For more information:
Chris Smith
Southern Food and Beverage Museum
RED BEANS AND RICE-LY YOURS
'Cookbook-let' Honors the Memory of American Icon Louis Armstrong
NEW ORLEANS (Nov. 17, 2008) - Red Beans and Rice-ly Yours,
an out-of-print cookbook by restaurateur Christopher Bake that was
inspired by the last live performance of Louis Armstrong, is available
once again through the Southern Food and Beverage Museum.
The cookbook, a 28-page "booklet" filled with New Orleans classic recipes, has a storied history.
"Louis
Armstrong performed what would become his last pubic performance at the
National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on January 29, 1971," explains
Liz Williams, president of SoFAB. "He was invited to play for the
inauguration of Vernon Louviere, the incoming president of the National
Press Club, who was from Louisiana. It was a very big deal. "Lindy Boggs, the wife of Congressman Hale Boggs who
would become a member of Congress herself, thought it would be a great
idea if renowned cook Christopher Blake created and prepared, with lots
of help in the kitchen, a New Orleans dinner. He did, and it was a
great evening."
David
Frost served as emcee and Louis Armstrong entertained on the horn with
Diahann Carrol vocalizing. Armstrong had been told by his doctor to
sing one song or play a chorus, but no more. Instead, he played and
sang for the whole evening.
By all accounts, Armstrong was in
great form that night. A solo of Hello Dolly recorded at the show is
considered to be a classic. At his next and final public appearance he
did not play at all. Armstrong died of a heart attack on July 6, 1971,
at the age of 69.
"At one point during the performance,
Armstrong lamented to Christopher Blake that he could not eat his
beloved red beans and rice because of the medication he was taking. The
comment inspired Blake to create a cookbook called Red Beans and Rice-ly Yours. Louis Armstrong signed his letters 'Red Beans and Rice-ly Yours'."
The
cookbook contains well known New Orleans dishes such as jambalaya,
dirty rice, oyster soup, shrimp mousse, shrimp remoulade, stuffed
crabs, rice calas, Jamaican rum pie, and several versions of gumbo. It
also includes recipes for several cocktails.
"I
know Chris Blake and he led as interesting a life as Louis Armstrong,"
says Williams. "Christopher Blake's first experience with cooking was
watching his mother bring a big pot of water to boil. There was nothing
in it. She did it so that the nosey neighbors would think her family
had something to eat. This was during the Great Depression. The result
was that it gave him creative ideas about how to feed himself. He did
not know which knife or fork to use until he was fifteen, but then he
took it on with a vengeance. After that, he set his table with enough
instruments for any surgeon to work with."
Blake's
first cooking lesson was from Alice B. Toklas in Paris where he was a
soldier during World War II. Toklas taught him how to make mayonnaise
with hazelnut oil. For years it was the only oil he would use. He says
that Toklas never fed him marijuana cookies or hashish fudge, but she
did stuff a hungry young GI with meat and potatoes and apple pie.
"Poor
Gertrude Stein was dying of stomach cancer and could only eat gruel,"
says Williams. "Stein got much pleasure from Blake's regular dinner
visits because then Alice would eat as well. He was able to supply
Gertrude with toilet paper, which they called holy paper, from the PX."
Blake
remained in Paris for years after his Army service ended and enjoyed
gourmet dining with his new elegant and wealthy friends. He knew he
wanted to entertain. When he returned to New Orleans, he knew that he
could not afford to take friends and visitors to restaurants. Bake and
his roommate at the time had a charming l8th century house in the
Faubourg Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans. It was there where he
began to entertain friends.
"Chris
began to be recognized for his dinners and parties," says Williams.
"One day he received a phone call asking if he would entertain Craig
Claiborne for lunch. Chris asked who Claiborne was and was told that
Claiborne was food editor of The New York Times. Chris replied that he read only the drama and literary sections of the Times."
Blake entertained Claiborne for lunch. The food editor was so impressed that he photographed Blake and wrote about him in the Times.
"Chris
did not try to out French the French with Claiborne or to impress him
with extreme gourmet dishes," says Williams. "Instead, Chris gave
Claiborne a simple red bean soup, trout that was so fresh it was still
jumping, a simple salad and his own version of rum pie. The meal was
washed down with a California wine, which cost $1.49 a gallon at a wine
shop in the Pontalba Building. Years later, Chris teased Claiborne and
accused him of starting Chris on his road to gourmet crime."
The
spotlight eventually led to a restaurant (opened with Roc Johnson)
called Christopher Blake's in the Central Business District of New
Orleans. New Orleans Mayor Ernest "Dutch" Morial honored him by
proclaiming him "Gourmet Laureate of New Orleans."
"Chris
considered himself a playwright and novelist, but a publisher in New
York, instead of publishing one of his great novels, insisted that he
write a cookbook," says Williams. "The result was Easy Elegance which seems to work for many people as each recipe is created
and worded by this 'cook-not-chef'. Along these same lines, General
Walter McIlhenny asked Chris to work with him on a small cookbook -
recipes for the boys in Vietnam and how to make gourmet food from their
C Rations. It was called Fox Hole Dinners for Two and was a great success."
Having
paid the price for indulging in too much booze and wine, Blake has been
preparing meals for the residents of a recovery house for alcoholics
and addicts for the past 12 years - without alcohol.
"He
never tastes anything he prepares; he never eats while he cooks; and of
course he stopped sipping wines while cooking," says Williams. "He
hates to eat a meal by himself, either at home or in a restaurant. He
believes a good meal is complete only when sharing it with others."
Red Beans and Rice-ly Yours
is available for purchase from the Southern Food and Beverage Museum
for $8, which includes shipping and handing. For more information abut the cookbook-let, contact the museum at www.southernfood.org
* * *
The Southern Food and Beverage Museum
is a nonprofit living history organization dedicated to the discovery,
understanding and celebration of the food, drink and the related
culture of the American South. It opened in June 2008 at the Riverwalk
Marketplace in New Orleans. The museum hosts special exhibits,
demonstrations, lectures and tastings that showcase the food and drink
of the South. It cooperates with local and regional museums,
restaurants, theaters, academic institutions and artists to present
richly-textured experiences in multiple venues. www.southernfood.org.
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