Guess who I met last weekend?! Shall I give you a hint? Hmmm...let's see, how did Julie Powell put it in the movie Julie and Julia?? "The degree of separation between Julia Child and me is about to shrink by a factor of about a thousand."
If you guessed Judith Jones, you are correct. Yes, I met the Judith Jones. The editor who basically founded Julia Child and helped bring us the cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking. In 2006, she was awarded the James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. Today Judith Jones is senior editor and vice president at Alfred A. Knopf. Not only did I meet her, but I also got her autograph on her new memoir The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food, and a photograph with her!
Where in the world did I meet Judith Jones, you may be wondering--that is unless you read the title of this blog post. I met her at the annual International Association of Culinary Professionals Conference that was held this year in my hometown, Portland Oregon!
Unfortunately I could not attend the whole four day conference--which was packed full of workshops, tours, meals and speakers, but I was able to attend the culinary expo and cookbook fair.
The culinary expo consisted of a huge room full of booths and tables showing the best and newest things the culinary world has to offer. Kitchen appliance companies were there such as Kitchenaid and Cuisinart, as well as knives like Cutco. But of course the best part was the food samples.
I really enjoyed the Rogue Creamery's table which had samples of many of their artisan cheeses. They are famous for their blue cheese's but my favorite that day was one I had never tried before: lavender cheddar. Right now lavender is my new favorite thing. Whenever I see anything at the store or in a restaurant with lavender in it I immediately must try it. The Rogue Creamery's lavender cheddar is simply amazing. I was told that as of now it is only offered locally at the Portland Farmer's market or by special order. So it seems that I will be making a trip to the Farmers Market soon...
Another amazing woman I got to meet at the IACP Conference was Shirley Corriher, the author of CookWise and BakeWise. She was at the TendaBake booth promoting their self-rising flour. She was up to her elbows in flour making what were the most moist and fluffy biscuits I had ever tasted.
At the cookbook fair Powell's was selling cookbooks, many whose authors were actually at the fair signing autographs. In addition to scoring Judith Jones' autograph, I also got Kathleen Finn's, author of The Sharper Your Knife the Less You Cry, a fun true story about when Kathleen got fired from her corporate job and decided to go to Le Cordon Bleu Cooking School in Paris. I also picked up a copy of Mother's Best, by the owner of Mother's Bistro and Mamma Mia Trattoria in Portland.
It was an awesome experience to be a part of the IACP conference this year. I was in a huge building that was completely filled with other foodie-freaks just like me! Next year the conference is in Texas...not quite as close to home as Portland, but maybe you'll see me there, I've always wanted to visit Texas!
Panko Baked Alaska Scallops
From Alaska Seafood and Kikkoman
IACP 2010 Conference
16 Alaska scallops, 10/20 count
1 stick butter, melted
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 shallots, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup kikkoman panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup parsley, chopped
Combine scallops, butter and garlic in a large casserole dish, blending together gently. In a separate bowl, combine bread crumbs and olive oil, and then sprinkle on top of scallops. Bake at 425 degrees F for 12 minutes. Top with chopped parsley.
**These scallops were one of my favorite samples of the day! How can you go wrong when something is bathed in butter and garlic!?
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