CHICKEN A LA STEINBECK
Series: HUNGRY: The Literary Julia Child
From: Leet and Litwin
Length: 00:26:55
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- CHICKEN A LA STEINBECK
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- Leet and Litwin
Julia says, "Cooking is always about more than food." This program is "about eating, some cooking, and mostly about people."
The people here are Mack and the boys in "Cannery Row." Michael Belitsos has just the right voice to spin their yarn, set beside the Carmel River, where the stream tumbles, fish jump. and insects hum. On the way here the boys have hit a chicken -- "without running too far off the road." They have some onions and carrots that have fallen off a truck. And so begins their cooking adventure.
Between segments of Steinbeck, Julia weaves in comments about their culinary technique. They "have the secret advocated by Escoffier himself: 'Keep it simple.'"
Chef Carlo Middione comes in with a demonstration of poaching a chicken the Italian way. It's pretty easy. You laugh with the crew when Carlo concludes, "If you can't do this you can't do anything." Next, Shirley Fong-Torres takes us to Chinatown and shows what the Chinese do with poached chicken -- from soup to salad to stir-fry.
The guest chefs have stories of their own -- a few of them about Julia -- proving what she says: "Cooking is always about more than food."
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Related Pieces
Piece Description
Julia says, "Cooking is always about more than food." This program is "about eating, some cooking, and mostly about people."
The people here are Mack and the boys in "Cannery Row." Michael Belitsos has just the right voice to spin their yarn, set beside the Carmel River, where the stream tumbles, fish jump. and insects hum. On the way here the boys have hit a chicken -- "without running too far off the road." They have some onions and carrots that have fallen off a truck. And so begins their cooking adventure.
Between segments of Steinbeck, Julia weaves in comments about their culinary technique. They "have the secret advocated by Escoffier himself: 'Keep it simple.'"
Chef Carlo Middione comes in with a demonstration of poaching a chicken the Italian way. It's pretty easy. You laugh with the crew when Carlo concludes, "If you can't do this you can't do anything." Next, Shirley Fong-Torres takes us to Chinatown and shows what the Chinese do with poached chicken -- from soup to salad to stir-fry.
The guest chefs have stories of their own -- a few of them about Julia -- proving what she says: "Cooking is always about more than food."
Broadcast History
Debut
Transcript
CHICKEN A LA STEINBECK
ANCR: “Chicken a la Steinbeck” is a gift from the Julia Child Foundation.
JULIA CHILD:
It’s about eating, some cooking, and most of all, people. (FRENCH CHEF THEME UP.)
Cooking is always about more than food. Hello! I’m Julia Child.
OLD CAR, COUNTRY SOUNDS, HARMONICA UP.
JULIA, OVER: This is from Cannery Row, by John Steinbeck, published in 1945.
ACTOR:
In Carmel Valley the artichoke plants stood gray green, and the willows were lush along the river. (EFFECTS UP A MOMENT.) They turned left up the valley. Luck blossomed from the first. A dusty Rhode Island red rooster who had wandered too far from his own farmyard crossed the road and Eddie hit him (THUD) without running too far off the road.
MUSIC UP, THEN UNDER.
The Carmel is a lovely little river. It isn’t very long but in its course it has everything a river should have. It rises in the mountains, and tumb...
Read the full transcript
Intro and Outro
INTRO:Once upon a time Julia Child wanted to be a novelist. Instead, she wrote cookbooks -- and READ novels. She also loved public radio. So years ago she set to work making programs with STORIES about food. They've never aired till now, but here comes -- the Literary Julia Child!
OUTRO:You've just heard the premiere of a series called HUNGRY, started for public radio years ago, with Julia Child showing her literary side.
Musical Works
| Title | Artist | Album | Label | Year | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The French Chef Theme | John Morris | TV track. | WGBH | 1962 | 00:30 |
| Remembrances | John Williams | The Missouri Breaks. | United Artists | 1976 | 02:24 |
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