A Great Chef has many Sources & Cookbooks!

one of the secrets that makes a great chef

One of the little secrets I learned a long long time ago was the mark of a great chef… finding the best sources of their ingredients! The other little secret…. if you can’t invent a great idea…. borrow one!

Obviously, in every chef’s secret library are hundreds of cookbooks and with the internet …. the ability to review interesting ideas , recipes and cultural offerings is virtually limitless. Here are three interesting cookbooks from an age gone by that offer some timeless ideas to enhance any modern table.

Helen Corbitt’s Cookbook

“Creative recipes that can be prepared quickly from a few ingredients, from first woman to win food service industry’s Golden Plate Award, and then Director of Restaurants at Neiman-Marcus.”

Her philosophy could be summed up with her often quoted statement that “every woman can cook.”

St. Francis hotel Cookbook ( 1910 or 1919)

“Hirtzler originally published The Hotel St. Francis Cook Book in 1910. Organized as a year’s worth of Breakfast, Luncheon, and Dinner menus with recipes displayed next to each menu, the cookbook served as a scrapbook of St. Francis occasions, as well as a recipe collection”

the Epicurean

“The Epicurean, a Complete Treatise of Analytical and Practical Studies 1894 3,500 recipes from master chef Charles Ranhofer of Delmonico’s, turn-of-the-century America’s best restaurant. Also many techniques known only to professional chefs. Includes 800 illustrations.”

Just as a suggestion, you can find these cookbooks and others at ABEBOOKS.com.

Now cook!

Roger Freberg

NOTE: Quotes from various sources at Abebooks.com

Football Rivalries & USC Trojans!

Here I am sittnig with the Trojan Knights Protecting Tommy!Some football rivalries are worthy of Klingon Song!

It’s hard to talk about any rivalry without mentioning the fact that the Southern California Trojans and the UCLA Bruins compete in just about everything they do for the title of the city crown and bragging rights for an entire year.

Laura and I traveled down to Los Angeles and had the good fortune to stay right next to campus at the Radisson Hotel. This was wonderful in not having to hassle the normal traffic when 100,000 folks decide to all leave at the same time!

The night before the big USC-UCLA football game we atended the NCAA Regional Women’s Volleyball match at the Galen Center. We’ve been here before and it is a singularly impressive facility.

Before the match we walked around campus and Laura took a picture of me sitting with some of the ‘Trojan Knights’ guarding the statue of Tommy Trojan from Bruins who like to throw Blue and Gold on him. In fact, they held a big party all night long with fun booths and food called “Save Tommy Night.”

Laura posted some of the pictures the two of us took of the weekend . Fun Times!

Roger Freberg

My ol’ college roommate was a good sport sitting with us in the Trojan Section… it only hurt for a little while!

Cal Poly University’s Administration has Problems… again

sheldon awardee President Warren BakerIt goes without saying that some people learn from their mistakes… then others never learn… while other people know what’s right but do wrong anyway.

Cal Poly’s administration has a real problem. Sometimes one has to hit the mule in the forehead with a two by four just to get it’s attention. Maybe this is again one of those times.

Historically, Cal Poly has had trouble with freedom of speech issues and although this is not news to anyone following the academic community in America… it just seems to be happening all the time at Cal Poly.

Today, FIRE ( the organization supporting Academic Freedom in America) came out with a huge commentary on Cal Poly San Luis Obispo…. and it wasn’t good. Here’s a small excerpt:

“Unfortunately, Cal Poly is at it again. This time, the victims are the students in the improvisational comedy troupe Smile and Nod, who posted a constitutionally protected image on flyers advertising their upcoming comedy show….According an October 25 article Mustang Daily, theatre department officials began removing the flyers because the flyers could be “construed as racist.” Smile and Nod was required to remove remaining flyers, “send a formal apology to all students via the Mustang Daily, and participate in a sensitivity meeting with faculty and staff from the theatre department and the ethnic studies department.””



We’ve all been here before… this sounds like exactly the same sort of thing that landed them in Federal Court the last time… and Cal Poly lost and was savaged in the National Press.

It is inappropriate for our universities to abridge the rights we have in this country simply because they do not agree with what is being said. No one has a right to not be offended. The best action is to counter free speech that you disagree… with free speech of your own.

Roger Freberg

Similarities … and not Opposites … attract!

the twins?We’ve all heard about how opposite personalities attract.. that has not been my experience. The more similar people are… the more attracted they can be to each other.

What has been rather annoying is that my wife of 35 years keeps throwing a Psychology test or two at me with a wry smile… and the results keep coming back concluding that we are very similar…. very disturbingly similar.

Laura’s Latest effort to shake my confidence in my uniqueness in our duo was a little test that measures two seemingly unrelated cognitive perspectives: the EQ (Empathising Quotient) and the SQ (Systematizing Quotient).

So…the results came in as follows: Laura’s EQ was 51 and mine was 59, Laura’s SQ was 97 and mine was 104.
This is very interesting, but a bit scary… I have always thought she knew what I was thinking. Now, I know she knows HOW I think.
Take the test… and see how much you share with others..

Roger Freberg

Football Rivalries and other “Tons of Bricks!”

the weight of the world is coming down!When you talk about rivalries, USC and UCLA go to the top of my list. THE GAME is merely an extension of what has become a truly visceral contest between schools.

Wear the Cardinal and Gold to UCLA and watch for the reaction… you don’t have to wait long. And a Bruin in the land of Troy is truly an unloved creature.

So what is going to happen this year as the Bruins of the Westside meet the Southern California Trojans?

I can’t speak for the team, the coach… but as a fan, after last year’s upset… the coliseum may not be the most hospitable place for anyone wearing the pale blue and yellow.

FIGHT ON!

Roger Freberg

USC-UCLA Rivalry goes beyond Friction
Bruin Nation Claims Victory!
To be a Trojan
Inside USC

Rose Bowl Bruins?