The Ides of March – Brutus’ Skewered Parmesan and Bologna with Aged Balsamic Vinegar
“Let’s carve him as a dish fit for the gods…” Julius Cesar 2, 1 Shakespeare had a thing for Italian regional cuisine, with many of his …
Literary Recipe (The Pasta Papers): Stephen Hawking’s Carbonara
Contain an incredibly large, dense mass in your kitchen. Hide it behind a door that says ‘loo’ or ‘bathroom’. Invite a dumb undergrad over, (any faculty will do though economics would be preferable,) telling him or her you want them to take part in a revolutionary experiment. When he gets to your house, have him sit down and then slowly explain to him about black holes. (Don’t worry if you make a mistake or two. He’s dumb, so he’ll never know the difference.) Pour him plenty of beer as you do. When he asks to use the loo, show him to the door behind which you’ve hidden the black hole – but remember to give him the pasta dough before he steps inside.
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 …
Wednesday Will: Some of the Bard’s quotes on food
…if music be the food of love.
Wednesday Will: Mercutio’s Fois Gras
Before opening his now world-renowned restaurant The Mab, Mercutio worked alongside Romeo and Juliet in Verona. He and Romeo were best friends, so much so that Mercutio decided to work for a short spell at The Globe not long after the young couple emigrated from Italy. There, his brilliant juxtapositions of textures and flavors were quickly noticed, prompting local chef and food critic Dryden to note that Shakespeare’s kitchen “show’d the best of its skill in Mercutio.” However, unable to compromise his inventive nature into The Globe’s more structured kitchen, William was forced to dismiss him.
literary recipe (pasta noir): F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Summer Pasta Chicken Salad (125 years this month)
Only an essential, clean sauce can complete an elegant pasta dish as a purple-hued cloud can complete a glorious summer sunset. Not a vulgar sauce like, say, one made with Italian meatballs, those shiny, dirty round mounds of grease that sit glistening on the top of Little Italy restaurant displays calling out to passing Midwestern travelers like sirens to Odysseus’ crew. This dish is closer to the essence of pasta and for that reason I recommend you use only the finest ingredients, Martelli butterfly noodles, the most virgin of Tuscan olive oils, and free–range Connecticut chicken. (Avoid those of New Jersey, as they are often unclean. I know Hemingway thinks such differences are pretentious and without significance but he puts ketchup on his hotdogs. Ketchup. Hotdogs. ‘Nough said.)
Hear ye, hear ye – an autumn sale
Drink, food and laughter in word is on – for ninety and nine cents. Or one hundred cents minus one:
Wednesday Will – 10 Foods From Shakespeare’s Plays That Shakespeare (Probably) Ate Himself
10 dishes Will lkely ate: 10 Foods From Shakespeare’s Plays That Shakespeare (Probably) Ate Himself hteysko@gmail.com A Guest Post from Cassidy Cash In addition to …
Wednesday Will – Garlic Pasta Sonnet 116
Garlic Pasta Sonnet 116 Garlic Pasta Sonnet 116“And scorne not Garlicke like to some, that think / It onely makes men winke, and drinke, …