briciole

pane di mais con mirtilli

blueberry cornbread

blueberry cornbread for breakfast

Please, help yourself to a square of the moist, golden cornbread punctuated with juicy blueberries that I just cut. It's light and substantial at the same time, lightly sweetened and rich in flavor. After partaking of this sunny bread, follow me as I introduce you to a beloved author and one of his novels.

Years ago, during one of my usual bookstore browsing adventures, I picked up a slim volume: The Warden (1855) by Anthony Trollope (1815-1882). It was the first book I read by the famous novelist from the Victorian era and the beginning of a passion that, in the years that followed, brought me to read the majority of his output. I am, in short, a big fan of Trollope. And thanks to a number of superb movie adaptations of his novels, I turned my husband into one as well. We recently watched The Barchester Chronicles, the BBC's adaptation of "The Warden" and of its sequel, Barchester Towers: if you are into period drama, I recommend the movie, which presents the characters and the story faithfully, memorably and enjoyably. (Trollope wrote four additional novels and the six-novel series is known as the Barset Novels.)

After watching the movie, I read "The Warden" again. The protagonist, Rev. Septimus Harding is precentor of Barchester Cathedral and warden of Hiram's Hospital, a charitable retirement house for 12 old men. He is a gentle man, who finds himself at the center of legal action brought against him by a young reformer. While the novel also has a love story as part of the plot (the reformer is in love with the Warden's youngest daughter), the focus is on Rev. Harding's ordeal and his decision to renounce his office at Hiram's Hospital, which was granted to him by the bishop (and the income of 800 pounds a year he derives from it).

In his struggle to clear up his position, he clashes with the family Titan, Archdeacon Grantly, who is his son-in-law, the bishop's son and the rector of Plumstead Episcopi. In chapter 8, we get a glimpse of the rectory and its inner dynamics. For this post, I will focus on the table and the food:

And now let us observe the well furnished breakfast parlour at Plumstead Episcopi... The breakfast-service on the table was equally costly and equally plain; the apparent object had been to spend money without obtaining brilliancy or splendour. The urn was of thick and solid silver, as were also the tea-pot, coffee-pot, cream-ewer, and sugar-bowl; the cups were old, dim dragon china, worth about a pound a piece, but very despicable in the eyes of the uninitiated. The silver forks were so heavy as to be disagreeable to the hand, and the bread-basket was of a weight really formidable to any but robust persons. The tea consumed was the very best, the coffee the very blackest, the cream the very thickest; there was dry toast and buttered toast, muffins and crumpets; hot bread and cold bread, white bread and brown bread, home-made bread and bakers' bread, wheaten bread and oaten bread, and if there be other breads than these, they were there; there were eggs in napkins, and crispy bits of bacon under silver covers; and there were little fishes in a little box, and devilled kidneys frizzling on a hot-water dish; which, by the bye, were placed closely contiguous to the plate of the worthy archdeacon himself. Over and above this, on a snow-white napkin, spread upon the sideboard, was a huge ham and a huge sirloin; the latter having laden the dinner table on the previous evening. Such was the ordinary fare at Plumstead Episcopi.

And yet, I have never found the rectory a pleasant house. The fact that man shall not live by bread alone seemed to be somewhat forgotten.

The excerpt is a prime example of Trollope's delightful style. One characteristic of his writing that I particularly appreciate is his insightful treatment of women and of gentle souls, like the Rev. Harding.

If you are interested in learning a bit more about the novel's characters, this website has short introductions. The one dedicated to Septimus Harding includes a nice comment by Horace Walpole: "He is Trollope's grandest gentleman." And here's the page dedicated to Dr. Grantly described by Trollope as "a fitting impersonation of the church militant here on earth."

A final note: Rev. Harding plays the cello, and when he finds himself in a stressful situation, he plays an imaginary one to calm himself. On the subject of the Warden as a cello player, I found this interesting commentary by Steven Isserlis, my favorite cellist.

As I was reading the passage reported above, I decided to make something for Dr Grantly's breakfast table, something that is not specifically listed, and I thought about a quick bread I had made often a few years ago, then set aside, for no special reason. It is a variation on the beloved theme of cornbread that uses blueberries to great advantage. The recipe works well with either fresh or frozen blueberries. (Once again, blueberry season is upon us and I still have some frozen blueberries from our U-pick expedition to a local farm last year.) And it works well when using buttermilk (latticello), as in the original version, or a combination of homemade kefir and yogurt, which is what I used in my adaptation. The original recipe was published in Shape Cooks, a short-lived magazine that ceased to be published some 13 ago. In my rendition, I use cornmeal and whole-wheat flour (farina integrale) from my grain CSA.

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup (130 g) yellow [stone-ground] cornmeal
   
2. 1/2 cup (65 g) whole-wheat flour
3. 1/2 cup (65 g) all-purpose flour
4. 2 teaspoons (10 ml) baking soda
5. 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) baking power
6. a pinch of salt
7. 1 egg, lightly beaten
8. 3 tablespoons (45 ml) agave nectar or honey
9. 1/2 cup plain [homemade] yogurt + 1/2 cup [homemade] kefir OR 1 cup buttermilk (235 ml)
10. 1/2 tablespoon (7 g) browned butter (or regular unsalted butter), melted
11. 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (not thawed)

Preheat oven to 425 F. Line an 8-inch (20 cm) square pan with parchment paper and oil or butter the sides not covered by the paper. Combine all the dry ingredients (1-6) into a bowl. In another bowl, combine egg, agave nectar, yogurt and kefir, then gradually pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Incorporate the butter, then gently fold in the blueberries.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the cornbread passes the toothpick test. Check the bread first after 18 minutes and, if it needs more time in the oven, keep a close watch as it is easy to overbake the cornbread.

Remove cornbread from the pan and place on a rack. The cornbread is very nice eaten warm. For a berry-rich breakfast, serve also a strawberry lassi. (No need to use fine china or silverware.) I particularly enjoyed it as an accompaniment to fresh cheese like my homemade kefir cheese.

after making cornbread and lassi for breakfast

I suspect that the kitchen at Plumstead Episcopi did not look as chaotic as mine during the preparation of breakfast (colazione). I must admit I am careless with bowls and tools when I cook. I justify myself with the need to be unfettered by material constraints during the creative act.

Nota per i lettori italiani. Il romanzo di Anthony Trollope che descrivo in questo post è stato tradotto e pubblicato da Sellerio con il titolo L'amministratore. Sellerio ha anche pubblicato non solo gli altri cinque romanzi del ciclo del Barsetshire, ma anche altri romanzi di Trollope, tra i quali uno molto moderno nel tema intitolato La vita oggi.

This is my contribution to the 16th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I have started some time ago.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

The photo above — shot in color and then converted to black and white — is my contribution to edition #39 of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook and hosted this week by the creator herself.

This post contains the gallery of images submitted to the event.

And I am contributing the cornbread to the June edition of Bake Your Own Bread hosted by Heather of Girlichef.

This post has the list of contributions to the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

pane di mais con mirtilli

or launch the pane di mais con mirtilli audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

cornbread, cornmeal, blueberry, kefir, yogurt

Edizione speciale: Novel Food #16

Special Edition: Announcing Novel Food #16

What are you reading now? I am reading A Mind to Murder by P.D. James, the second of the Adam Dalgliesh novels. I read the first one Cover Her Face and liked it a lot, so now I am on to the second one. "In 1962 P.D. James' first novel, Cover Her Face, was published. In that novel she introduced the sensitive, taciturn, and hardworking Inspector Adam Dalgliesh" (source). Basically, I added Inspector Dalgliesh to the list of interesting mystery novel characters I am already fond of, starting, of course, with Inspector Salvo Montalbano. (As a side note, Montalbano fans may want to check out this post by Peter of Detective Beyond Borders.)

As you can imagine based on the logo on the left, today I am announcing a new edition of Novel Food, the culinary/literary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started in the fall of 2007. I am now carrying the torch. I am a bookworm and this event is really close to my heart as it brings together two of my passions.

Every edition of Novel Food is a little voyage of literary discovery, as you learn about literary works new to you, and it is also a delightful banquet made up of the literary-inspired dishes contributed by the event's participants.

I hope you will join the party. I am looking forward to learning about a published literary work (a novel, novella, short story, memoir, bio, poem, etc.) that provided you with culinary inspiration.

Here are the simple rules for participating in Novel Food:

1. Prepare a dish of your choosing that has a connection to a published literary work (novel, novella, short story, memoir, bio, poem).
2. Publish a post about it on your blog by the end of Sunday July 1, 2012 (midnight, Pacific Time), referencing the Novel Food event. Include a link to this announcement. If you wish, you can use the Novel Food logo.
3. Send an e-mail to simosite AT mac DOT com and include your name, blog name and blog address, and a permanent link to your post. Please, include the words "Novel Food" in the email subject, so I can more easily retrieve the message in my inbox.
4. Non-English submissions are fine. If possible, include an introduction in English.

If you don't have a blog, send me an email telling us about the dish, the literary work that inspired it, and, if you have it, a picture of what you made: I will add it to the roundup as well.

Note #1: If you don't receive an answer to your email or a comment on your post within two days of sending me the email, please contact me again: sometimes email messages get lost in cyberspace.

Note #2: If you follow this link, you will be able to browse my portion of the roundup of all previous editions. In relevant posts, you will find a link to Lisa's portion of the roundup.

Novel Food #15: the finale

Welcome to the roundup of the 15th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I created in 2007. Novel Food is about literary works (prose or poetry) that inspire the preparation of dishes.

Like all its predecessors, the current edition of the event includes an lovely set of readables and edibles. Please, follow me on a short literary/culinary tour. For each contribution, I will offer a small bite to whet your appetite for more: follow the link to read the details of the inspiring work of literature and of the inspired recipe. I hope that by the time you reach the end of this post, you will have a nice reading and cooking list to be used in the near future.

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Ruhama of rumahama presents Monsoon Summer by Mitali Perkins,
which inspired her to parepare Chicken Tiki Masala

Jasmine leaves behind "the comfort of knowing who she is" to spend a summer with her family in the country of her mother. She also leaves behind a business and her love. She resists the challenge of the new environment, but not its food.

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Jo of Not An Everyday Circumstance read  At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson and prepared Chocolate Wafers then used them to make an Icebox Cake

"In each chapter, the reader is taken through each room of the house and regaled with its evolution and history of use, the various materials and inventions that adorn them, and the colorful characters that invented them."

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Rachel of The Crispy Cook read  Frankie's Place: A Love Story by Jim Sterba
and prepared Vanessa's Beans (or Frankie's 'n Beans)

Reading the book, "makes you feel like you are visiting friends at their summer camp on Maine's Mount Desert island." It is "an atmospheric account" of the author's "courtship of, marriage to and many felicitous summers spent with fellow author Frances "Frankie" FitzGerald."

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Deb of Kahakai Kitchen was inspired by the modern Gothic novel The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson to bake Warm Lavender Almond Cakes

"A curl-up-in-a-comfy-chair-on-a-stormy-night kind of story, and a lovely escape to the south of France. If you enjoy Provence, beautifully descriptive writing, Gothic tales and ghost stories, and/or have a sense of mystery, you will like this book."

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Brii of briggishome read Leonard Walsh a San Vigilio by Claire Sargint
and baked special cookies connected to the inn of the book: San Vigilini

The book tells the story of Leonard Walsh and the Locanda San Vigilio of which he was host for 50 years. It "also gives a romantic and fascinating glimpse of the life in Garda during the same time. There are photos, newspaper clips and letters received by Leonard from the more or less famous people that came to visit the Locanda during all those years."

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Paz of The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz read The Patience of the Spider by Andrea Camilleri (one of the Montalbano novels) and made Trapanese Pesto

"Inspector Montalbano is good at his job of solving crimes that come his way in Sicily. In addition to the way he does his job, I like the way he enjoys his food. He doesn’t mind company when eating, however, he prefers silence during the meal, so that he can concentrate on it."

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Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook, was inspired by The Silence of the Sea by Jean Bruller 
to prepare a steaming bowl of Café au Lait

"An impassioned and compassionate study of the mandate of French resistance played out in a provincial village with only three main characters: von Ebrennac, an idealistic and naive Wehrmacht officer billeted in the home of an elderly man and his niece, whose names remain hidden from the reader."

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Ana of Sweet Almond Tree read The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje and prepared three Sri Lankan dishes: Sri Lankan aromatic rice, Vegetable curry with cashews and Tropical salad

The novel is about an 11-year-old boy, “green as he could be about the world,” on a sea voyage in the early 1950s. "If the captain's table is the place to sit on a sea voyage, then Ondaatje's cat's table is just the opposite: one of the least privileged dining assignments aboard the cruise ship Oronsay."

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Ambika of Ambika's Kitchen was inspired by the story The Luncheon by Somerset Maugham
to prepare Barley and Vegetable Skillet Salad with asparagus

In the story, the protagonist learns that the advice "never eat more than one thing for luncheon" is subject to personal intepretation. Her guest's interpretation costs him a whole month's savings.

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Libby of Libbysbookblog contributed three posts

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks and Waves of the Danube Cake

"The novel is about is an actual book: the Sarajevo Haggadah. A Haggadah is a book that everyone uses to follow along and read from during the seder, the Jewish ceremony held during Passover." While in Vienna, the protagonist tastes "is served coffee and Waves of the Danube Cake."

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo and Matelote

"This classic French fish chowder is not as well known as Bouillabaisse, but it is wonderful--often known as the fisherman's coq au vin. Coming from an inland region of France, it traditionally uses eel or other fresh fish--and either red or white wine."

Islands in the Stream by Ernest Hemingway and "Islands in the Stream" cocktail

"Try to find coconut water that has 'pulp.' The pulp is little cubes of young, soft coconut... Hudson says that the angostura should make the drink look "rusty." So, you need three good 'glugs,' I think."

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Inspired by North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, Simona of briciole
prepared Coconut and mango friands

In the novel, Gaskell takes a close look at labor tensions in Milton, a (fictional) industrial city in the north of England... The two protagonists, John and Margaret are on a collision course every time they meet. Still, their relationship evolves towards the satisfying novel's final scene.

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Simona of briciole was also inspired by Mark Twain's perspective on Venice in Innocents Abroad  to bake some unusual zaletti (cornmeal cakes)

"And sure enough, afloat on the placid sea a league away, lay a great city, with its towers and domes and steeples drowsing in a golden mist of sunset."

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My special "thank you!" goes to the event's participants. The next edition of Novel Food will be in the summer: I will announce it here and on The Food Blog Diary, so stay tuned. The Food Blog Diary is the lovely event announcement site created and maintained by Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes. Visit the site to read about current events and let her know about your event and she will post it on her well-organized site. Thank you, Jacqueline!

In the meantime, read good books (maybe with the next Novel Food in mind), cook good foods, and otherwise savor life's local and seasonal offerings.

Arrivederci!

Novel Food #15: zaletti (gialletti dell'Artusi I)

Artusi's cornmeal cakes (I)

[cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

It was a long, long ride. But toward evening, as we sat silent and hardly conscious of where we were -- subdued into that meditative calm that comes so surely after a conversational storm -- some one shouted --

"VENICE!"

And sure enough, afloat on the placid sea a league away, lay a great city, with its towers and domes and steeples drowsing in a golden mist of sunset.

Thus ends chapter 21 of Innocents Abroad (1869), Mark Twain's account of his 1867 trip to Europe and the Holy Land. "The book began as a series of travel letters written mainly for the Alta California, a San Francisco paper." In chapters 22 and 23, we see Twain exploring Venice, meditating on its present and past, and enjoying his gondola rides.

Twain approached Venice the same way I have done many times, by train. My most recent visit, however, started differently. After landing at Venice airport, I took a boat that slowly crossed the lagoon north of the city, stopping briefly in Murano on its way, and giving passengers ample time to admire the setting sun embracing the city in warm colors.

As soon as I dropped my suitcase in my lodging, I went out again. At night, Venice acquires a contemplative mood and it is easier to connect with it when the tourists have magically disappeared. Twain also discovered the magic of Venice by night:

In the glare of day, there is little poetry about Venice... But in the moonlight, her fourteen centuries of greatness fling their glories about her, and once more is she the princeliest among the nations of the earth.

I respectfully disagree with Twain's first statement, though. It may be more difficult to find the poetry of the city under glaring light and surrounded by many people, but it is possible: just step outside the fixed itineraries, go roaming around and chances are you'll find interesting and quieter corners. When I visit Venice, I usually have a rough plan of action, but mostly I let chance encounters set the agenda. I make use of the waterways very rarely, preferring to find lose my way around on foot.

Twain, on the other hand, enjoyed going around on a gondola and was fascinated by it.

The Venetian gondola is as free and graceful, in its gliding movement, as a serpent. It is twenty or thirty feet long, and is narrow and deep, like a canoe; its sharp bow and stern sweep upward from the water like the horns of a crescent with the abruptness of the curve slightly modified.

The stern of the boat is decked over and the gondolier stands there. He uses a single oar--a long blade, of course, for he stands nearly erect. A wooden peg, a foot and a half high, with two slight crooks or curves in one side of it and one in the other, projects above the starboard gunwale. Against that peg the gondolier takes a purchase with his oar, changing it at intervals to the other side of the peg or dropping it into another of the crooks, as the steering of the craft may demand -- and how in the world he can back and fill, shoot straight ahead, or flirt suddenly around a corner, and make the oar stay in those insignificant notches, is a problem to me and a never diminishing matter of interest. I am afraid I study the gondolier's marvelous skill more than I do the sculptured palaces we glide among.

forcola

The "wooden peg" is called forcola: each one is a work of art, crafted to fit the individual gondoliere and hence unique, one of the approximately 280 pieces that make a gondola.

During my last visit, I arranged my plans so that I spent three nights in Venice and since I was staying in a quiet corte off Riva degli Schiavoni, every evening I walked along the wide and relatively uncrowded Riva, took in the view across to San Giorgio Maggiore, reached St. Mark's Square, passed by the Caffè Florian then crossed towards the Caffè Quadri on the other side, then retraced my steps via a different, quieter, and darker route.

And at midnight... we have lonely stretches of glittering water --of stately buildings--of blotting shadows--of weird stone faces creeping into the moonlight--of deserted bridges--of motionless boats at anchor. And over all broods that mysterious stillness, that stealthy quiet, that befits so well this old dreaming Venice.

In the windows of pastry shops in Venice, you can see zaletti, their elongated shape dusted with powdered sugar, raisins peeking out here and there with a promise of more once you take a bite. (I don't have a photo, but you can see a nice one in this post by Kathy of Food Lover's Odyssey.) Twain does not mention any food in the chapters about Venice, so I don't know if he ate any zaletti (or zaeti). These baked goods are also known as gialletti: the name reportedly refers to the yellow color (giallo) given to them by the cornmeal (farina di mais) with which they are made. My memory of zaletti is very vague, hence totally unreliable as a base for working in the kitchen, so I looked around for recipes: they are all rich in butter and sugar and I wanted something simpler.

I then checked Artusi's cookbook Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well (1891) and there I found two recipes for gialletti, the first of which uses yeast. I decided to explore this path further. None of the modern recipes I read uses yeast, relying instead on baking powder as leavening agent. However, an article on cookaround (in Italian) mentions a cookbook older than Artusi's and the recipe for zalletti alla veneziana (Venetian-style) in it uses leaven and no sugar. The book is called La nuova cucina economica and was authored by Vincenzo Agnoletti. The first edition dates to 1803 and the second, titled La nuovissima cucina economica, to 1814. At the end of my search, I felt good about my determination to make zaletti with yeast according to Artusi's recipe. I am planning to follow Agnoletti's recipe, which differs from Artusi's in several ways, for the next phase of my exploration of zaletti.

Artusi's recipe is fairly detailed but it does not provide pieces of information like the amount of water and the time for leavening and baking. I also decided to experiment using all cornmeal (from my CSA share, hence locally grown and freshly milled) and then substituting part of it with corn flour, which is more finely milled than cornmeal. The gialletti made with only cornmeal are a bit more rustic. My husband favored them, while I had a slight preference for the ones with also corn flour. The original recipe calls for half butter and half lard. I have some homemade lard, so I used a bit of it. Overall, I halved the quantities given by Artusi and obtained eight gialletti.

Ingredients:

• 50 g / 1 3/4 oz. all-purpose flour [as usual, I used King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour], divided into two
• 2 tablespoons / 30 ml of water at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast
• 150 g / 5 1/4 oz. cornmeal [or 50 g / 1 3/4 oz. cornmeal and 100 g / 3 1/2 oz. corn flour]
• 1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons / 90 ml of hot water
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar [I used ultra-fine sugar]
• 1 oz. / 2 tablespoons / 30 g butter, softened [once I used 1/3 lard and 2/3 butter] (see Note at the end)
• a pinch of salt
• 50 g / 1 3/4 oz. raisins

In a small bowl, mix half of the wheat flour, the yeast and the water at room temperature. Let it ferment until bubbly. I did it for 45 minutes. In the meantime, in another bowl mix the cornmeal, the remaining wheat flour, the sugar, and salt. Pour the hot water in the bowl, add the butter and mix well.

Add the pre-ferment to the flour mixture and knead to combine well. Add a bit of water, as needed, to make a dough that is easy to knead. Finally, add the raisins and knead a while longer to incorporate them.

Cut the dough into eight pieces and give them oblong shapes (see photo below). Place on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. With the back of a knife blade, make a grid on the top of each gialletto. Cover with a cloth and let leaven in a warm place (I did it for 1 1/2 hour). They will rise a bit, but not a lot, given the flour mix.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 F. Bake the gialletti for 15 minutes or so (I baked them for 16 minutes). Transfer to a rack to cool.

I enjoyed eating Artusi's gialletti with some of my homemade cheese and they also pair well with chocolate. My husband likes them au naturel.

Note: you can find the English version of the recipe in the translation of Artusi's book that I have referenced in the past. The translation shows "50 g (about 1 ounce)" of butter. Based on the original and the conversion value, 50 appears to be a typo: it should be 30. Also, the translation directs you to make a pre-ferment with half the cornmeal and the yeast. The original uses half of the wheat flour.

This is my second contribution to the 15th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I have started some time ago.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

This is also my submission for the third installment of the Abbecedario culinario d'Italia (Italian Culinary ABC), an event organized by Trattoria MuVarA that will bring us to visit all the 20 regions of Italy using the alphabet as guide. C come Chioggia is hosted by Marta of Mangiare è un po' come viaggiare. Chioggia is a town south of Venice and in our tour it represents the region Veneto.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

zaletti (gialletti dell'Artusi I)

or launch the zaletti (gialletti dell'Artusi I) audio file [mp3].

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cornmeal, raisins, Italian recipe

Per i lettori italiani

Al termine del capitolo 21 de Gli innocenti all'estero (1869), l'autore, Mark Twain, arriva a Venezia nell'ambito di un viaggio in Europa e Terra Santa compiuto nel 1867. Nei due capitoli successivi, vediamo Twain esplorare Venezia, meditare sul passato e presente della città e godersi i giri in gondola.

Twain arriva a Venezia in treno, come ho fatto anch'io tante volte. Ma per la mia visita più recente sono arrivata in aereo e dall'aeroporto mi sono goduta la lenta traversata della laguna al tramonto. Appena arrivata al mio alloggio, ho lasciato la valigia e sono uscita a fare una passeggiata per Venezia di notte. Anche Twain è affascinato dalla città in versione notturna.

Quando visito Venezia ho una vaga idea di quello che voglio visitare ma per la maggior parte del tempo lascio che sia il caso a dirigere il mio cammino. Raramente uso i trasporti sull'acqua, preferendo girovagare e perdermi a piedi.

Twain, invece si muove in gondola ed è affascinato dai movimenti del gondoliere tanto da confessare di prestare più attenzione a studiare la maestria del gondoliere che ad ammirare i palazzi. (I passaggi ai quali mi riferisco sono riportati in originale nella versione inglese del post. Perdonate l'assenza della versione italiana: non ho trovato una traduzione di Twain online e a farla io non mi sento qualificata.)

forcola

Durante la mia visita recente, durata purtroppo solo un giorno, ho focalizzato la mia attenzione e la mia macchina fotografica sulla forcola. L'ispirazione mi è venuta dall'essermi trovata di fronte ad un laboratorio di remèr. Ho imparato che ogni forcola è fatta a misura del gondoliere ed è un pezzo unico nonche un'opera d'arte. Se osservate una gondola parcheggiata, potete notare che c'è un foro rettangolare dove va posizionata la forcola. Quando la gondola è a riposo, la forcola viene rimossa sia perché essendo sporgente può essere urtata e sia perché è un pezzo prezioso e non viene lasciato incustodito. Questo me lo ha spiegato un gondoliere.

Nelle vetrine di forni e pasticcerie a Venezia, tra i vari dolci in mostra, ci sono gli zaletti, dalla forma allungata e la superficie imbiancata di zucchero a velo dal quale fanno capolino acini di uvetta. (Non ho una foto ma ne potete vedere una in questo post di Kathy del blog Food Lover's Odyssey.) Twain non parla di quello che ha mangiato a Venezia quindi non so se ha assaggiato degli zaletti (o zaeti). Chiamati anche gialletti, il nome pare si riferisca al colore giallo dorato che viene loro dalla farina di mais con cui sono fatti. La mia memoria di zaletti è vaga e inaffidabile come base per prepararli e quindi ho guardato in giro alla ricerca di ricette. Quelle che ho trovato sono ricche di burro e io volevo qualcosa di semplice.

Mi sono quindi rivolta all'Artusi, nel cui libro ci sono due ricette per gialletti la prima delle quali usa il lievito di birra. Ho deciso di esplorare questa alternativa. Le ricette moderne usano tutte il lievito chimico. Un articolo su cookaround menziona un libro di cucina che precede quello di Artusi e la ricetta per zalletti alla veneziana che esso contine utilizza pasta lievitata e non contiene zucchero. Il libro si intitola La nuova cucina economica ed è opera di Vincenzo Agnoletti. La prima edizione risale al 1803 e la seconda, intitolata La nuovissima cucina economica, al 1814. Al termine della mia ricerca, sono soddisfatta della mia determinazione a preparare gli zaletti con il lievito naturale. Ho intenzione di provare a seguire la ricetta di Agnoletti, che è diversa da quella dell'Artusi, per la prossima fase della mia esplorazione degli zaletti.

La ricetta dell'Artusi (che riporto in fondo al post) è piuttosto dettagliata, ma non fornisce informazioni quali la quantità di acqua e il tempo di lievitazione e cottura. Le prime due volte ho usato tutta la farina di mais tipo fioretto che ottengo come parte della mia cassettina di granaglie (e che quindi è macinata fresca), mentre la terza volta ho sostituito una parte con della farina di mais macinata più fina (fumetto). I gialletti fatti solo con il fioretto sono un tantino più rustici e mio marito li preferisce. Io invece ho una leggera preferenza per quelli fatti anche con farina più fine. La ricetta originale usa metà strutto e metà burro. Io ho dello strutto che ho fatto e quindi ne ho usato un pochino. In totale, ho dimezzato le quantità date dall'Artusi e ho oattenuto così otto gialletti.

Ingredienti:

• 50 g farina di grano (medio-forte, dal momento che useremo il lievito secco o di birra)
• 30 ml acqua a temperatura ambiente (o tiepida)
• 1 cucchiaino (5 ml) lievito secco istantaneo [Artusi userebbe 10 g di lievito di birra]
• 150 g farina di mais tipo fioretto [o 50 g di fioretto e 100 g di farina di mais fumetto]
• 90 ml acqua bollente
• 1/2 cucchiaio (7.5 ml) zucchero fine
• 30 g burro morbido [o 10 g strutto e 20 g burro]
• un pizico di sale
• 50 g uvetta

In una tazza, mescolare metà della farina di grano, il lievito e l'acqua a temperatura ambiente. Lasciar fermentare fino a quando si vedono bolicine in superficie. Per me, 45 minuti. Nel frattempo, in una ciotola, mescolare la farina di mais, il resto della farina di grano, zucchero e sale. Versarci sopra l'acqua bollente e mescolare bene.

Aggiungere la pasta fermentata e impastare bene. Aggiungere poca acqua, se necessario, per ottenere un impasto che si lavora bene. Aggiungere l'uvetta e impastare fino a quando sia ben distribuita.

Tagliare l'impasto in otto pezzetti e formare dei fusi / mandorle (vedi foto in basso). Adagiarli su una lastra da forno coperta con tappetino di silicone per forno o carta da forno. Con la parte dietro di una lama di coltello, incidete una griglia sulla superficie. Coprire con un canovaccio e lasciar lievitare in luogo caldo (per me, un'ora e mezzo). I gialletti lieviteranno leggermente, ma non in modo spettacolare, dato il mix di farine.

Scaldare il forno a 175 C. Cuocere i gialletti per 15-16 minuti (Artusi dice che devono rimanere morbidi). Trasferire su una griglia e lasciar intiepidire.

I gialletti dell'Artusi accompagnano bene il mio formaggio fatto in casa e anche il cioccolato. A mio marito piacciono al naturale.

Questo è il mio secondo contributo alla 15ima edizione di Novel Food, l'evento culinario/letterario che Lisa di Champaign Taste ed io abbiamo creato qualche tempo fa.

Questo post contiene il riepilogo dell'evento.

Questo è il mio contributo all'Abbecedario culinario d'Italia, un evento organizzato dalla Trattoria MuVarA che ci porterà a visitare tutte le regioni italiane utilizzando come guida l'alfabeto. C come Chioggia è ospitata da Marta di Mangiare è un po' come viaggiare

Questo post contiene la lista dei contributi: che buon menu!

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592. GIALLETTI I

Signore mamme, trastullate i vostri bambini con questi gialletti; ma avvertite di non assaggiarli se non volete sentirli piangere pel caso molto probabile che a loro ne tocchi la minor parte.

Farina di granturco, grammi 300.
Detta di grano, grammi 100.
Zibibbo, grammi 100.
Zucchero, grammi 50.
Burro, grammi 30.
Lardo, grammi 30.
Lievito di birra, grammi 20.
Un pizzico di sale.

Con la metà della farina di grano e col lievito di birra, intrisi con acqua tiepida, formate un panino e ponetelo a lievitare. Frattanto impastate con acqua calda le due farine mescolate insieme con tutti gl'ingredienti suddetti, eccetto l'uva. Aggiungete al pastone il panino quando sarà lievitato, lavoratelo alquanto e per ultimo uniteci l'uva. Dividetelo in quindici o sedici parti formandone tanti panini in forma di spola, e con la costola di un coltello incidete sulla superficie d'ognuno un graticolato a mandorla. Poneteli a lievitare in luogo tiepido, poi cuoceteli al forno o al forno da campagna a moderato calore onde restino teneri.

Novel Food #15: tortine al cocco e mango

coconut and mango friands

"Oh, mamma, that shows you never saw Mr. Thornton. He looks like a person who would enjoy battling with every adverse thing he could meet with — enemies, winds, or circumstances. The more it rains and blows, the more certain we are to have him. But I'll go and help Dixon. I'm getting to be a famous clear-starcher. And he won't want any amusement beyond talking to papa. [...] You know I never saw him but once, and then we were so puzzled to know what to say to each other that we did not get on particularly well."

"I don't know that you would ever like him, or think him agreeable, Margaret. He is not a lady's man."

Margaret wreathed her throat in a scornful curve.

"I don't particularly admire ladies' men, papa. But Mr. Thornton comes here as your friend — as one who has appreciated you" —

"The only person in Milton," said Mrs. Hale.

"So we will give him a welcome, and some cocoa-nut cakes. Dixon will be flattered if we ask her to make some; and I will undertake to iron your caps, mamma."

By the time I read this passage in Chapter 9 (Dressing for Tea) of Elizabeth Gaskell's novel North and South, I had already seen the BBC movie and so I knew how the story would progress.

Since we don't watch TV and don't really follow TV-related news, I choose DVDs based on interest. My husband and I like period drama and the BBC productions are usually very good. We had already seen Wives and Daughters and Cranford adapted from Gaskell's novels, so North and South was a natural choice. Little I knew how much I would like the movie and then enjoy the book as well. I also didn't know that the movie was such a great success.

In this novel, Gaskell takes a close look at labor tensions in Milton, a (fictional) industrial city in the north of England. John Thornton, the male protagonist, is the owner of a mill. Margaret Hale is the daughter of a clergyman who leaves the Church of England and moves the family from rural Helstone, in the south of England, to Milton. Every time John and Margaret meet, they collide. The way their relationship evolves is quite interesting.

Two other characters that are important in the book and got amazing performances in the movie are Mrs. Thornton, John's mother, and Higgins, the mill worker whose daughter is befriended by Margaret.The scene where John proposes to Margaret reminded me a bit of that of Mr. Darcy proposing to Elizabeth Bennett. North and South is very different from Pride and Prejudice and yet there are some subtle links, as pride and prejudice play a role in both novels.

There are plenty of videos on YouTube showing scenes from the movie, but if you have not seen it, I would recommend you watch it from the beginning and enjoy each of the episodes. And yes, there are differences between the book and the movie, because they are different media. For example, while the book can follow Margaret analysis of her feelings and of her tormented conscience (she has lied to a constable and Mr. Thornton knows, but she cannot reveal to him the reason why she did it) the movie has to show this. This is a story in which people change due to events and also other people's influence. For example, Higgins ends up establishing a relationship with Mr. Thornton, who becomes his employer after being the enemy during the workers' strike. In the movie this relationship is nicely portrayed.

The final scene in both the novel and the movie is heart melting. They two scenes are different in setting but they show the same event: both Margaret and John come to acknowledge their feelings for each other. All right, I will go so far as to admit that North and South has turned me into a great fan of Richard Armitage. (Watch the movie and you'll agree with me.)

Going back to the excerpt which opens the post: As Margaret explains, she and Mr. Thornton have met once before and the meeting was not particularly successful. Right after the scene in the Hale's house, in the same chapter, we see Mr. Thornton getting ready for the visit. Her mother warns him against Miss Hale: she casts her as the poor girl looking for a rich husband.

"Mother" (with a short scornful laugh), "you will make me confess. The only time I saw Miss Hale, she treated me with a haughty civility which had a strong flavour of contempt in it. She held herself aloof from me as if she had been a queen, and I her humble, unwashed vassal. Be easy, mother."

"No! I am not easy, nor content either. What business had she, a renegade clergyman's daughter, to turn up her nose at you! I would dress for none of them — a saucy set! if I were you."

Mrs. Thornton is an important character and in fact the book ends with a reference to her, no less.

What kind of coconut cakes did Dixon, Mrs. Hale's faithful maid, prepare for Mr. Thornton? I am not sure and decided not to worry too much, and focus rather on what I would make for Mr. Thornton. I imagined small, dainty cakes, something light and appropriate to eat with tea. I then remembered seeing something interesting in Haalo's blog Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once: an Australian sweet treat called friand. Haalo says:

The history of Friands is a little sketchy as they almost appear to have come from nowhere but they have won our hearts. They seem to be based on a French cake called Financier.

Haalo's recipe for Mango friands was a favorite among the ones she has presented. In it, coconut is included as flour. I also liked a slightly different version, where the friands are baked in mini-pans. I have those molds and rarely use them. In the end, I took element from both recipes, added a personal touch and came out with my version of friands for Mr. Thornton. I have never tasted a friand, so I am not sure how mine compares to what is served in Australia. Maybe I should visit again and find out. (We were there many years ago and I have fond memories of our trip, especially of our stay in Tasmania.)

coconut and mango friand

The full batch would make six cakes, but for our small household, I halved the quantities and this "reduced" recipe is what I give below. 

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons [36 g] ultra-fine sugar
• 1/4 cup [33 g]  all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup [22 g] (desiccated) shredded coconut [I actually used a mix of coconut flour and shredded coconut and weighed the ingredients]
• 2 tablespoons [15 g] almond meal
• 2 egg whites at room temperature
  
• 2 oz [56 g] butter, melted and cooled a bit
• 1 cheek of fresh mango, finely diced
• 2 dried apricots (albicocche), finely diced

Pre-heat the oven to 350 F. Grease three mini loaf tins (4 x 2 1/4 inch) and set aside. Alternatively, line the bottom and short sides using a strip of parchment paper and grease the long sides of each tin. Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. In a small bowl, beat egg whites until fluffy/soft peak. Pour melted butter into dry ingredients and stir to combine. Add half the mango pieces and stir to combine. Add a portion of the egg whites and fold gently, then add the rest and fold as well.

Spoon the batter into the tins. Distribute mango and apricot pieces on the surface. Put in the oven and bake 20-25 minutes or until the tops are light golden. Apply the toothpick test to make sure the friands are cooked. Remove from the oven and cool in tins for a few minutes. Gently take the cakes out of the tins and cool on a wire rack.

nice texture

As usual, my efforts did not produce something elegant, but the friands were nice and they were much appreciated by Mr. Thornton my husband.

This is my contribution to the 15th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I have started some time ago.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

tortine al cocco e mango

or launch the tortine al cocco e mango audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

coconut, mango, dessert

Edizione speciale: Novel Food #15

Special Edition: Announcing Novel Food #15

What are you reading now? I am reading Emma by Jane Austen. I had read it some years ago, but after watching the BBC adaptation of it, I decided to read it again. I did the same with Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. What can I say? I love Jane Austen.

As you can imagine based on the logo on the left, today I am announcing a new edition of Novel Food, the culinary/literary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started in the fall of 2007.

Lisa is taking a break from blogging, and I am honored to be carrying the torch.

Every edition of Novel Food is a little voyage of literary discovery, as you learn about literary works new to you, and it is also a delightful banquet made up of the literary-inspired dishes contributed by the event's participants.

I hope you will join the party. I am looking forward to learning about a published literary work (a novel, novella, short story, memoir, bio, poem, etc.) that provided you with culinary inspiration.

Here are the simple rules for participating in Novel Food:

1. Prepare a dish of your choosing that has a connection to a published literary work (novel, novella, short story, memoir, bio, poem).
2. Publish a post about it on your blog by the end of Sunday March 18, 2012 (midnight, Pacific Time), referencing the Novel Food event. Include a link to this announcement. If you wish, you can use the Novel Food logo.
3. Send an e-mail to simosite AT mac DOT com and include your name, blog name and blog address, and a permanent link to your post. Please, include the words "Novel Food" in the email subject, so I can more easily retrieve the message in my inbox.
4. Non-English submissions are fine. If possible, include an introduction in English.

If you don't have a blog, send me an email telling us about the dish, the literary work that inspired it, and, if you have it, a picture of what you made: I will add it to the roundup as well.

Note #1: If you don't receive an answer to your email or a comment on your post within two days of sending me the email, please contact me again: sometimes email messages get lost in cyberspace.

Note #2: If you follow this link, you will be able to browse my portion of the roundup of all previous editions. In each post, you will find a link to Lisa's portion of the roundup.

Novel Food #14: the finale

First came the announcement, then the various contributions arrived in my mailbox, and finally, today it is time for the roundup of the 14th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I created in 2007. Novel Food is about literary works (prose or poetry) that inspire the preparation of dishes.

Like all its predecessors, the current edition of the event includes an lovely set of readables and edibles. Please, follow me on a short literary/culinary tour. For each contribution, I will offer a small bite to whet your appetite for more: follow the link to read the details of the inspiring work of literature and of the inspired recipe. I hope that by the time you reach the end of this post, you will have a nice reading and cooking list to be used in the near future. With the Holidays coming up, it's nice to have some books in your wish list.

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Rachel of The Crispy Cook read the China Bayles herbal mystery series by Susan Wittig Albert and prepared Gluten-free Cinnamon Basil Cupcakes (from book 2: Witches' Bane)

"China is a former high-powered defense attorney who shifts gears mid-career to open up an herb shop surrounded by gardens in a small town." Each book has a different herbal theme "and one can learn a lot about gardening, folklore, the medicinal use of herbs and even try out some delicious recipes from the back of many of the books."

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Ruhama of rumahama went "old school" with Homer Price by Robert McCloskey, a collection of short stories, one of which inspired her to prepare Doughnuts

"In this particular story, Homer is at his uncle's diner. At this diner is a doughnut maker. And this doughnut maker has decided to operate with its own mind and goes crazy. Silliness ensues and all must figure out how to fix the problem."

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Phil of As Strong As Soup was inspired by Jacques Prévert's poem 'Lanterne Magique de Picasso' from the book ‘Paroles’ to prepare Gâteau de Riz and Grape Syrup Verrine

A line of the poem and the British habit of adding jam to a rice pudding merged to direct the creation of this dessert served in glass. The topping follows the same process as making a grape jelly... but stops short of allowing the jelly to set... The gâteau de riz layer is perhaps a little less firm than many French versions and is flavoured with lemon rather than vanilla."

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Paz of The Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz read August Heat by Andrea Camilleri (one of the Montalbano novels) and made Pappanozza

"Pappanozza... I like the way it sounds – fun. I like the way it rolls off my tongue – Pap-PA-noz-za. Pap-Pa-noz-za!... I love the simplicity with which the food is described and the plainness of the ingredients involved, and the way it’s prepared... This was nothing fancy, yet it tasted delicious. Like Inspector Montalbano, that is all I ate. I, too, wanted to keep to light food. It was perfect."

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Jo of Not An Everyday Circumstance read The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller and was inspired to prepare vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

"One of the points driven home by the book is the ability to be yourself. One of the ways that this is demonstrated is through the food. Robert is a vegetarian, and Francesca has never really liked meat... with Robert, she can experiment. She can do what she wants and cook food that makes her happy. One of those foods is stuffed peppers... I created a vegetarian option that made use out of what I had in the pantry."

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Sandi of Whistlestop Cafe Cooking found inspiration in Beyond the Pasta by Mark Leslie handy and prepared Frittata con Zucchine e Cipolla (Zucchini and Onion Frittata)

"This book is a fun read... especially if you are at all interested in travel, food, or Italy... My copy of Beyond the Pasta was sitting right next to my knitting basket, where I can thumb through my favorite parts of the book. Page 17. Day One of Mark's trip to Italy. He is talking about his arrival to Italy and welcome into the family," and frittata con zucchine e cipolla comes out of Nonna's kitchen.

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Adele of tales of the basil queen found inspiration in The Magicians by Lev Grossman and prepared Swiss Chard Ravioli

Inspired by "a story about college and growing up that shows how even being able to do magic does not make coming of age any less awkward," comes "a dish that reminded me... of wandering into the kitchen late on a Saturday afternoon and watching a meal evolve, unplanned and unrehearsed, as more people trickled in with thoughts of food on their minds... The ravioli dish below uses a little trick I figured out just this year."

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Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook, was inspired by The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences by Dr. Frederick Treves to prepare No-Hassle Hasselback Blue Potatoes

"Dr. Treves' careful and kind recollections of his discovery of and subsequent enriching friendship with Mr. Merrick... shows the rewards of suspending such judgment until a measured and patient evaluation can be made... It is probable that Mr. Merrick and Dr. Treves had never encountered the anomaly of blue potatoes arranged on their dinner plates. But I know that given each man's remarkable character, and joy in living and giving, that neither would have refrained from a single mouthful."

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Inspired by The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl, Simona of briciole prepared funghi, fagioli e castagne (Mushrooms, Beans and Chestnuts)

The novel revolves around a series of gruesome murders that occur in Boston and Cambridge (MA) while Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is working on a translation of Dante's Inferno. The thought of Dante's exile from his beloved Florence inspired the preparation of a dish that includes popular ingredients, including two, mushrooms, and chestnuts, usually gathered in the woods.

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Simona of briciole was also inspired by Georges Simenon's short novel The Blue Room to prepare frittata con pere asiatiche arrosto & crostatine (Roasted Asian Pear Frittata & Tartlets)

The "story brings the reader into a quiet corner of France, where life goes on fairly steadily, but where nothing goes on unremarked... When I saw the two half crostatine on the plate, I thought they were an apt metaphor for the lonely halves in the story, whose leitmotif is the inability to communicate. This inability, which we see in every character, not just the main ones, has tragic consequences."

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My special "thank you!" goes to the event's participants. The next edition of Novel Food will be in the spring: I will announce it here and on The Food Blog Diary, so stay tuned. The Food Blog Diary is the lovely event announcement site created and maintained by Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes. Visit the site to read about current events and let her know about your event and she will post it on her well-organized site. Thank you, Jacqueline!

In the meantime, read good books (maybe with the next Novel Food in mind), cook good foods, and otherwise savor life's local and seasonal offerings. Arrivederci!

Novel Food #14: frittata con pere asiatiche arrosto & crostatine

roasted Asian pear frittata & tartlets

Recently, my husband and I watched on DVD the Maigret movies from the early '90s starring Michael Gambon and enjoyed them a lot. Chief Inspector Maigret is the protagonist of many novels and stories by Belgian-French writer Georges Simenon. When I was a kid, il commissario Maigret was popular in Italy thanks to the TV movies starring Gino Cervi.

I had read only one of the Maigret novels, so during a recent visit to a bookstore, I decided to correct that, but got attracted by one of Simenon's novels without Maigret: La chambre bleue, from 1964 (in Italian La camera azzurra and in English The Blue Room).

Tony and Andrée have had a relation for 11 months, during which they have met eight times in the blue room of the hotel owned by Tony's brother. Tony is married to Gisèle and they have a daughter, Marianne. Andrée is married to Nicolas. The novel opens in the blue room, at the end of what will turn out to be the last meeting of the two lovers. The novel then moves to some time after that event and we understand that Tony is in jail. However, it is not immediately clear of what crime he is accused. As Tony answers questions and remembers past events, the story of the intervening months is revealed.

Tony's story brings the reader into a quiet corner of France, where life goes on fairly steadily, but where nothing goes on unremarked (as Tony will find out). It's difficult for me to say more without spoiling the pleasure of reading the novel. I found every element of it interesting: the story itself, the way it is told, the characters and how they are portrayed, the ending.

One important element of the story is the contrast between Gisèle and Andrée. Tony's life with his wife is quiet and follows a certain routine, partly dictated by their daughter's needs and partly by his work schedule. Here's the sentence that inspired the first dish:

They had sat down to dinner as usual: soup, a ham omelette, salad, a camembert, and, for dessert, apricots.

I wish I could tell you about making camembert at home. I have actually done it earlier this year, and the result was positive, but I have no photographic proof, and for various reasons I have not repeated the experience. Aging requirements would not allow me to have a homemade camembert ready in time, so I focused on the ham omelette: in the Italian version of the book, which is the one I read, it is frittata col prosciutto. This is a dish that would be quite easy to make in Italy, but where I am, it is a different story. Still, I was set on making a frittata, and if this were apricot season I would have tried to make a roasted apricot frttata on the same line of my roasted peach frittata. Alas, summer is over, so there are no fresh apricots (albicocche) around, but there are beautiful local Asian pears and so my inspiration produced a roasted Asian pear frittata.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for frittata con pere asiatiche arrosto ¹

Another passage of the book inspired me to prepare something else. In the story, fruit preserves play an important role. The first mention is not particularly remarkable:

Marianne only liked strawberry jam, whereas her mother, who was allergic to strawberries — even in jam they gave her a rash — preferred plum jelly. In the early days of their marriage, he had teased Gisele about her taste in food, which often made him smile.

But later, Gisèle's preference becomes a pivotal element of the story.

A few days ago, I made a crostata (tart) with a layer of strawberry and rhubarb preserves and over it a layer of fresh apples. Gisèle could not have eaten it, due to her allergy. I did not make any plum preserves last summer, but I still could not let go of the idea of making something related to that sentence, something with fruit preserves.

I had never made tartlets before, so I decided to do that: the filling for the one on the left is my apple and mango preserves and for the one on the right is my Asian pear butter (burro di pere asiatiche) flavored with some fresh ginger (zenzero). After making a somewhat traditional lattice for one crostatina, I decided to hint more directly at the story that had inspired me and reached for the small heart-shaped cookie cutter. I did not glaze the pasta frolla, so the two hearts (cuori) are a bit pale.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for crostatine ¹

Gisèle is the character that interested me the most. Did she know or suspect what was going on between Tony and Andrée? Was she ever worried or afraid? 

Because of her golden hair, her pale skin and oval face, people frequently remarked that she had an angelic look. But she only liked pungent foods: pickled herrings, salads flavored with garlic and liberally dressed with vinegar, and strong cheeses. Often she would be chewing at a large raw onion as she worked in the vegetable garden. On the other hand, she never touched sweets or pastries. He was the one with the sweet tooth. This was not the only anomaly in their domestic life...

Given her preferences, it's unlikely that Gisèle would have tasted my tartlets, though maybe the ginger-flavored pear butter would have convinced her to try. On the other hand, I think that Tony and Andrée would have liked them.

Between the photo at the bottom and the one at the top, my husband's tasting occurred. He liked the crostatina with Asian pear butter better. When I saw the two half crostatine on the plate, I thought they were an apt metaphor for the lonely halves in the story, whose leitmotif is the inability to communicate. This inability, which we see in every character, not just the main ones, has tragic consequences.

¹ To keep the post within a reasonable length, I am making an exception to my usual blog format and give the recipes on a separate page.

This is my second contribution to the 14th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I have started some time ago (this time I am hosting solo as Lisa is taking a break from blogging).

This post contains the roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post

frittata con pere asiatiche arrosto & crostatine

 

or launch the frittata con pere asiatiche arrosto & crostatine audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

frittata, pear, dessert

Novel Food #14: funghi, fagioli e castagne

 mushrooms, beans and chestnuts

What are you reading now? I am finishing The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl, a very interesting novel. It brought back memories of studying Dante's Divine Comedy in school. I have not read it since, but episodes from it came back to mind easily while reading the novel.

Thus began the announcement I wrote for edition #14 of Novel Food, the culinary/literary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started in the fall of 2007. Reading about Dante means thinking about Florence, the city where he was born, that he loved, and from which he was banned for political reasons, an event that forced him to be a guest elsewhere and learn "how salty other people's bread tastes" (Par. XVII, 58-59).

I honestly have not taken Dante in my hands after finishing high school. I am still not sure that making students spend hours over the poem is the best way to make them appreciate it. What is certain is that while my memory of pages from Purgatorio and Paradiso is nil, I can recite lines from Inferno, where the characters are deeply human in their frailties and sins. In particular, it is difficult to forget the opening words:

Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita,
mi ritrovai per una selva oscura
ché la diritta via era smarrita.

Midway upon the journey of our life
I found myself within a forest dark,
For the straightforward pathway had been lost.

or the ominous words Dante reads upon the entrance to Inferno, which ends with the famous line

Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch'intrate.

All hope abandon, ye who enter in!

(Longfellow's translation comes from this page: for each section of the original, click on Current English link at the bottom to see Longfellow's translation. What I like about this site is that you can also see the illustrations for the poem from Gustave Doré, Salvador Dali and Sandro Botticelli, and also maps of Inferno, which is divided into circles.)

One more word on Dante. In an enjoyable article published earlier this year on the English newspaper The Independent, the poet is number 13 among Italy's top 15 cultural exports. (However, I must correct the Italian in #2: it is Il dolce far niente.)

On to the novel: The Dante Club is set in Boston and Cambridge, MA, almost 600 years after Dante's birth (1265) and the protagonists are well-known literary figures of the time, starting from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, at work on the first translation of Dante's Inferno (the first book of the Divina Commedia) for the American public. Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., James Russell Lowell and publisher James Thomas Fields are the other main characters, together with Nicholas Rey, the first black Boston policeman and of course the murderer, who, as the book proceeds, gets nicknamed Lucifer.

The Dante Club revolves around a series of gruesome murders. The author does a great job in maintaining the suspense, even when pieces of the puzzle start to get clear to the reader. The cold Boston winter contributes to the creation of a nightmarish atmosphere that keeps the reader hooked until the last chapter.

The story is gripping and well-told and the cast of characters includes interesting men and women. The underlying thread is the completion of the translation in time to be submitted to the celebration of Dante's anniversary. As always, when I choose a mystery for my post, I am afraid to reveal more and in so doing spoil the enjoyment. (This page has the full plot, so don't go there if you plan on reading the mystery.)

Inspired by the book, I first thought of replicating a medieval recipe (like I did with a Roman recipe in the previous version of Novel Food), but instead, as I was thinking about Dante in exile, wandering around in the fall and winter, I thought about chestnuts (which, turned into flour, are used in Tuscany to make a cake called castagnaccio), gathered in the woods of central Italy and mushrooms, another product of the woods. And so I decided to share here a dish that is a personal rielaboration of a recipe a dear relative described to me a few years ago. The most important change I made to it was substituting the original chickpeas (ceci) with beans. Instead of using Italian cannellini, I reached for locally grown canario beans, but cannellini would of course work just as nicely.

Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for funghi, fagioli e castagne

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of dry beans (canario or cannellini), soaked overnight and then cooked as described in this post
• 1/2 lb chestnuts
• a bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion (about 3/4 lb), chopped 
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary needles (rosmarino)
  
• 1 lb white mushrooms (or a mix of various kinds: it would be great if it included some wild mushrooms), cleaned and sliced
• sea salt and freshly milled black pepper, to taste

Besides the beans, cook the chestnut in advace. Place chestnuts in a saucepan, cover abundantly with water and add the bay leaf. Bring to a boil and simmer until they are tender. Peel a large one and verify that it is cooked. Keep the chestnuts in the cooking water and take out one at a time to peel. Use a sharp knife with a pointed blade to remove the shell, then the skin. Set aside. (If a chestnut breaks, while being handled, it is fine, as it will be chopped later anyway.)

To prepare the dish, generously spray a deep sauté pan with olive oil and warm it up. Add the onion, garlic and rosemary and cook gently for 12-15 minutes, stirring often. When the onion is soft and translucent, turn up the heat slightly and add the mushrooms. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring a few times. Add the drained beans and 1/4 cup of their broth, cover and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Coarsely chop the chestnuts and add them to the pan. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, mix thoroughly and serve hot.

I always serve this dish alongside polenta. And I will soon fulfill my promise to devote a post to this traditional Italian dish. I start making polenta before I start cooking the dish, so that, by the time the former is ready, about 50 minutes later, the latter is also ready. In the photo above, the accompaniment is leftover polenta, sliced and warmed up in an oiled skillet on both sides, so a crisp skin forms.

Dante could not have eaten polenta as we know it, since during his lifetime corn (mais or granturco) was yet unknown in Europe. However, the Greeks, Romans and others who lived in Italy in ancient times made puls by cooking farro, millet (miglio) and other grains or chestnut flour in water or milk, then added legumes, vegetables, eggs and cheese for a nutritious meal. I imagine Dante ate versions of those dishes, so here is another connection.

This is my contribution to the 14th edition of Novel Food, the literary/culinary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I have started some time ago (this time I am hosting solo as Lisa is taking a break from blogging).

This post contains the roundup of the event.

The lovely canario beans make this post suitable for My Legume Love Affair 41, the current edition of the popular, legume-centered event created by Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook, and hosted this month by Simona of briciole (that is, me).

This post contains the first part of the roundup and a link to the second part.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post

funghi fagioli e castagne

or launch the funghi, fagioli e castagne audio file [mp3].

[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]

beans, mushroom, chestnut

Edizione speciale: Novel Food #14

Special Edition: Announcing Novel Food #14

What are you reading now? I am finishing The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl, a very interesting novel. It brought back memories of studying Dante's Divine Comedy in school. I have not read it since, but episodes from it came back to mind easily while reading the novel.

As you can imagine based on the logo on the left, today I am announcing a new edition of Novel Food, the culinary/literary event that Lisa of Champaign Taste and I started in the fall of 2007 and have co-hosted until earlier this year, much to our delight.

Lisa is taking a break from blogging, and so again for this edition I will be your host.

Every edition of Novel Food is a little voyage of literary discovery, as you learn about literary works new to you, and it is also a delightful banquet made up of the literary-inspired dishes contributed by the event's participants.

I hope you will join the party. I am looking forward to learning about a published literary work (a novel, novella, short story, memoir, bio, poem, etc.) that provided you with culinary inspiration.

Here are the simple rules for participating in Novel Food:

1. Prepare a dish of your choosing that has a connection to a published literary work (novel, novella, short story, memoir, bio, poem).
2. Publish a post about it on your blog by the end of Sunday November 13, 2011 (midnight, Pacific Time), referencing the Novel Food event. Include a link to this announcement. If you wish, you can use the Novel Food logo.
3. Send an e-mail to simosite AT mac DOT com and include your name, blog name and blog address, and a permanent link to your post. Please, include the words "Novel Food" in the email subject, so I can more easily retrieve the message in my inbox.
4. Non-English submissions are fine. If possible, include an introduction in English.

If you don't have a blog, send me an email telling us about the dish, the literary work that inspired it, and, if you have it, a picture of what you made: I will add it to the roundup as well.

Note #1: If you don't receive an answer to your email or a comment on your post within two days of sending me the email, please contact me again: sometimes email messages get lost in cyberspace.

Note #2: If you follow this link, you will be able to browse my portion of the roundup of all previous editions. In each post, you will find a link to Lisa's portion of the roundup.