American Friends of France - Specialites de la Maison

In the summer of 1940as great swaths of France fell under the authority of Germanys Vichy governmentthe possibility of a future without the franc or bouillabaisse seemed chillingly real. And while history tells us that life has gone on without the former, its almost impossible to imagine it without the latter.

The appearance, around the same time, of a slim, delightful volume called Spcialits de la Maison now seems refreshingly anachronistic, as does the name of the group that published it: the American Friends of Francea charity founded by J. P. Morgans daughter Anne. The case, wrapped in red-and-white checked cloth, evoked a romantic, candlelit dinner for two. The book jacket was designed by Clement Hurd, who would go on to illustrate the Margaret Wise Brown books, including the eternally magical Goodnight Moon . The preface was by Louis Bromfield, a decorated veteran of the Front during World War I, who returned from France, became a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, and then went on to become a pioneer of sustainable farming. So even before you got to the actual recipesand there were some dooziesthis volume already had an admirable pedigree. The charming dishes and their preparations included in the bookdescribed by their prominent sponsors with a bygone eras fondness for language (spread each side of sandwich with just a suspicion of mayonnaise)beckoned a budding American international palate, which would take full flower after World War II.

In the seven decades between the original publication of Spcialits and this timely and inspired re-issue, shepherded by writer and translator Christine Schwartz Hartley, the culinary landscape has changed in ways both large and small. When this book debuted, France was the unquestioned center of the gastronomical universe. These days you can find as sumptuous a coq au vin on the streets of Chicago or New York as you can on the broad boulevards of Haussmanns Paris. In the old days, remember, dinner in many parts of this country could accurately be described as an intermezzo between the cherished cocktail hour and the beloved nightcap. Now that both of those adult pleasures have fallen victim to workouts and 10:30 bedtimes, dinner has become the main event.

While dining circa 1940 may have been an unspectacular pastime for most Americans, this did not appear to be the case with Spcialits de la Maison s contributors, a starry cavalcade of the best and brightest from all walks of public life. Recipes from the world of show business include Katharine Hepburns Chicken Burgundy Style, Clifton Webbs Pommes de Terre Frites, Mrs. Samuel Goldwyns Golden Gate Salad, and Charlie Chaplins Sour Cream Hot Cakes, among others. Morgan rounded up Pearl S. Buck (Sweetsour Fish), Aldous Huxley (Paella la Valenciana), and Cond Nast, who offered his recipe for cooking Smithfield Ham. Herbert Bayard Swope presented his regimen for preparing perfect hamburger patties, a technique that is not unlike Martha Stewarts. (They should be firm, but not too closely packed.) Morgan got both Lunts, with Alfreds Russian Meat Loaf and Lynn Fontannes Broiled Duckling, as well as Nol Cowards Filet of Chevreuil, Katharine Cornells Frog Legs Saut Salonaise, and Deems Taylors recipe for Quick Cheese SoufflEat very hot and very quickly, as it turns into morocco leather in about six minutes.

There are recipes from prominent restaurants of the day, including Jack and Charlies 21 (still doing business as 21), Voisin, and the Colony. And this being a book compiled by someone named Morgan, Spcialits de la Maison is liberally sprinkled with offerings from other moneyed American names: Cabot, Cushing, duPont, Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Harriman, Pennoyer, Pell, and Astor. Morgan even includes one of her own, for Champagne Punch.

Taken as a whole, dishes such as Norma Shearers Lentil Soup (serve the croutons fried in butter), Laurence Oliviers Moules Farcies (with two glasses of dry white wine), and William Rhinelander Stewarts Wills Famous Eggs (served with toast fried in bacon grease) are a pleasant reminder of those blissfully guilt-free days of American adulthood before stationary bikes, energy bars, and the Atkins diet. Some of these illustrious people may have suspected that their world was teetering on the brink, and in a way it was. But, please, for the moment, allow Helen Keller to enjoy her Lobster la Newburg, the Duc de Verdura his Tomato and Clams, Fanny Brice her Yorkshire Hot Pot, and Mrs. Astor her Steak Eros. Just remember, Shearer lived to be 81, Olivier 82, and Keller 88. Anita Looss recipe for Liverburger went like this: Drop [spoonfuls of ground liver and bread soaked in cream] into hot olive oil and fry. Serve with crisp bacon and hashed-in-cream potatoes. Yum. And Loos was around to celebrate her 93rd birthday. Do not tell me there isnt a lesson to be learned from all this.

Graydon Carter

October 2009, New York City

The minute I discovered Spcialits de la Maison among a rare- and antique-book dealer friends stock, I knew I had come across what the French call une vraie trouvaille a real find. A New Yorker for the last two decades, I was born French and brought up properly, so I dont usually boast or get carried away. But this little cookbook swept me off my feet, and I am very proud and happy to be bringing it back to life.

A compendium of more than two hundred recipes first collected in 1940and expanded in 1949to raise funds for the now-defunct war-relief organization, the American Friends of France, Spcialits de la Maison is an improbable Whos Who of a glamorous international smart set as well as an indirect snapshot of Americas entre-deux-guerres hedonist elite. For here, as Graydon Carter so elegantly notes, are some of the eras best writers, artists, and tastemakers, as well as eminent socialites and political folk (the nations First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, no less!), offering recipes for dishes and drinks they enjoyed alone, en famille , or with friends, and all for a good cause: to help the French population face the wreckage of another world war. A thrillingly direct and amusing link to this scintillating crowds cuisine, Spcialits recipes also speak volumes about their authors origins, personalities, or positions in society. Condensed biographies for a large number of the contributors are featured at the end of the book, and there are myriad personal and professional connections between them.

Above all, Spcialits de la Maison is a stunning encapsulation of Anne Morgans life. As the youngest of financier J. Pierpont Morgans four children, she was born in 1873 into Americas moneyed aristocracy and soon developed a deep love for France through countless seasons spent there with her parents. Friendships with pioneering theatrical and literary agent-producer Elisabeth Marbury and ineffable actress-turned-interior decorator Elsie de Wolfe provided a powerful introduction to the world of entertainment and fun. By 1913, Morgan was part owner of the historic Villa Trianon in Versailles and, with these two women, hosted legendary parties for their cosmopolitan artist and society friends. By 1916, she was helping finance Marburys first Broadway production of See America First by a young Cole Porter (see page 152), which featured Clifton Webb (see page 158), among other actors. Morgans lifelong attachmentssociety, France, and the artswere now set.

A horrifying visit to Frances battlefields in 1914 led Morgan to dedicate herself to relieving its citizens suffering, and in this work she proved herself to be incredibly willful, enterprising, hardworking, and committed. The extent of Morgans efforts, which included but were not limited to raising and disbursing more than $5 million for medical aid, food, and reconstruction between 1918 and 1924, were twice recognized by the French government: with the Croix de Guerre in 1917, and again in 1932, with the Legion of Honor. Morgan thus became the orders first American woman Commander. Many years and multiple good works later, convinced that another war was inevitable, Morgan, by then in her sixties, founded American Friends of France, the fund-raising arm of her Parisbased Comit Amricain de Secours Civil, which was setting up relief centers for evacuees. In this extraordinary little book, Morgan mobilized her wide circle of friends to appeal to American citizens support for what would be her last, and most intense, effort. She died in 1952, four years after ill health forced her to retire. She was unquestionably une grande dame .