Eating While Reading: Food in Literature Fuels Fond Memories and a Lifetime of Culinary Impressions

BLOG POST #1

 A Habit is Born

According to the Mindfulness Movement that is gaining momentum, I have a Bad Habit. This would be due to mindless consumption, and loss of connection to Spirit resulting from Doing Anything While Doing Something Else. Now let me say straight out that I’m actually really into meditation and I agree with the basic tenets of being mindful.  But I also like to give nirvana a place in my life when I can get it. Eating while reading is my “ flow.”

And I found it at a young age. As one of four kids in a family that frequently relocated, I sought my happy place in books and became an avid reader. Voracious.  From about 9 years old, I gobbled up whole series of books like Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Trixie Belden, and even my mother’s ancient collection of The Bobbsey Twins (yes I’m old enough to know Freddy & Flossie). As I got a bit older, I moved onto other individual books that caught my interest. My reading still hadn’t turned into My Habit though, until age 11, when I received a gift from my dear Aunt Danielle, a beautifully bound copy of Grimm’s Fairy Tales.

I adored this book for its gilt-edged pages, its gorgeous, color illustrated plates, and for its short story format. Grimm’s Fairy Tales offered a glimpse into medieval life and the world of giants and elves, and taught some important moral lessons. Between these pages is where the original Disney princesses were born, but also where many other more obscure stories lived. And with such fun titles ! Who could possibly resist for example, “The Youth Who Could Not Shiver and Shake,” or “The Table, the Ass, and the Stick?” (!!)

One story in particular became a favorite. “Clever Gretel” told the story of a young kitchen servant requested by her master to roast two chickens as he was expecting a guest for lunch. Watching the birds turn to a golden brown on the spit, Gretel is unable to resist sampling a piece of chicken wing. This one naughty nibble debacles into her polishing off one whole chicken. The girl is brazen with wine and apparently has a man-sized appetite besides, because then, “Gretel eyed the other fowl, saying ‘Where one is the other must be, the two belong to each other, it is only fair that they should be treated alike.”  You guessed it, she eats the second bird too!  (I can only surmise these were more like dainty Cornish hens than Purdue linebackers, but even still, jeez!) Hilarity ensues as she figures her way out of this predicament. But I digress…I don’t know if it was the imagery in the story of that crisply basted chicken, or Gretel’s own weakness for the food, but I remember My Habit began here. I suddenly felt the impulse to go get some crackers which I snacked on while continuing to read. And just like they say, “it only takes one time.” I was hooked and My Habit was born.

From then on, whenever I could, I would be Eating While Reading. It was so darn satisfying, as though I was feeding my body and soul at the same time. I remember that some of the snack /book combinations were especially good, like Pringles & Lemonade with the Hobbit, and Milk & Chips Ahoy Cookies with Charlie & The Chocolate Factory.

Over the years, my literary appetite began to focus on one genre that won’t surprise anyone:  food writing and cookbooks. Because if there is one thing better than eating while reading, it’s eating while reading ABOUT FOOD.  I am now the proud owner of countless books chronicling food history, food memoirs, and some really spectacular recipes. I have collected anthologies of great literature and highlighted especially good excerpts of dining and food writing. From MFK Fisher to The Naked Chef and everything in between and after,  I am sharing this lifetime of nirvana with you. This is the first course of a food blog where I hope to share my passion for books, recipes, and a lifetime of memories associated with food.

A recipe follows that our Clever Gretel would no doubt approve of. Devilishly simple.

Clever Gretel
 (Illustration by Walter Crane)

Due to Gretel’s bold nature and my disbelief that she could have eaten two whole chickens, I am inspired to share a Cornish game hen recipe and excerpt from a book I love titled, Fearless Cooking For One, Fine Food in the Pleasure of Your Own Company, written by Michele Evans:

“A whole roast Cornish game hen is a visual as well as a taste delicacy. It is great for the single cook, for it is portioned by nature for one person. It is economical too; per pound, it costs less than hamburger. (*This may not be the case in 2016. Fearless Cooking For One, Fine Food in the Pleasure of Your Own Company was originally published in 1980 by Simon & Schuster.)

Like chicken, a Cornish game hen lends itself to various cooking methods: frying, braising, baking, roasting, poaching, sautéing, broiling, and grilling. And it can be enriched by the addition of various flavorings: herbs, spices, wine, sherry, lemon, lime, or orange.

          If available, buy a fresh Cornish game hen for a more tender and better-flavored bird.

          When using a frozen hen, thaw it completely before cooking it. Roasting time for a Cornish hen ranging in weight from 14 to 24 ounces is approximately 45 minutes in a 375 degree oven. For further browning, pass it quickly under the broiler. Or, if you prefer, you can cook the bird at 350 degrees for 1 hour.”

BUTTER-ROASTED CORNISH GAME HEN

1 Cornish game hen

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

Season the hen well inside and out with the salt and pepper. Place 1 tablespoon of the butter in the bird’s cavity. Tie the legs together and fold the wings back. Smear the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter over the skin. Place the hen in a shallow au gratin dish just large enough to hold the bird comfortably. Roast the hen in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 45 minutes, until it is well browned and tender. Baste it with the butter in the bottom of the dish several times during the roasting.

Happy eating & thanks for reading !

Lisa Leary Gertz