Page 18 - PGA Community News - August '23

Page 18, PGA C.A.N.! August 2023 August 2023
Book Review

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

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