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Mark Twain did not like the food he ate in the hotels where he lodged during his stay in Europe in 1879. He makes that quite clear in the autobiographical book, A Tramp Abroad, written during that trip. After negative reviews of pretty much everything he has tasted, Twain sees the light at the end of the tunnel, since he is getting ready to travel back home, where he is planning to eat:
Radishes. Baked apples, with cream.
Fried oysters; stewed oysters. Frogs.
American coffee, with real cream...
He goes on to list some 80 other American foods, from buckwheat cakes to squash pie.
I may not share Twain's preferences, but I understand his feelings. I am lucky to live in Northern California, in a place where I can get good foods, which I celebrate on this blog. When I am in Italy, I miss the produce from our farmers' markets and farms, Pacific salmon, my homemade cheese and bread.
Yet, there are Italian foods that I miss deeply and I start dreaming about them on the plane that brings me to my native country: cappuccino, prosciutto crudo, ricotta, mozzarella di bufala and a few more.
In his book Twain's Feast: Searching for America's Lost Foods in the Footsteps of Samuel Clemens, the current Cook the Books club's selection, author Andrew Beahrs embarks in a space and time travel to tell us about Twain's life, some of his life adventures, his culinary experiences and the current status of some of the foods listed in the menu, like cranberries, maple syrup, oysters, terrapin, raccoon.
The book is a fascinating read and I enjoyed it from introduction to epilogue: I learned details about Twain's life, read with interest about animals, environments and people I didn't know, mused about historical recipes and laughed quite a bit (Beahrs has a nice sense of humor).
Mark Twain loved Lake Tahoe. He fell in love with it at first sight (un colpo di fulmine):
We plodded on, two or three hours longer, and at last the Lake burst upon us—a noble sheet of blue water lifted six thousand three hundred feet above the level of the sea, and walled in by a rim of snow-clad mountain peaks that towered aloft full three thousand feet higher still! It was a vast oval, and one would have to use up eighty or a hundred good miles in traveling around it. As it lay there with the shadows of the mountains brilliantly photographed upon its still surface I thought it must surely be the fairest picture the whole earth affords. [Roughing It chapter XXII]
Lake Tahoe is indeed a beautiful lake located in a beautiful part of California. Later on in his life, when Twain arrived on the shores of Lake Como (Lago di Como), he declared openly where his heart was:
I did not like it yesterday. I thought Lake Tahoe was much finer. I have to confess now, however, that my judgment erred somewhat, though not extravagantly.
The rest of chapter XX of The Innocents Abroad contains a detailed comparison between the two lakes. Of course, there is no comparison, in the sense that they are different and each is uniquely beautiful — you can trust me on this, as I've seen both.
In chapter Three of his book, Beahrs tells the story of Twain's travel west, his love for Lake Tahoe and for "trout dinner." In our household, we also like a trout meal (lunch or dinner) and my recipe for it is simple and flavorful — though we have to make do with farmed trout.
Print-friendly version of briciole's recipe for roasted trout
Ingredients:
- One 12-13 oz. / 340-370 g trout, cleaned and gutted
- 3 tablespoons homemade breadcrumbs (in my case, from my homemade bread)
- 1/2 tablespoon / 7.5 ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus a bit more to oil the trout
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh herbs, like thyme, flat-leaf parsley, winter savory, chives (in my case, from my herb garden)
- A pinch of fine sea salt, plus to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Heat oven to 450 F / 230 C. Line a baking sheet with a piece of aluminum foil.
Rinse and drain trout.
Place breadcrumbs in a small bowl or ramekin and drizzle olive oil on them, then stir with a small fork.
Add the minced herbs and mix, then add the sea salt and a bit of pepper and mix again.
Stuff the trout cavity with the herbed breadcrumbs. Using thin kitchen twine (or, in my case, kite's twine doubled up), tie the trout crosswise in two places, about 2 inches apart.
Place the trout on the prepared baking sheet, then lightly oil the trout's surface with a mister.
Bake the trout until cooked through, about 12-15 minutes.
Remove the twine and the skin from the trout and fillet it.
Place fillets on two plates, distributing half of the stuffing on each.
If desired, sprinkle a bit more salt and/or drizzle a bit of olive oil on the fish.
Bring immediately to the table.
Serves 2.
Back to the book before I end.
It is not possible to tell the story of foods that have either disappeared or are on the verge of doing so without a a look at the future. In his epilogue, Beahrs summarizes the situation in honest terms. Here's just a taste (page 285):
And another morsel: "Today, of course, how we treat the land and water still determines what foods we eat. But just as often, choices about what we eat help to determine which American landscapes survive and thrive... [O]ur choices matter." (page 286)
Indeed, they do.
This is my contribution to the current edition of Cook the Books hosted by me, Simona of briciole. (You can find the guidelines for participating in the event on this page.)
This is the roundup of the event.
This is also my contribution to edition #426 of Weekend Herb Blogging, an event started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, now organized by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once and Brii of briggishome and hosted this week by Lucia of Torta di rose.
This is the roundup of the event.
Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:
or launch the trota al forno audio file [mp3].
[Depending on your set-up, the audio file will be played within the browser or by your mp3 player application. Please, contact me if you encounter any problems.]
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trota al forno
Ravanelli. Mele al forno, con panna.
Ostriche fritte; ostriche stufate. Rane.
Caffè americano, con panna vera.
Twain continua con un'altra ottantina di cibi americani, alcuni noti, come asparagi e ostriche, altri meno, come zuppa di tartaruga d'acqua dolce.
Anche se non condivido i gusti di Twain, capisco i suoi sentimenti. Abito in una zona (Northern California) dove ho accesso ad ingredienti ottimi che descrivo su questo blog. Quando sono in Italia, mi mancano le verdure dei farmers' markets, il salmone del Pacifico, il mio pane e formaggio fatti in casa.
Ma ci sono cibi italiani che mi mancano terribilmente e che comincio a sognare sull'aereo che mi porta nel mio paese natale: cappuccino, prosciutto crudo, ricotta, mozzarella di bufala e alcuni altri.
Nel libro Twain's Feast: Searching for America's Lost Foods in the Footsteps of Samuel Clemens, che ho scelto per l'edizione in corso del club Cook the Books, l'autore Andrew Beahrs fa un viaggio nel tempo e nello spazio e racconta episodi della vita di Twain, alcune delle sue avventure ed esperienze culinarie e descrive lo stato corrente di alcuni dei cibi elencati nel menu ideale del famoso scrittore, come sciroppo d'acero, ostriche, mirtilli palustri.
Il libro è molto interessante, ma dal momento che non è stato tradotto in italiano, non entro nei dettagli se non per introdurre la ricetta di oggi. Mark Twain era innamorato del Lago Tahoe, in California, e quando arrivò sul Lago di Como fece subito il confronto dettagliato tra i due bacini (Gli innocenti all'estero capitolo XX).
Il paragone secondo me è meglio non farlo: avendoli visti entrambi, posso dire che entrambi hanno una bellezza particolare, unica.
A Twain piaceva una cena a base di trota e su questo siamo d'accordo. Certo, vorrei avere accesso alle trote pescate da un lago o da un torrente, ma in mancanza di esse, ci accontentiamo delle trote allevate, che mi ricordano le Fonti del Clitunno nella mia natia Umbria.
Ingredienti:
- una trota da 340-370 g pulita e sventrata
- 3 cucchiai di pangrattato
- 1/2 cucchiaio / 7,5 ml olio extra-vergine di oliva e un po' per oliare la trota
- 2 cucchiai di erbe aromatiche fresche tritate, come timo, prezzemolo, santoreggia montana, erba cipollina
- sale fino, q.b.
- un pochino di pepe nero macinato fresco
Scaldare il forno a 230 C. Foderare una lastra da forno con un pezzo di pellicola di alluminio.
Sciacquare la trota e scolarla.
Mettere il pangrattato in una ciotolina e spruzzarci sopra l'olio. Mescolare bene con una forchettina.
Aggiungere le erbe aromatiche tritate e mescolare, poi condire con un pizzico di sale e un pochino di pepe e mescolare di nuovo
Riempire la cavità della trota con il pangrattato condito. Con dello spago da cucina (io ho usato dello spago da aquilone), legare la trota per largo in due punti a 5 cm di distanza l'uno dall'altro.
Adagiare la trota sulla lastra da forno e spruzzare un pochino di olio sulla superficie della trota.
Cuocere la trota in forno (12-15 minuti).
Sfornare, togliere lo spago e rimuovere la pelle dalla trota e tagliarla a filetti.
Adagiare i filetti su due piatti e distribuire metà del ripieno su ciascuno.
Se volete, salare leggermente e/o spruzzare un pochino di olio sul pesce.
Portare immediatamente a tavola
Due porzioni.
Con un bel contorno, questo è un ottimo pasto (cena o pranzo).
Questo post è il mio contributo all'edizione numero 426 di Weekend Herb Blogging, un evento creato da Kalyn di Kalyn's Kitchen, organizzato ora da Haalo di Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once e Brii di briggishome, e ospitata questa settimana da Lucia di Torta di rose.
Questo post contiene il raccolto dell'evento.
What a beautiful and elegant trout dinner. I think Twain would have tucked right in. Thanks for picking such a great book for our little band of readers. Dan and I both enjoyed this one very much.
Posted by: Rachel @ The Crispy Cook | June 09, 2014 at 09:27 PM
grazie mille per la tua partecipazione Simona! il raccolto è pubblicato
http://www.tortadirose.it/senza-categoria/whb-426-il-raccolto-the-roundup
carina l'iniziativa dei libri!
un abbraccio
Posted by: Lucia | June 09, 2014 at 09:29 PM
So many wonderful things in this post — Twain's list, Beahr's book, and a trout dinner! When I was journeying in India many years ago — my first time abroad — the only thing we missed was pizza!
Posted by: diary of a tomato | June 09, 2014 at 09:29 PM
A truly diverting pick Simona, with lots of good information. I'd like to join you for some of that trout dinner, it sounds so delish.
Posted by: Claudia | June 09, 2014 at 09:31 PM
I just loved this chapter, with the description of Lake Tahoe from those days! Your photos make me wish I had tried this dish - -cathy
Posted by: Cathy | June 09, 2014 at 09:33 PM
Such a gorgeous plate. I love all of the herby goodness. We don't get a lot of trout here but once in awhile I'll find it at Whole Foods and 'splurge.' I will definitely try your recipe the next time I do. ;-)
This was a fun book pick Simona--I learned a lot and it has inspired me to delve into Twain's Letters From Hawaii that has been sitting on my nightstand. ;-)
Posted by: DebinHawaii | June 09, 2014 at 09:34 PM
Thank you so much for hosting such a wonderful and informative book. I certainly learned a lot about Twain, American history and regional foods (and the extinction or loss of so many things). Really and eye opening read.
Posted by: Debra | June 09, 2014 at 09:36 PM
Twain is a fascinating character to me. I'd love to taste the trout that you prepared.
:-)
Posted by: Paz | June 09, 2014 at 09:38 PM
Thank you Rachel. I am glad you and Dan liked the book. I found it a pleasure to read and full of fascinating information.
Grazie a te Lucia per l'ospitalita'. Vengo subito a visitare il raccolto.
Thank you, Debra. I understand missing pizza. Sometimes, it is not until we can't have it that we realize how much we love a certain food.
Thank you, Claudia. Whenever you visit California, I'll make sure to prepare this for you. Hope all is well in your beautiful corner of the world.
Posted by: Simona Carini | June 09, 2014 at 09:42 PM
Thank you, Cathy.
Thank you, Deb. It's good to splurge every now and then ;) I hope the Letter from Hawaii are an entertaining read. I am glad you enjoyed the selection.
You are welcome, Debra. I am glad you enjoyed the book. It was an eye-opener for me as well as far as certain foods. I also enjoyed reading about foods I was not at all familiar with.
He was an interesting man and a great writer. Adding trout to the list of dishes to share when you'll visit us, Paz :)
Posted by: Simona Carini | June 09, 2014 at 09:44 PM