Page 20 - Boca Club News - August '23

Page 20, Boca Club News

The Arts

Book Review…“Foods That Made History:

The Big Names Behind the World’s Favorite Dishes”

By Nils A. Shapiro Amalia Nani white (mozzarella cheese, made from buffalo’s milk) and
Some of the most fascinating Mocenigo. She had green (fresh leaves of basil). The Queen was captivated by
books I have reviewed over the been advised by this dish, and it was immediately named after her. From
years have been on the subject of her doctor not to that day forward, ‘Pizza Margarita’ was the flagship dish
food—“Salt,” “Consider the Fork” eat cooked meat on the menu of Esposito’s pizzeria…and eventually, this
and “The Secret History of Food,” for a few weeks, simple dish of humble but ancient origins…made its way,
just to mention a few—so when I and asked Cipriani in one form or another, to all four corners of the earth.”
discovered this title on the list of to prepare her a A final nibble of an example from the book will have
new publications it attracted my dish according to suffice:
attention…and I am delighted that it did. to the doctor ’s One of the greatest chefs in all of history was Antoine
This just released addition to the genre, by author orders. Cipriani Careme (1784-1833). “His entire life was dedicated to
Rafael Agam—a notable Chef who studied at Le Cordon had just been to ‘la grande cuisine’. Every moment of his waking time
Bleu in Paris, has worked in Michelin-starred restaurants the exhibition of was spent on improving existing recipes and methods
and now owns the successful Voila Swiss-French paintings and was of preparing food, and on developing a new generation
restaurant in Israel—offers in one convenient paperback overwhelmed with of French chefs. With respect to souffles (whether sweet
volume a buffet menu of gastronomical history, delicious the marvelous or savory), Careme was constantly improvising and
entertainment and practical, useful recipes that will more variety of shades innovating. Occasionally, he would flavor a souffle with
than satisfy the literary appetite of any foodie reader. of red that he had any wine or liqueur he thought might improve it. When he
Chef Agam’s purpose in putting together this book is seen in Carpaccio’s decided, one day, to season a souffle with a clear liqueur in
made clear in his Introduction: paintings. The dish he prepared for the countess, from thin whose body shimmered innumerable minute flakes of gold
“Historians of the past tended to focus on subjects more slices of raw beef interwoven with a pale mustard sauce, leaf, it seemed only natural to him to dedicate the recipe
‘important’ than food—war, famine, plague, navigation, reminded him irresistibly of these splendid colors, and he to the wealthy Rothschild banking family, in the kitchen
and the discovery of new continents. They didn’t bother named it ‘Carpaccio’ in their honor.” of whose Paris residence he worked for several years.”
much with recording the history of fine eating. Subjects The Etruscans, a people who dominated Northern And so was born Souffle Rothschild–“A very rich
such as the international trade in spices, or the discovery Italy before the rise of Rome, were fond of eating a kind dessert.”
of the New World and its treasury of fresh culinary of flat bread, embellished with a variety of additives and One of the ingredients in the recipe, notes the author,
delights, might receive a certain amount of attention from flavorings…The name ‘pizza’ may be derived from the is Danziger Goldwasser, a liqueur that continues to be
historians, but out of thousands of years of glorious feasts, Latin word picea, which describes the browning of the made to this day, which contains flakes of gold leaf and
dedicated chefs, and revolutionary new dishes—not a great dough in the oven…The flat bread was sold as street food is flavored usually with anise or orange.
deal of solid information has come down to us.” in Italy for many centuries before cheese was eventually We have barely touched upon three of the background
Chef Agam has set about correcting that by revealing added.” When tomatoes were brought over from the New stories here; there are 50 more. Imagine how interesting
the fascinating stories behind the origins of 53 of history’s World they were considered to be poisonous and were used you will be at any dinner gathering, tossing off tidbits of
most famous “foods,” organized into eight categories: only as house plants, except by poor people who eventually historic food facts after you have digested Chef Agam’s
First Courses; Two-Legged; Four-Legged; Fish & began to eat the vegetable and found it to be edible. Around eight-course, 345-page treat. Or being able to serve up
Seafood; Pizza & Pasta; Salads & Side Dishes; Pastries 1889, “Queen Margarita of Italy—who was on vacation in any of these original classic recipes at your own party.
& Desserts, and Beverages. Many black-and-white line Naples with her husband, King Umberto I and the royal *****
drawings are sprinkled throughout the text. court—expressed an interest in tasting some of the local Note: The author, Chef Agam, has concocted a
Included among the vast array of 53 foods—there is foods. A local pizzaiolo, or pizza maker, named Raffaele wonderfully tasty recipe for his book, one that as a reader
space here to name just a few—are such famous dishes Esposito, was summoned to the palace. His pizzeria was I greedily devoured. But as an editor I could not help but
as Eggs Benedict, Chicken General Tso, Beef Wellington, considered to be the best in Naples. In response to the notice a number of grammatical errors in the form of
Schnitzel Holstein, Oysters Rockefeller, Lobster Newberg, Royal summons, Esposito loaded his donkey with dough too many commas where they were not needed. And he
Pizza Margherita, Fettuccine Alfredo, Waldorf Salad, Crab and other materials, and made his way to the palace. refers to a pizza as Margherita in the chapter heading,
Louie, Tarte Tatin, Crepes Suzette, Earl Grey Tea, Kir and Esposito made three different pizzas. One in particular then spells the name of the Italian queen as Margarita.
Kir Royal. Perhaps less familiar, but equally interesting, caught the queen’s fancy. Apparently, Chef Agam could have used a final editing of
are such names as Soupe Parmentier, Chicken Tetrazzini, “This particular pizza was a felicitous combination his manuscript. But unless you are the kind of guest who
Sole Murat, Pavlova, Sachertorte, the Bellini cocktail… of fine flavor and patriotic sentiment, for its colors were would complain about one burnt biscuit in an otherwise
and so many more. those of the recently adopted flag of the united (well, sumptuous banquet, don’t let this deprive you of his
(A note of caution: If you plan to try any of the recipes, almost united) Kingdom of Italy: Red (slices of tomato), literary feast.
be aware that Chef Agam uses European measurements—
grams, kilograms (kg) and milliliters (ml)—instead of
pounds and ounces when listing the ingredients, so you Everyone deserves a doctor who they
will need to be prepared for converting them to ounces,
pounds, etc. As for the rest, the Chef does refer to cups, trust and like. One who listens and
tablespoons, teaspoons, etc., just as in American recipes.)
But even if, like me, your cooking skills are limited to takes their time to answer questions
popping frozen meals into a microwave—fortunately, my
beautiful wife, Linda, is not only a fine artist and jewelry and address concerns. A doctor who is
designer, but also a kitchen wizard—there is much to be
savored between the covers of this book. While each of available when you need them most.
the more than half a hundred background histories takes
up several pages, here are just a few teaser highlights to
serve as a hint of what awaits you in its pages:
Giuseppe Cipriani opened his famous Harry’s Bar I provide proactive, preventive, wellness & sick care to
restaurant in Venice in 1931. A great exhibition of the adult patients at my concierge medical practice.
works of the Venetian painter Vittore Carpaccio (1472-
1526) was held in Venice in 1950. At that time, “One of
the restaurant’s regular patrons was the beautiful Countess To discuss your health needs, and my care model, you

are invited to a complimentary meet and greet with
me - by video, phone or, when the pandemic permits,
in-person at my practice.

Please call 561.368.0191 to schedule your meet and
greet with me. I look forward to meeting you.

Captain’s was established in 1980 servicing
Palm Beach County and is a privately Steven E. Reznick, MD, FACP
owned and managed company. Recognized as a “Best Doc”. Practicing in our community since 1979.
Captain’s is committed to providing
dependable, reliable and professional
ground transportation to and from all 7280 W. Palmetto Park Road | Suite 205N | Boca Raton | 33433
South Florida Airports and Seaports. PBCVH212
To reserve your vehicle: ww.BocaConciergeDoc.com
561-798-2180 or 800-634-7890 www.captainsairport.com