Friday, July 25, 2008

On the Naming of Dishes, Part 3.

July 25 ...

My story on Matrimonial Cake the other day prompted a reader to ‘come out of lurkdom’ with a lovely alternative idea about the name of the dish. Laurie said ‘According to some sources, they're supposed to be a metaphor for marriage because they have a rough top but a sweet filling and a firm base.’ Thankyou Laurie!

I am reminded of other dishes with a ‘paired’ ingredients. I remember ‘blanks and prizes’ (broad beans and bacon), and thought of ‘thunder and lightning’ (black treacle and clotted cream) – which hardly need recipes. The I came across this.

Siamese Twins.
Prepare some choux paste, and put it into a forcing bag with a plain pipe. Force it out in two rounds, each about the size of a walnut, join the two together, brush over with whole beaten-up egg, and bake in a moderate oven for about half an hour; they should then be a pretty golden colour. When baked, put them aside till cold, then glaze over with a maraschino glacé. When this is set, put some cream prepared as below into a forcing bag with a small rose pipe, and force a little rose shape on the top of each ball. Dish up on a dish paper or napkin, and serve for dinner or luncheon sweet, or any cold collation.
Maraschino Glace. To ¾ lb. of Marshalls’ icing sugar add two tablespoonfuls of maraschino syrup, one tablespoonful of warm water, and six or eight drops of sap green. Mix together, just warm over the stove, and use at once.
Cream for Siamese Twins. Whip till quite stiff half a pint of cream, and sweeten it with 2 oz. of caster sugar, then add a few drops of vanilla essence, a few drops of Silver Rays (white) rum, and six or eight drops of carmine. After this is added, draw a fork through the cream, which will give it a marbled appearance and make a very pretty effect.
Menus for Every Day of the Year. M. Jebb Scott.

Any other ‘pairs’ you can think of?

Quotation for the Day …

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. By a small sample we may judge of the whole piece.
Miguel de Cervantes.

9 comments:

  1. Thanks for the quote-- many people, without knowing why, proclaim "The proof's in the pudding!" Which makes no sense..

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  2. I got quoted on The Old Foodie - how awesome!

    Siamese Twins sound a bit like they're meant to resemble a certain part of the female anatomy that's also sometimes referred to as "the twins" (speaking of things that come in pairs.)

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  3. Hello Laurie - I think it was awesome that you commented and gave your lovely 'definition'. The 'other twins' would not, of course, have crossed the mind of the early twentieth century cookbook writer, I am sure (I think)

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  4. Hello Rosemary - I dont think I really knew either, till I read the quote!

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  5. I have heard of "thunder and lightening" as vermicelli and chickpeas (to be served with a tomato-based sauce). Treacle and clotted cream sounds very decadent!

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  6. Thanks for the great food site, wanna ex links?

    www.askmsrecipe.com

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  7. The one I thought of right away is the snack mix nuts & bolts. It contains nuts, prezels, sometimes cereal squares and dried fruit and seasonings.

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  8. Since you are quoting Cervantes:
    Don Quichote's most famous meal
    is "Duelos y Quebrantes", "Pain
    and Sorrow", a combination of
    scrambled eggs and sausage.

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