- Small Price, Big Flavors: Stewed Cabbage and Luganica (north Italian sausage) with Basmati Rice (or polenta, or ‘taters, or…)…if you want a deep, rich flavor on a cool eve but dont feel much like cooking, you can shove this oh-so-easy-to-make classic on a back burner:
- Shakespeare Week – Wednesday Will: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s Dead Fish Soup…for Will’s Week, take have a listen or read Vanessa’s fun review of Romeo and Juliet at Food In Books: – podcast: https://anchor.fm/cookingthebooks/episodes/Shakespeares-Hamlet-and-the-Dysfunctional-Joy-of-Chicken-Pies-in-Coffins-or-The-Funeral-Baked-Meats-e1a0t0t Blog: https://foodinbooks.com/?s=Shakespeare …or, for a longer meal – Dinner at The Globe: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1695771451 “A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king, and eat the fish that hath… Read more: Shakespeare Week – Wednesday Will: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s Dead Fish Soup
- Wednesday Will: Othello’s Venetian Roasted Bird….for easter and Will’s birthday – on sale now at amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B082RFLCXK “She’s even setting on water to scald such Chickens as you…” Timon of Athens, 2.2 After being adopted by a conservative Italian military family, the Cynthia’s, Othello, the first black chef to achieve a certain level of fame in Europe, finished his culinary… Read more: Wednesday Will: Othello’s Venetian Roasted Bird
- Woman’s Month Recipe: Fried Seminal Fluid Sacks. (So men are at least are good for something…)Yesterday for the first time I made fried milt, not knowing what it was, and ate it with a girl friend. Marvelous, breaded in kamut flour and grated lemon rind with a bit of green-tea salt. When today I asked our fish dealer just where milt comes from, she explained: “sacks of seminal fluid. The eggs are from the females, the milt….” To which my friend said “Oh. So men are at least good for something….”
- Small Price, Big Flavor Meals: ‘Q.B.’ (Quanto Basta) – The Most Important Acronym in Italian Cuisine (and Braised Pig Shanks with Polenta.)This is such a marvel of a plate. Deep, satisfying flavors perfect for any cool eve – despite its humble market consideration. You can alter the flavors by fiddling with the marinade and sudes and any sauces. The meat the next day is even better in sandwiches and the cooking pot remains perfect to be blended and mixed into noodles for a pasta dish the following eve. QB.
- Wednesday Will – Sole Fish Saltinbocca (for BIG Ben Jonson)Though a simple enough dish to make, timing, as nearly always when preparing fish, is essential. The first thing is to take sole filets and lay them flat. On top of each filet place a thin slice of prosciutto. Role the layer whole into loose tubes, fish on the outside, and secure them using wooded skewers or toothpicks. Next, peel and seed the tomatoes and hand puree them into a lovely, fragrant pulp.
- Wednesday Will: Hamlet’s Pan-Fried Sole“To fry, or not to fry” is probably the most famous recipe line in the world and its chef perhaps the most widely interpreted. When well prepared, “Hamlet’s Fried Sole” has been described by some food critics as being a religious experience. Others note that Hamlet is fundamentally a Sophist cook, pointing to his question… Read more: Wednesday Will: Hamlet’s Pan-Fried Sole
- Halloween Week: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (and roast chicken with lemon plums. Guest post from Food In Books…)A marvelous dish! Exotic, subtle flavors and somewhat complex, with just a hint of the Casbah, yet familiar enough to taste comfortingly of home.
- Brazilian Fish Stew (Moqueca)
In particular there was Brazilian chef, Hindrigo Lorran (Kiko), who would create multi course extravagant meals featuring Mediterranean palette cuisine. He also made this lovely fish stew from Brazil. I needed to try it and, after some experimenting to make it easier for a home cook, came up with my humble version of the dish.
My family and I enjoy it as a warm, cozy, filling meal. It provides some intense flavors with the cumin and paprika accompanying the aromatic flavors of garlic, lime and coconut milk. A rich flavor similar to curries.
- Big Flavor, Small Price meals: Cous Cous with Mackerel, Glazed Carrots and Spring OnionOnce the sugar (or honey) starts to melt, in go the carrots peices, toss until well coated, maybe add a pinch or two of cinnamon, toss again, then a tiny bit of water, a tablespoon or 3, and toss until the fluid evapoates and carrots glaze-caramlize. You’ll have to use your nose here – don’t burn them but don’t leave them whimpy either. Just before mixing it all together, into the main bowl.
- Wednesday Will: The Merry Wives’ Plateau de MerThough not exactly one of Shakespeare’s most complex dishes, “The Merry Wives’ Plateau de Mer” is nevertheless one of the more popular plates on the menu at the Globe. What’s not to like in gigantic dish of the freshest shellfish on ice? It’s rumored that even Elizabeth stops by from time to time – incognito, of course – to indulge in the plateau.
- Hamburger DayThat last part stuck with me – the quality of the meat you use, and the grilling, are what determine whether a burger is something oddly perfect, a grand dish, or, uh… something more adapt for a drive-through, paid for across a window, necessitating suger-coated fried potatoes as a side distraction, various special and not-so-special sauces to mask the meat’s mediocrity while the whole eaten quickly, parked aside where few if anyone else can spy, radio on softly, motor running, in shame: ‘Bless me father for I have sinned…’ ‘Eat 3 green salads and drink 2 cups of herbal tea. Amen.’
- Wednesday Will – The Most Delicious Italian Shepherd’s Pie of Titus Andronicus“The feast is ready, which the careful Titus/ Hath ordained to an Honourable end.” Titus, 5.3 Often derided as Shakespeare’s sloppiest meat dish – even to the point of questioning whether “Shepherd’s Pie” was actually prepared by Shakespeare or an attempt by some lesser-known chef de garde manger to get promoted to the line –… Read more: Wednesday Will – The Most Delicious Italian Shepherd’s Pie of Titus Andronicus