For most of us, food is more than fuel for the machine, it is ambrosia for the spirit. A favorite food can whisper of romantic dinners, croon of cozy comforts, recapture that perfect summer day.
Books are like that, too. They speak to the imagination and loosen the pinched muscles of the mind and soul, evoking emotion and memory, nostalgia and desire.For my money, the pairing of these two great pleasures - food and literature - is a marriage made in heaven.
Certainly, the many admirers of Jane Austen, a growing number, will think they've died and ascended heavenward when they open the cover of "The Jane Austen Cookbook" (Chicago Review Press, $20.)
They'll imagine Jane starting out with A Nice Whet Before Dinner (no, it's not a pre-dinner shower, but a little appetizer of anchovies on toast), then tucking into Summer Pease Soup, Sole with Mushrooms, Roast Ribs of Beef and an assortment of other victuals, such as White Mushroom Fricassee.
Food historian Maggie Black and Austen scholar Deirdre Le Faye have put together a collection of more than 100 authentic recipes from the Austen period adapted for the late 20th-century cook - and more.
In addition to its recipes, this is a serious book for the serious reader. Its first 40 pages are devoted to chapters about eating patterns of the Austen era (breakfast at 10 a.m., dinner at 3, tea at 7 or 8), the manner of assembling and serving a meal, and a discussion of food in the novels ("Mansfield Park" and "Emma" contain the most references to food), with a nod to Martha Lloyd, a friend who lived in the Austen household and from whose household book many of these recipes come.
The above recipe is from "The Jane Austen Cookbook."
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RECIPE
WHITE MUSHROOM FRICASSEE
1 pound button mushrooms
1/4 cup water
1 large piece of blade mace (available at spice shops)
1 strip lemon peel
2 egg yolks (divided)
1 tablespoon flour
Good pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/4 cups half-and-half cream
Salt and pepper
Freshly made buttered toast
Lemon juice if needed
Clean mushrooms, trim them and cut off stalks. Cut any large mushrooms in half. Put in pan with water, mace and lemon peel, bring to simmering point, cover. Cook very gently until mushrooms are tender and liquid is reduced almost to a glaze.
Mix 1 egg yolk with flour to make smooth paste, then blend in remaining yolk, nutmeg, half-and-half and a little salt and pepper. Off heat, remove mace and lemon peel from pan and stir in egg-cream mixture. Replace over very low heat. Stir continuously until sauce thickens.
Lay toast in warmed serving dish ready to use. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning, adding a little lemon juice if needed. Spoon mixture over toast. Serve hot without delay. Makes 6 servings.