Stories and Poems

Forse volevo vedere come tagliava la carne, sto’ coltello nuovo da chef, il migliore che avevo mai usato. Dato che volevo cucinare un po’ di pesce, non c’era alternativa sul banco in quel momento. E così mi sono affettato un dito. Quasi. La punta di quello di mezzo della mano sinistra, fino a meta’ unghia.… Read more: Food Stories: Coltello-katana. E Coquilles St. Jacques.

http://ht.ly/boVUu Consorzio di Tutela del Pecorino di Farindola Nine small towns on the eastern slopes of  Abruzzo’s Gran Sasso Mountains make Pecorino Farindola. Unique in Italy and perhaps the world, this raw sheep’s milk cheese is set with pig rennet to give it its unique aroma and flavour, and is regarded as a pearl to… Read more: Sheep Cheese from Abruzzo: Pecorino di Farindola

…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

….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

Virgola (Comma) She knows I will wait for her – (I can’t be sure, she?, he?, but So she seems to me – ) ‘Virgola’, Comma, Always the last to arrive At morning tea. I leave my brew resting on The white table and move to terrace: They all know, fluffy and brown-gray, The family… Read more: …some spring tea…

“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 most popular dishes having a distinctly Italic flavor. Brutus’ “Skewered Parmesan and Bologna” is one of those, a re-working of the noted international food writer Plutarch’s “Parallel Recipes”. This version,… Read more: The Ides of March – Brutus’ Skewered Parmesan and Bologna with Aged Balsamic Vinegar

comment- one could suppose though important variability between subjects… The emotional facial expression of others influences how positive or negative we perceive an odour. The basis of this effect seems to be the activity of a brain area that is relevant for smelling and is activated even before we perceive an odour. This is what… Read more: Food science – How the emotions of others influence our olfactory sense

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.

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.

“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

t’s unclear just where Shakespeare’s popular ‘Weird Sisters’ soup chefs came from, or if they were sisters at all, given their physical disparity. Some commentators say they were British natives, others that they emigrated from Sweden or Norway while a few even mention the Mediterranean. In any case, what is clear is that at some point they started working in the kitchen at Holinshed’s Soup, Steak and Salads in Brodie, Scotland.

A marvelous dish! Exotic, subtle flavors and somewhat complex, with just a hint of the Casbah, yet familiar enough to taste comfortingly of home.

the history of pasta

Wait for a massive thunderstorm. After peeling and seeding the tomatoes put them in a metal pot and hoist them up the tower and under the lightning rod you pre-installed on the roof. As you wait for them to be repeatedly electrocuted, hammer some dissonant chords on the organ. And laugh hysterically, like this: HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!

Click on the metronome. Grab the raven by its feet and hang it upside down in front of the window. (Never mind it’s screaming.) Fill the pot with water and place it on a back burner for later. Turn on the oven.

…if music be the food of love.

The windows of the kitchen are foggy now with the steam that has condensed on them while you were cooking. It’s almost 8:30, time for dinner. You take the big serving dish out into the dining room where everyone is waiting. As you serve out the pasta, you notice that the sauce is slightly watery. It’s supposed to be, making the noodles appear to float just above the reddish pools of sauce beneath. And since the individual bowls are translucent black, the reddish pools themselves also appear to float in the bowls above the blackness as if hovering over a void. You sit down at the head of the table. Then you twirl some of the bucatini onto a fork to taste them. After swallowing you realize ‘Hey, I’ve just eaten some of Calvino’s floating bucatini!’

Lettore, alzati e vai in cucina. Guardi fuori dalla finestra. Fa freddo, non ti pare? Meno male che sei qui dentro al caldo. Giri verso l’interno e vai a mettere il tuo grembiule. Sicuramente non vorresti sporcare i vestiti. Stasera ci saranno degli ospiti e un po’ d’eleganza non guasta. Ora rilassati, appoggi questo libro – aperto sulla ricetta di Calvino – accanto al lavandino. Stai per preparare i Bucatini Fluttuanti di Calvino. E ‘una buona ricetta e richiede la tua attenzione. Percio’ spegni il telefonino – non vorresti essere disturbato da eventuali chiamate di lavoro o altro – poi afferri un buon coltello. Si inizia il piatto con la pulizia dei fiori di zucca, e affettando il lardo…

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.

Il cafe che le persone bevono dice tanto della loro cultura. In passato, gli americani volevano un certo livello di qualità combinato con una quantità massiccia (lascia il caffettiere in tavolo, amore,) di cafe americano per un prezzo fisso. Oggi invece si comprano tutti i migliori tipi di caffè (non necessariamente il miglior caffè, si badi bene) di tutto il mondo a prezzi esorbitanti, in particolare nei centri commerciali e nei aeroporti. I tedeschi richiedono una qualità superiore che è ben confezionato e la… Read more: Food Story – Il caffe e il destino (Hardy Griffin)