(New York: Random House, 2003)
Hardcover, 272 Pages, Cookbook
“Now, good digestion wait on appetite, And health on both!”
(Macbeth, III, iv, 39-40)
From the Cover: Francine Segan introduces contemporary cooks to the foods of William Shakespeare’s world with recipes updated from classic Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century cookbooks. Her easy-to-prepare adaptations shatter the myth that the Bard’s primary fare was boiled mutton. In fact, Shakespeare and his contemporaries dined on salads of fresh herbs and vegetables; fish, fowl, and meats of all kinds; and delicate broths. Dried Plums with Wine and Ginger-Zest Crostini, Winter Salad with Raisin and Caper Vinaigrette, and Lobster with Pistachio Stuffing and Seville Orange Butter are just a few of the delicious, aromatic, and gorgeous dishes that will surprise and delight. Segan’s delicate and careful renditions of these recipes have been thoroughly tested to ensure no-fail, standout results. The tantalizing Renaissance recipes in Shakespeare’s Kitchen are enhanced with food-related quotes from the Bard, delightful morsels of culinary history, interesting facts on the customs and social etiquette of Shakespeare’s time, and the texts of the original recipes, complete with antiquated spellings and eccentric directions. Fifty color images by award-winning food photographer Tim Turner span the centuries with both old-world and contemporary treatments. Patrick O’Connell provides an enticing Foreword to this edible history from which food lovers and Shakespeare enthusiasts alike will derive nourishment. Want something new for dinner? Try something four hundred years old.
My Review: Two aspects of my personality have converged to make this book an inevitability for me: (1) I am a Shakespeare nerd and (2) I am a foodie. So, when I saw it on the shelf at my local library as I was browsing cookbooks, I had to pick it up.
This is a simply marvelous book. I sat down and read through it one night as the kids were going to sleep and I could not put it down. I kept waking my wife up to read her various recipes. She may have been put out with me, but she was also interested, tired as she was, because I spite of it all, these recipes are both delicious and fascinating in their flavor combinations, and as an added bonus, Segan has included in certain instances the original recipes for these Elizabethan dishes, and these are absolutely delightful to read. Take, for example, the following period recipe for “Courage” Tart, which Segan states refers to sexual prowess and was a recipe for an aphrodisiac:
Take two Quinces and two or three Burre rootes, and a potaton, and pare your Potaton and scrape your rootes and put them into a quart of wine, and let them boyle till they be tender, and put in an ounce of Dates, and when they be boyled tender, draw them through a Strainer, Wine and all, and then putte in the yolkes of eight Egges, and the brains of three or foure cocke Sparrowes, and Straine them into the other and a little Rose water, and seeth them all with Sugar, Synamon and Ginger, and Cloves and Mace, and put in a little Sweete butter, and set it upon a chafingdish of coles, betweene two platter, and so let it boyle till it be something bigge. —The Good Wuswifes Jewell, 1587 (215)
Isn’t that great? Quince tarts with sparrow’s brains. Of course, Segan omits the brains from her contemporary version of the recipe. I also love the actual text of the 1587 recipe. The language is so beautiful, isn’t it? Is it just me?
Anyway, this is a great cookbook with lots of fun and tasty-sounding recipes, as well as a lot of fun history, commentary and plenty of original recipes—all in the vein of “Courage” Tart. Segan also includes an appropriate Shakespearean quote with each recipe, as well as a little color commentary. It really is a book that is a lot of fun to read through, and one that is perfect kitchen addition for the Shakespearean fan, foodie, or both in your life, or just for yourself if that Shakespearean fan/foodie is you. It really is a treat to look through, and perhaps it can give you some inspiration for your Shakespearean birthday celebration this next April the 26th … The Bard of Avon will be 446 in 2010, and perhaps you and your guests would like to celebrate with some of “Queen Elizabeth’s Fine Cake,” Banbury Cake, Sweet Beets in Puff Pastry with Crème Fraîche and Ginger, or maybe even some “Courage” Tarts. Let me know if you try them with the sparrow brains.
This review also available at Bryan's Book Blog
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