I ran across this post from the past and had to share it again. Fun. From November 2020.
The other day a friend of mine was driving through town on his way to his ancestral place and he dropped by for some supper. Astute and considerate, he had spotted in a used bookstore a slim volume he thought I might enjoy, both for the fact of of the practical application of its contents but also for the sake of its ethos.
I present the Nero Wolfe Cookbook
Less expensive newer edition: HERE and HERE
There are some great breakfast ideas within along with great old photos of New York City.
I’m glad to have this. On Amazon it seems to be pretty spendy, but it could be that you can find a used copy or even get it from a library, which often have lots of cookbooks.
It also spurred in my memory an old post about memorable meals in literature, which I repost hereunder.
___
A friend – quite the eclectic reader – sent an interesting piece from The Telegraph of a few years back.
10 Great Meals In Literature
Wow. Great idea. How did the selector do? Let’s see.
1) Mad Hatters Tea Party in Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
2) The Episode of the Madeleine in In Search of Lost Time (Remembrance of Things Past) by Marcel Proust
3) Apple Pie and Ice Cream in On The Road by Jack Kerouac
4) Please, Sir, can I have some more from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
5) Gifts of Food in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
6) Try Pots’ steaming chowder in Moby Dick by Herman Melville
7) Melting Raclette cheese on a fire in Heidi by Johanna Spyri
8) Sandwiches and coffee in Millennium by Stieg Larsson
9) Cheese Sandwich and Malted Milk in The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
10) Avocados in The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
How did he do?
I can think of a few others.
-
- The Last Supper in The Gospels of the New Testament
- Lotuses in The Odyssey by Homer
- The Appearance of Banquo’s Ghost in Macbeth by Shakespeare
- Ugolino and His Children in The Inferno by Dante
- The Christmas Goose in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
- The Feast in Babette’s Feast by Isak Dinesen
- Liver, Fava Beans and a Nice Chianti in Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
- Toasted Cheese which its in the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O’Brian
- The Tears Cake in Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
- Meal on the Raft in Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Loading ...
Lembas bread in “The Lord of the Rings” by J.RR. Tolkien
Father, you should add both the blind tasting of Sauce Printemps (during which a murder takes place) and the final Nero Wolfe-cooked meal for Les Quinze Maitres in Rex Stout’s Too Many Cooks. And if you haven’t read the book, you must – in light of your love of cooking, I’m certain you would greatly enjoy it. The Nero Wolfe books are all worth reading and re-reading, for that matter, perhaps the best mysteries ever written. I think Archie Goodwin, Wolfe’s sidekick, is THE all-American young man in literature, even topping Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Happy cooking, and happy reading!
Also, do get Bruno’s Cookbook: Recipes and Traditions From A French Country Kitchen, and read the magnificent series of mysteries by Martin Walker starting with Bruno Chief of Police. They are FULL of great recipes from the Perigord region of France, with copious, step-by-step descriptions of the cooking process, not unlike your own on this blog. :)
One of my favorites is Bertie Wooster’s plans after getting released from jail, involving the ministrations of Aunt Dahlia’s Chef Anatole.
“Caviar frais, Cantaloup, Consommé aux pommes d’amour, Sylphides à la crème d’écrivisses, Mignonette de poulet petit Duc, Points d’aspereges à la Mistiguette,
Suprême de foie gras au champagne, Neige aux perles des Alpes, Nonnettes de la Maditerranée au fenoil, Selle d’agneau au laitues à la Greque, Timbale de ris de veau Toulousiane, Salade d’endive et de celeri, Le plum pudding, L’étoile du Berger, Benedictins blancs, Bombe Nero, Friandises, Daiblotins, Fruits.”
Had to pick up “Code of the Woosters” to find the list. The search was half the fun.
By the way, I know that house! It’s not West 35th but in the W 70’s near the Museum of Natural History. Peak inside: http://www.fs-architects.com/pages/portfolio/p33/index.html
How ’bout Mushrooms from Fellowship of the Ring? “There was silence for about an hour while they did some *serious* eating.”
Then there’s Lasagna from Grisham’s The Client
Poulet à l’estragon from Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina has become a household favorite in our family.
The Banquet Scene from Dune
Dinner at the Restaurant at the Edge of the Universe from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
I’d say of any recent, Babette’s Feast is a feast and top of the list.
I’m sure the roasted capercaillzie was delicious at the days long ale-feasts in “Kristen Lavrandatter.”
Also I can think of three from “The Lion the Witchand the Wardrobe.”
1) Mr.Tumnus’ tea in which to kidnap Lucy.
2) The Turkish Delight in which the White Witch charms Edmund.
3) The dinner at Beaver’s house.
From “Brideshead Revisited,” Charles Ryder is stuck at home with his father for a summer and invites an acquaintance for dinner one evening. The elder Ryder punishes his son by pretending to mistakenly believe the guest is American (or some such novelty).
Nero’s feast to draw out Lygia for abduction in “Quo Vadis.”
I’m surprised nobody mentioned the wedding feast in William Steig’s classic “Dominic” in which Dominic and his comrades are interrupted for the climactic battle with the sinister Doomsday Gang.
One of my favorites.
Also, speaking of meals being interrupted to do battle.
The scene is dinner at the Duchess of Richmond’s Ball at the beginning of Julian Fellows’ “Belgravia.”
Fr. Z, the Nero Wolfe Cookbook is quite delightful, for many reasons (I can especially recommend the Brazilian Lobster Salad on page 33), but please be aware that the edition I purchased, about 20 years ago, was missing page 228, the last page of the index. When informed of this omission, the publisher graciously mailed me a copy of that page, which I then pasted into my book.