Off the Cuff / My Other Journal

Arts, Food, and Restaurants

Two days ago, I had a checkup, and Dr. Bromberg politely suggested that I lose one or two pounds. “Not too much,” he said. “Just a tad. One or two pounds will do.”

I am not obese by any means; at least, I don’t think so. But what I wear has become a little too fitting lately, and I agree wholeheartedly with my doctor; however, when someone suggests weight loss, I automatically get preoccupied with food. And you know what happens when one gets preoccupied with food…

An article "Food in Writing" , which was also a newsletter once, I wrote for the same reason of curbing my food obsession. I find when I obsess about anything, writing about it satisfies my gluttony. Okay, maybe just somewhat.

After the Doctor's advice, either by chance or synchronicity, I saw a link on FB to a B&N article that said the book “Eat, Pray, Love,” aside from being made into a movie, had become a popular title for some restaurants.

In this article, other derived titles from literature as restaurant titles were: Eat, Prey, Love // Lord of the Fries // Their Pies Were Watching God // The Scarlet Pumpernickel // The Catcher in the Rye Bread //Gone Grill //Wuthering Bites //The Old Man and the Seafood//Bridget Jones’s Dairy.
Article  

Encouraged by further fantasies on food, I conducted a search for the names of dishes that were inspired by people in the visual and stage arts, music, and literature. It seems most of the food was named after its creator-chef, others after dignitaries who frequented the chefs' restaurants and after political leaders and war heros. I noticed two chefs, Ranhofer and Escoffier, took pity on the people in arts and named some of their creations after them.

The list below is the result of the search, which is mostly from Wikipedia.

While looking at this list, another idea hit me: The items on it might serve as prompts, as each one has a story to it.

Now, if you want to use those dishes and the story of their creation in your fiction or other writing, you’re welcome to it, but I suggest you do a lot more serious research. As I said earlier, this was Wikipedia, mostly.

And let’s hope this entry curbs my again-awakened interest in food.

Here is the list:

Eggs in a Mold Bizet – Georges Bizet (1838–1875), the French composer of Carmen and other operas, has a consommé named for him as well as these eggs cooked in molds lined with minced pickled tongue, served on artichoke hearts.

Carpaccio – named for painter Vittore Carpaccio. So named due to the similarity of the color of the thinly sliced raw beef to the red hue Carpaccio was known for.

Caruso sauce – for Enrico Caruso

Chateaubriand – a cut and a recipe for steak named for Vicomte François René de Chateaubriand (1768–1848), French writer and diplomat.

Chaudfroid of chicken Clara Morris – Clara Morris (1848–1925) was a popular 19th-century American actress, specializing in the period's emotional dramas. She became something of an overnight success when she debuted in New York in 1870, after growing up and working in Ohio ballet and theater. She had an active career until taste in drama changed in the 1890s and she turned to writing. Ranhofer named this dish for her.

Veal pie à la Dickens – probably around the time the popular novelist Charles Dickens (1812–1870) was making his second visit to New York, in 1867, Charles Ranhofer created this dish in his honor at Delmonico's. Ranhofer also had Beet fritters à la Dickens on the menu.

Salad à la Dumas – Alexandre Dumas, père (1802–1870), noted French author. Apparently a favorite of Charles Ranhofer, there are also timbales, stewed woodcock, and mushrooms à la Dumas.

Cherry Garcia ice cream – Ben & Jerry's homage to Grateful Dead leader Jerry Garcia (1942–1995).

Chicken sauté George Sand – George Sand, the pseudonym of French author Amandine-Aurore-Lucile Dupin, Baronne Dudevant (1804–1876), a major figure in mid-19th-century Parisian salons, had several dishes named for her, including fish consommé and sole.

Timbales à la Irving – Washington Irving (1789–1859), the American author, given Charles Ranhofer's penchant for honoring writers with his creations, is the likely source of the name.

Flounder Jules Janin – Jules Gabriel Janin (1804–1874) was a somewhat eccentric 19th-century French dramatic critic. A good friend of Dumas and Berlioz, Janin wrote several novels; the best known is perhaps The Dead Donkey and the Guillotined Woman.

Sole Jules Verne – Jules Verne (1828–1905), the French novelist, had several dishes named after him besides this, including a sauce, a garnish, grenades of turkey, breasts of partridge, and meat dishes.

Poires Mary Garden – Mary Garden (1874–1967) was a hugely popular opera singer in Europe and the U.S. at the start of the 20th century.

Peach Melba – Dame Nellie Melba (1861–1931). Chef Auguste Escoffier at the Savoy Hotel in 1892 or 1893 heard her sing at Covent Garden and was inspired to create a dessert for her, and which he named after her.

Melba toast – Dame Nellie Melba (1861–1931), Australian soprano, née Mitchell, took her stage name from her hometown of Melbourne. In 1892–1893, she was living at the Savoy Hotel in London, which was then managed by César Ritz and Auguste Escoffier. During an illness, the singer favored some extremely dry toast which was subsequently named for her. Around this same time, Escoffier created the dessert Peach Melba in her honor. There is also a Melba garnish (raspberry sauce) that is an ingredient of Peach Melba.

Bisque of shrimps à la Melville – when the great American author Herman Melville (1819–1891) died in New York, he had been almost forgotten for decades. Charles Ranhofer, however, remembered him with this seafood dish.

Beef tenderloin minions à la Meyerbeer – Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791–1864), the influential 19th-century opera composer, is honored by this dish.

Poulet sauté Montesquieu and Plombière Montesquieu – culinary tribute to the philosopher and author, Baron de Montesquieu.

Potage anglais de poisson à Lady Morgan – Lady Morgan, née Sydney Owenson (1776–1859), a popular Irish novelist, was visiting Baron James Mayer de Rothschild in 1829, when Câreme created this elaborate fish soup in her honor.

Mornay sauce – diplomat and writer Philippe de Mornay (1549–1623), a member of Henri IV's court, is often cited as the name source for this popular cheese version of Béchamel sauce. The alternative story is that 19th-century French chef Joseph Voiron invented it and named it after one of his cooks, Mornay, his oldest son.

Mozartkugel – Salzburg, the birthplace of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), is also the place where this marzipan/nougat-filled chocolate was created c. 1890. Also in the composer's honor, Ranhofer created "Galantine of pullet à la Mozart" at Delmonico's.

Lamb cutlets Murillo – Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617–1682), the influential Spanish painter, was apparently a favorite artist of Charles Ranhofer.

Selle d'agneau à la Paganini – Niccolò Paganini (1782–1840), Italian opera composer and brilliant violinist, has this lamb dish named after him, probably by Charles Ranhofer

Pavlova – Anna Pavlova (1881–1931), Russian ballerina. Both Australia and New Zealand have claimed to be the source of the meringue ("light as Pavlova") and fruit dessert.

Eggs Picabia – Eight eggs well mixed, lightly salted, cooked in a half-pound butter over a very, very, very low flame. Named by Gertrude Stein in her The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook after Francis Picabia (22 January 1879 – 30 November 1953) and his recipe.

Sole Picasso – this fruity fish was named after Pablo Picasso. The dish consists of fried or grilled sole and warm fruit in a ginger-lemon sauce.

Lamprey à la Rabelais – François Rabelais (c. 1484–1553), French monk, turned physician, turned famed writer and satirist, was honored in this dish by Delmonico's chef Charles Ranhofer.

Tournedos Rachel – from singing in the streets of Paris as a child, Swiss-born Elisa-Rachel Félix (1821–1858) went on to become known as the greatest French tragedienne of her day. Her stage name Rachel is used for a number of dishes—consommé, eggs, sweetbreads, et al.—many created by Escoffier. In New York City, Charles Ranhofer created "artichokes à la Rachel" in her honor.

Salad Réjane – Gabrielle Réjane was the stage name for Gabrielle-Charlotte Reju (1856–1920), a French actress at the start of the 20th century. Escoffier named several dishes for her, including consommé, sole, and œufs à la neige.

Rigó Jancsi – the Viennese chocolate and cream pastry[5] is named after the Gypsy violinist, Rigó Jancsi[5] (by Hungarian use, Rigó is his last name, Jancsi his first, called literally 'Blackbird Johnny'). He is perhaps best known for his part in one of the great late-19th-century society scandales. In 1896, Clara Ward, Princesse de Caraman-Chimay. The Princesse de Chimay saw the charming Rigó Jancsi, first violinist playing Hungarian Gypsy music in a Paris restaurant in 1896 while dining with her husband, Prince de Chimay. She ran off with Rigó, married him, divorced him, and later married two other men too.

Sarah Bernhardt Cakes – French actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844–1923). The pastry may be Danish in origin. There is a Sole Sarah Bernhardt, and a soufflé. "Sarah Bernhardt" may indicate a dish garnished with a purée of foie gras, and Delmonico's "Sarah Potatoes", by Charles Ranhofer, are most likely named for the actress.

Schillerlocken – two quite distinct foods named after the curly hair of the German poet Friedrich von Schiller (1759–1805). One is cream-filled puff pastry cornets; the other is long strips of dried, smoked shark meat. Ranhofer named a dessert of pancakes rolled up, sliced, and layered in a mold Schiller pudding.

Lobster cutlets à la Shelley – Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822), the great English poet, drowned off the coast of Italy. Charles Ranhofer remembered him with this.

Shirley Temple – the classic children's cocktail of club soda, grenadine, and a maraschino cherry was invented in the late 1930s at Hollywood's Chasen's restaurant for the child star Shirley Temple (1928–). A slice of orange and a straw is suggested; the paper parasol is optional.

Chicken Tetrazzini – named for operatic soprano Luisa Tetrazzini, the "Florentine Nightingale" (1871–1941), and created in San Francisco.

Van Gogh potato – artist Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) is commemorated by this potato developed in the Netherlands in 1976.

Fillets of Brill Véron – Dr. Louis Désiré Véron (1798–1867) gave up his Parisian medical practice for the more fashionable life as a writer, manager of the Opera, paramour of the actress Rachel, political influence, and pre-eminent host of lavish dinners for the elite. Véron sauce accompanies the brill.

Lamb chops Victor Hugo – the renowned French author, Victor Hugo (1802–1885), is commemorated with these, and with fillets of plover.