Food Literature from TRE | Page 39 of 46

Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, March 11, 2010

Published by Jonell Galloway + Friday, March 11, 2011 Permalink 0

A clever cook, can make….good meat of a whetstone.–Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (1466?-1536)

Frequently referred to as Erasmus, Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus was a Dutch priest and scholar. Using humanist techniques for working on texts, he prepared important new Latin and Greek editions of the New Testament. He lived through the Reformation period and consistently criticized some contemporary popular Christian beliefs. In relation to clerical abuses in the Church, Erasmus remained committed to reforming the Church from within.

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Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, March 10, 2011

Published by Jonell Galloway + Thursday, March 10, 2011 Permalink 0

// by Simón de Swaan

Good painting is like good cooking; it can be tasted, but not explained.–Maurice de Vlaminck

Maurice de Vlaminck (4 April 1876 – 11 October 1958) was a French painter who, along with André Derain and Henri Matisse, is considered one of the principal figures in the Fauve movement, a group of modern artists who from 1904 to 1908 were united in their use of intense color.

A culinary Trafalgar: French cuisine, a masterpiece in ruins?

Published by Jonell Galloway + Wednesday, March 9, 2011 Permalink 0

by Jean-Philippe de Tonnac

The original French version is currently being translated into English.

Food Poetry: Linguini, by Diane Lockward

Published by Jonell Galloway + Wednesday, March 9, 2011 Permalink 0

Linguini

It was always linguini between us.
Linguini with white sauce, or
red sauce, sauce with basil snatched
from the garden, oregano rubbed between
our palms, a single bay leaf adrift amidst
plum tomatoes. Linguini with meatballs,
sausage, a side of brascioli. Like lovers
trying positions, we enjoyed it every way
we could—artichokes, mushrooms, little
neck clams, mussels, and calamari—linguini
twining and braiding us each to each.
Linguini knew of the kisses, the smooches,
the molti baci. It was never spaghetti
between us, not cappellini, nor farfalle,
vermicelli, pappardelle, fettucini, perciatelli,
or even tagliarini. Linguini we stabbed, pitched,
and twirled on forks, spun round and round
on silver spoons. Long, smooth, and always
al dente. In dark trattorias, we broke crusty panera,
toasted each other—La dolce vita!—and sipped
Amarone, wrapped ourselves in linguini,
briskly boiled, lightly oiled, salted, and lavished
with sauce. Bellissimo, paradisio, belle gente!
Linguini witnessed our slurping, pulling, and
sucking, our unraveling and raveling, chins
glistening, napkins tucked like bibs in collars,
linguini stuck to lips, hips, and bellies, cheeks
flecked with formaggio—parmesan, romano,
and shaved pecorino—strands of linguini flung
around our necks like two fine silk scarves.

Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, March 9, 2011

Published by Jonell Galloway + Wednesday, March 9, 2011 Permalink 0

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by Simón de Swaan

He who distinguishes the true savor of his food can never be a glutton; he who does not cannot be otherwise.–Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, naturalist, historian, philosopher and life-long abolitionist. The author of the book Walden (1854), where he details his experiences living in a cabin for two years near Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, on land owned by his friend Ralph Waldo Emerson. The book is a chronicle of the experience as well as part social experiment and spiritual discovery.

Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, March 8, 2011

Published by Jonell Galloway + Tuesday, March 8, 2011 Permalink 0

by Simón de Swaan

The smell of roasting meat together with that of burning fruit wood and dried herbs, as voluptuous as incense in a church, is enough to turn anyone into a budding gastronome.–Claudia Roden, food writer, Picnic: The Complete Guide to Outdoor Food (1981)

Egyptian born, Claudia Roden studied in Paris and moved to London where she has lived for most of her life. She travels as a food writer and is the author of the James Beard Award–winning The Book of Jewish Food and A Book of Middle Eastern Food, amongst other works. Her most recent book Arabesque won the Andre Simon Memorial Fund Award for Best Food Book, the Glenfiddich Best Food Book Award, and the Gourmand World Media Special Award of the Jury.

: Claudia Roden, photo courtesy of New Yorker.

Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, March 7, 2011

Published by Jonell Galloway + Monday, March 7, 2011 Permalink 0

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by Simón de Swaan

Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost; united and well mitched they are as body and soul, living partners. —-Andre Simon

André Louis Simon (1877 – 1970) was the charismatic leader of the English wine trade for almost the entire first half of the 20th century, and the grand old man of literate connoisseurship for a further 20 years. In 66 years of authorship, he wrote 104 books. For 33 years, he was one of London’s leading champagne shippers; for another 33 years active president of the Wine & Food Society. Although he lived in England from the age of 25, he always remained a French citizen. He was both Officier de la Légion d’Honneur and holder of the Order of the British Empire.

David Downie: Paris International Cookbook Fair

Published by Jonell Galloway + Sunday, March 6, 2011 Permalink 0

by David Downie

Paris International Cookbook Fair

Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, March 4, 2011

Published by Jonell Galloway + Friday, March 4, 2011 Permalink 0

by Simón de Swaan

The ambition of every good cook must be to make something very good with the fewest possible ingredients.–Urbain Dubois (1818-1901)

Urbain Dubois, was a pupil of the great Marie-Antoine (or Antonin) Carême, the father of French haute cuisine and a renowned pastry chef. He was author of The Household Cookery Book (1871), amongst other works, his specialty being decorative pieces. He had a preference for Russian service. He was also a fine artist whose food paintings and etchings chronicled the preferences of an early era (see below).

Un Trafalgar culinaire : La cuisine française, un chef d’œuvre en péril

Published by Jonell Galloway + Friday, March 4, 2011 Permalink 0

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par Jean-Philippe de Tonnac

Click here for English

Michael Steinberger, La cuisine française, un chef d’œuvre en péril, traduit de l’américain par Simon Duran [Au Revoir To All That, Bloomsbury, New York, 2009], Fayard, 2011.

Qui aime bien châtie bien. Prenez la France. La Fraaaaaance !, comme disait le Général. Voilà le sujet urticant par excellence. Parmi ses thuriféraires et inconditionnels, obsédés par l’idée de ce qu’est la France en essence et assez peu en actes, les étrangers qui fréquentent ce pays, qui l’adorent tout en conservant leur distance, une sorte de regard critique, ces étrangers sont souvent les plus enragés. Pour eux les Français ne sont tout simplement pas à la hauteur de leur histoire qu’ils desservent et trahissent à l’envie. La cuisine française, un chef d’œuvre en péril, le livre de Michael Steinberger, œnologue de réputation faite, chroniqueur au The New Yorker ou au The New York Times Magazine, est des plus symptomatiques de cette façon de considérer que le haut héritage qui échoit à cette France en décomposition économique et spirituelle, c’est un peu la confiture aux cochons. Vous pouvez, si vous voulez, remplacer la confiture par ce « gâteau de foies blonds » qui a fait la gloire d’Alain Chapel (« une purée de foies de poulet et de moelle de bœuf servie avec une sauce au homard et à la crème », décrit par le critique gastronomique Craig Claiborne du New York Times comme « l’une des plus grandes gloires culinaires de la génération actuelle »), c’est la même chose. La charge est peut-être salutaire puisqu’il s’agit d’essayer de mettre la gastronomie française au défi de s’égaler une fois encore. Mais elle est cruelle aussi car elle ne pardonne aucun écart, veut crever les arrogances et les baudruches qui desservent, selon l’auteur, un héritage inestimable. Steinberger est une bête qui aime, et donc une bête féroce. Comme l’empereur Commodore défiant le général Maximus dans Gladiator, il convoque les traîtres dans l’arène après leur avoir planté une dague dans le dos.