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When I read Elizabeth David’s French Provincial Cooking in 1970, I was enthralled and totally inspired by the essays at the front of the section called “The Cooking of the French Provinces.” Among them Mrs. David offers a description, in his own words, of “Escoffier’s Shooting Week-end Fifty Years Ago,” translated from a 1912 issue of Le Carnet d’Épicure. The simplicity of the food he described is still an inspiration to me. He tells of the kind of food that cannot be improved upon, food one could eat every day, the epitome of successful cuisine then and today, and of the maxim “faites simple.” At the end of the passage, after complimenting the beauty of the countryside and the hospitality received, Escoffier says, “For my part, I have never forgotten the sauce of horseradish and walnuts.” I looked to see if Mrs. David had let such a tantalizing statement go by, and she had not. There is a recipe for sauce raifort aux noix, and I used it in preparing the next week’s menus at Chez Panisse.