching sirup that is then flavored with some vanilla bean and a stick of cinnamon, if you like, which I do like, and some star anise.

So when you're putting my goodness, what's going on in here now?

So there's some time.

Salt and pepper.

I love all of those aromatics that you're adding.

But the war of the beautiful flavor, smells, aromas is great.

So this is going to cook down for a little bit.

Okay.

So while that's browning, then this is the first step of this dish.

And when this comes to a boil, I will put the pears in and turn it down and they'll get soft.

So let's let's talk about the book.

This is sort of a compendium, a collection of a lot of his work.

It's just really fun to noodle around in.

So do you talk just a little bit about the structure of it and then we can dive into some of the delicious details?

Sure.

So I'm going to minced my garlic while we're doing this, right.

Great.

So this book is divided into three sections.

So the first part is behind the scenes and it details.

So basically he arrives in New York, he works in hotels and restaurants.

He's in the Army for a while.

Then he spends the twenties at the Ritz-Carlton in New York, and he works his way up from busboy to banquet manager, I think.

And so he has this kind of rich menu of types that he describes, and he's sketching the whole time on the back of menus and match book covers and envelope.

So he's sketching and there's a lot of lovely sketches in this book, and he's writing these little, you know, memories.

And so the first section is behind the scenes, and it describes that his memories from working in the hotel.

And then the second part is called At Table, and it is stories about his travels around the world, in New York, in Paris, all over, eating.

So in this and this at this point, he's at the table being served and he's still has this very keen sense of observation of what's happening around him.

I just lovely.

I mean, the thing about Bemelmans is he's got kind of the the wit of an adult, but the delight of a child, you know, is a.

Really good way to put it.

We always.

See that.

Just a completely delightful read.

That's the word that kept coming to my mind as well.

And he's got a definition of maybe what it means to be a gourmet.

That would be worth writing about a little bit.

And I'll just mention I'm putting some fresh lemon rind in here optional.

But I mean, come on and I'll put a little juice in and that will keep the pears from from getting brown.

So.

So to Benjamin's.

What does it mean to be a gourmet?

So it's interesting because he's often called upon by his friends in restaurants to order because, you know, he has this reputation as being a gourmet.

But he says that so that, you know, the public's image of a gourmet is this kind of fat, jolly, you know, middle aged person who's eating, he says, sealed like, you know, just eating flora and truffles.

And and he says that actually a gourmet is, you know, like any artist, are very frustrated when, you know, one of the saddest person that exists because he's always seeking perfection and he's always disappointed.

Yes.

So he denies that he's a gourmet.

But he also says that he spent most of his life hungry and thirsty and, you know, traveling the world to satisfy.

That love so and so.

So I'm just squeezing a little bit of fresh lemon juice in here, just completely inspiring.

He whether he's in the kitchen or sitting at a restaurant, just anticipating what's about to come, he absolutely inspires you to get to work here.

So you're putting give us the next phase here.

You're chopping up some garlic.

Chop chop.

This is absolutely gorgeous.

Well, and one of the things that I like in his denial that he's a going gourmet, he says, the geography of my stomach is anti-government and the extreme because he, you know, doesn't order by the rules on the menu.

She kind of follows his pleasure.

And, you know, he really as much as any fancy thing on a menu, you know, what he really loves are, you know, little sausages grilled up on a bed of sauerkraut or, you know, a fish, basically, that you can find perfection in very simple things, you know, fish that's pulled out of the sea and eaten right there on the pier.

It's just very sexy description of seafood.

So this is something I haven't done much of before, and that is I there's a whole chapter on caviar, but this has been referred to as vanilla caviar that is just scraping the seeds out of a whole vanilla bean.

I'm going to put those in here.

And because I love vanilla, I'm also just going to why I have to put the whole thing in there.

And as soon as this comes to a boil, we'll be able to put our our peppers in there as well.

Some of the core and the you can take this is a kind of a nice little trick to use a melon baller to take the the guts out of your out of your pear.

And that will make it just a delight.

It will just sort of melt under your fork and there won't be any seeds or anything to to concern to concern someone.

So so let's talk a little bit about some of the some of the the chapters in the early book, some of his descriptions of working in kitchens that often have small children in them, and just a sense of the hierarchy of the kitchen, What what stands out for you?

Well, it's true.

He talks about the piccolo, which these which are these young apprentice waiters in this European system that are basically, I guess they're considered very fortunate to have the ability to do that.

You know, parents may pay to place a child, you know, but these young teenagers that have to spend seven years of their life, basically, as you said, you know, when we're talking about this slave labor, labor, yeah, they work seven days a week.

But, you know and it's yeah, that's part is kind of sad.

I mean, there is this kind of hierarchy that you have to to climb and it starts very young and it, it sounds like it makes it takes its toll.

Yes.

Yeah.

And there are good managers and bad managers and any of us who have ever worked a job know the challenge of the explosive in this case, maitre d, but a you know, a manager as opposed to a really a very friendly one.

So you are now doing yet more seasonings here.

Well, this is going to be some garnish at the end.

I'm just opened that.

But I do love some of this story some of that you know, there is kind of an upstairs downstairs quality to this book that is, you know, the high society, the very wealthy that are eating in these places and the people that are behind the scenes working and they talk about the waiters.

So apparently at the banquets, the caviar is served and the garden all share to the person who's in charge of all the delicacies, ways the caviar attends before and after each banquet.

And I think we're going to have to finish that story.

Hold that thought.

Okay.

I've got a plate on the piers here to keep them in the sirup.

And while this cooks down, we're going to take a little break and you'll have a chance to see woo, there goes broken straw and wine.

You'll have a chance to see some of the drawings in the book.

We'll be right back.

Welcome back.

I'm here with Lisa Barnett from Abbeville.

And we're talking about Lyric Benjamin's La Bun tabla.

And tell me what's been happening here.

It smells phenomenal.

Yes.

So we added the garlic and we added the beef stock and red wine, and we cooked it down for about 25 to 30 minutes.

And then at the very end, you have in a small bowl, you put a little melted butter and flour and you make a little mixture and you add that and that gives you this nice, thick consistency.

So this is ready to go.

We're just going to kind of let that stay warm.

And next we are going to poach some eggs.

So this is the high wire act to do that.

So on on television.

But this is what gives the beautiful protein that.

That's unctuous yolk that runs over all of this sexy.

All right.

So tell us about this technique and then we'll get back to that caviar story.

So I have been investigating a lot of techniques leading up to this because there's a lot of kind of foolproof methods out there.

And so what I have found to be the most effective for me.

So using for.

Poaching an egg, so you get your water just where there's little bubbles coming up, you really don't want a hard boil so very lightly boiling.

And then I'm going to add a teaspoon of salt and then you're going to add a couple of tablespoons of white vinegar, and that is going to help kind of set the egg and keep it from getting really shaggy.

The other thing that helps when you're poaching an egg and this is the kind of fun technique is you want to get a fine mesh sieve or even kind of a colander that has smallish holes and you want to crack your egg directly into that.

And what will happen is the very liquid part.

You know, when you crack an egg in a pan and there's this kind of really liquidy part that separates, we kind of want to get rid of that because a lot of that is what will create that kind of I see messy stuff in the pan.

Which I have.

I have made many a shaggy egg.

I love that.

Yes.

So we're going to let that drain off just a little bit.

You're not going to lose a lot.

And then I'm going to put that in a small bowl and then I'm going to do the next one.

What are you up to over there?

So I. I have a nice Camembert getting soft and then sort of liquidy room temperature that we'll have with our salad.

I've just started a French vinaigrette.

So this is David Leibovitz's recipe.

You put a little finely chopped Charlotte in some sherry vinegar, a little pinch of salt, and let that kind of sit for a little bit.

Mellows the shallots, makes it for a really nice base.

And while that's waiting for the rest of the vinaigrette and this beautiful freeze a lettuce your recommendation.

So we really good with that cheese.

I'm going to make a chocolate sauce for our pears that I wish I'd known about.

So it's just equal parts heavy cream and really good quality.

Bittersweet chocolate.

And I'll get the cream started.

You just bring it to a little, little slow sizzle there.

Take it off the heat, stir it up, and it's going to be gorgeous.

So.

All right.

I think we are.

We're ready for the moment.

So I am just going to slide both these in.

I'm not going to stir.

Sometimes you hear you this, you stir it, you kind of make a little vortex so that that keeps the the shaggy parts in.

But you can only do one egg at a time like that.

And I want to do two today.

So I've got them in there.

We're going to set the timer for about 3 to 4 minutes and and we'll check them one, make sure this is, boy, a little bit.

Like little sea creatures in there.

We'll keep an eye on them.

All right.

That looks great.

So we were talking about caviar.

Caviar.

There's a whole chapter where he describes how much he loves caviar and how heartbroken he was when he realized that fish have to die to get the caviar.

But then there's also the guarding of this very expensive ingredient and the dynamics between what goes on in the kitchen.

Yes.

Which, of course, the staff is not supposed to eat, but the busboys have teamed up and they have a system where they take this can of carp, caviar, and they put a silver pepper mill in so that when the guard Monte weighs it, it has a certain weight and then they're able to go in and take a large coffee mug of this stuff and then go sit and eat it in the banquet hall along with some millionaire's leftover wine.

And they say.

Yes, there's a there's a lot of sipping of the of what's left in bottles in some of these grand parties.

And so some of the delight is just evident in the fun he makes of all of these characters, including himself.

So so let's talk about eggs.

And a portion of this book is facsimiles of menus from another time.

And can you talk just a little bit about what you know, what the role that eggs played and why do they look so different to a modern reader?

Right.

So it is interesting.

I love that section of the book.

It's such an important historical document because Benjamin's because he's sketching on the back of these menus.

He kept them so from his favorite restaurants like La Pavilion in New York, the Ritz Carlton, of course, in Paris there's Maxim's, there's look, and therefore.

So these amazing fine dining establishments.

And when you look at them, looking at them today, we we one of the things is a lot of them do have a whole section for eggs.

Like eggs are very important to the French classical cuisine.

And you know, we don't really find that on a menu today, a whole section for eggs.

US Exactly.

And a lot of them, when you think about it, are these kind of intimidating recipes, you know, the the perfect omelet or the souffle or the poached eggs that I can't believe I volunteered to.

The eggs are looking very good.

They are they are really poaching and they look beautiful.

Those are going to sit on top of the on top of this beautiful stew.

And I have to say, you know, there is bacon in here, but most of this is vegetables.

But it does really look like the organism.

Yes.

I'm going to go ahead and start plating this because my eggs are almost done.

Right.

And my sauce is coming together here.

So let's talk a little bit about the the satire.

He's a wonderful observer of the human condition and certainly funny, but there's some bite to some of these.

So what is what kinds of characters do we learn about in in these essays?

Well, stories.

I mean, one of my favorites was Monsieur Victor, who's the Met for the hotel, the maitre d, Right.

Who's able to look someone a guest, look them up and down from their shoes to the top of their head and and make a quick calculation about where he should seat them.

Yes, the celebrities and all of that.

And there's you know, there's a fair amount of cruelty that goes into that.

If you're not among the chosen few.

What about you?

Who are some of your favorite characters?

Well, there's a a cursing.

Was he a maitre d?

One of the.

One of the bosses, one.

Of the bosses who was just exploding over and over when any small or large thing happened and everyone has to sort of scramble around.

And I just I like the sort of camaraderie of these.

wait a second.

We've got to we've got to hear what's going on with these.

Well, so we're working them out and so.

Tiny little boos.

I went to a standing ovation.

Thank you.

We're going to just tap them on to an a cloth or a paper towel just to kind of get any extra water off of them.

And the cup, not too bad.

they were gorgeous and some toasted bread here to go.

A long red.

And I'm going to work on my vinaigrette a little bit here.

So little or a lot of French mustard here.

Give the shallots and the and the vinegar and a little bit of salt.

I've got some fresh herbs here that I'm going to chop up and add.

And I'm loving this chocolate sauce which came together.

If I were alone in the kitchen, I would just eat this with a spoon or a label.

But I'm going to let it thicken just a little bit before I put it over the chilled pears.

And then it has.

What did you call that effect?

The showed froid, the hot cold, effective have shofar.

Yes, the French like that.

They like to contrast between the hot and cold.

Okay.

And now we know so.

So you think about sort of the takeaways from the book, obviously.

Did you want to start a our drink?

I think we might have time.

As we talk a little bit about just how much was changing at this time when Bemelmans was writing in, describing his experiences in the twenties, thirties, forties and fifties.

But we'll hit pause on that for a moment.

Lisa is making us French 75.

So tell us about the face of well.

This was apparently named after a 75 millimeter artillery.

you know, during World War Two that apparently helped win the war.

And the American soldiers coming back from Europe brought the drink with them.

And it became a very popular cocktail.

It is made with cognac.

Originally.

Some people use gin, lemon juice, simple sirup, champagne and a little twist.

So it's a very simple thing.

It's light, it's citrusy.

It's kind of a nice maybe an option, you know, different than a mimosa if you wanted to kind of switch it up.

Very refreshing.

All right.

Well, I can't wait to try.

And I'm going to pour some chocolate sauce here over our pears.

This sauce you could pour over anything at all.

Saying it with a spoon or.

With a spoon.

So so we do I think, one of one of the things you we get from the book is just how much is in flux.

In a way, this book preserves a sense of of what this time period was like.

So I think readers will feel plunged into another world.

Absolutely.

That has disappeared.

That has disappeared.

The strict hierarchies and the.

Hey, a lot was about to change.

Yeah, probably for the good.

So but so much delicious information in the book.

So we're going to take a little break and you'll get to see some images of the kinds of grand hotels and restaurants that gentlemen's worked in and ate.

And so we'll be right back.

I'm here with Lisa and we have been working hard in the kitchen getting this all played it up.

But first, let's talk about this French 75 cocktail.

So what's in the glass and what comes next?

Yes.

So we have stirred up with ice, some lemon juice, simple sirup and cognac.

And now we're adding we're topping it off with a little bit of champagne.

Well, it's not Dom Perignon, but, you know, whatever sparkling wine you have, we're going to add a little twist to the food.

And that's our French 75.

All right, lovely.

So I'm going to put this over here while we talk about our pork belly plan.

So our beautiful poached pears here in chocolate sauce, we're going to put a little scoop of vanilla ice cream.

This will be at the very end.

But we've also got a sort of bitter freeze salad over here that would be served after the main dish.

Correct.

With a with a sort of runny cheese.

The Camembert has a nice round flavor that's going to contrast with that sharpness and a little bread to go with it.

And look at this triumph here.

Tell us about the main dish.

So this is our earth on perfect.

So eggs, poached eggs.

Smurfette, is this red wine sauce.

We've poached our eggs and we're going to cut them and see that we got exactly what we wanted.

Their.

Beautiful that runny yolk.

That's just going to add richness and yummy.

That Is that a beauty?

I think balance would be proud.

We would enjoy this meal.

So when you think about the book, what is your sort of your big takeaway?

Well, I think this is an easy book to love.

I think it's a the ultimate bedside table book because you can just kind of dip in, take little bites, little nibbles.

Absolutely short, short pieces.

And what a feast.

I think we should have a toast.

I want to thank Gail Martin for allowing me to guest host Lisa for teaching us this wonderful technique to Ludwig Bemelmans to you and happy reading.

We'll see you next time on Dinner and a Book.

this WNIT local production has been made possible in part by viewers like you.

Thank you.

Dinner and a book is supported by the Rex and Alice A. Martin Foundation of Elkhart, celebrating the spirit of Alice Martin and her love of good food and good friends.