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Step Away From The Quill

4/24/2015

I’m sure any Emperor or King or President penning a love letter over two hundred years ago never imagined the missive could become available to anyone doing an internet search. His innermost thoughts—or maybe another bit of fiction—shared with the world.

George Washington merely expressed affection to Martha in one of his letters, but he sounds deeply sincere. Napoleon’s love letters are intense. Henry VIII’s letter to his Anne is very devoted during an earlier part of their relationship, and he signs it by calling himself her servant.

Love letters don’t always tell the whole story. In fact, I’m sure they almost never do. Maybe some are written with fingers crossed.

Antoine Careme: Food With Style

4/13/2015

Any man named after Marie Antionette is probably going to have an interesting life. Marie-Antoine Careme would fall into that category. But it's hard to find the facts about his life even though there's been a lot written about him.

Born in 1784, Antoine had quite a few siblings. I have read that there were as many as a dozen, but other sources have quoted the family as numbering two dozen. Then I read twenty five...

So chances are that the reports of Antoine's father sending him out to find his own bread and butter in life at a young age are true. There are several different versions of that as well, and I envision him as being dropped off on the street and told nicely to fend for himself.

But the one thing that seems constant in the tales is that he could cook, and was an excellent chef. One of his specialties was desserts with eye appeal, and he also created a crepes recipe.

Plus, he believed in soups, and his soups were not always of the mundane variety.

I don't quite understand the use of rooster combs in cooking, but if you're writing a cookbook—as he did, it does need a certain flair. I could see him thinking he needed a dash of something different, something...well, what about a dash of finely chopped rooster comb to go in the soup. It could add color with the chicken broth. In the 1800's when people were much closer to their food sources, that might not have even seemed unusual and couldn't have been that difficult to procure.

Careme cooked for Napoleon and also impressed the Prince Regent of England, From reading about the chef, I would imagine the man a master of diplomacy in his own right. If he were alive and in his prime today, he would have his own television show.

The reference to a family of merely twenty-five and also being tossed out at an early age::
http://www.foodreference.com/html/wmarieantoinecareme.html

Who he cooked for and recipes:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1909346

Photo credit: Fotolia.com

Composers' Lives Not All Song and Dance

4/4/2015

I once assumed all music composers of the past spent their lives sitting at a piano or humming tunes while gazing into space or playing music. Bach was seriously serious. Brahms had a mustache and flowing beard. Paganini could play a tune using only one string of his violin.

But perhaps composers’ lives had more angst than I realized.

Brahms’ early life would make a good background for a tortured hero in a novel. Imagine a teenage boy beaten by his father for leaving the tavern and being forced to return to play piano until daylight.

Bach’s life could be worked in a bit—with him going away on business and arriving home to find his wife had passed away two months earlier. The regrets could haunt him for years.

The violinist Paganini’s escapades could be the background of another hero with showmanship, rock star status, an eye for the ladies, and deep desire to recognize his son.

The composer ‘O Carolan had spirit too. ‘O Carolan isn’t a household name in the USA, but this composer from the 1700’s time frame has a fascinating history. ‘O Carolan overcame obstacles with a rogue’s charm. On his deathbed he may have written a song for servant who brought him his last drink. If you’ve not heard of ‘O Carolan, check out the following website.

http://www.oldmusicproject.com/OCC.html

The above drawing of Brahms is from the German postage stamp in his honor. Source: Fotolia

Step Away From The Quill

Antoine Careme: Food With Style

Composers' Lives Not All Song and Dance

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