Vatel

One of the best movies I've seen in the past few years is Vatel:

In 1671, with war brewing with Holland, a penniless prince invites Louis XIV to three days of festivities at a chateau in Chantilly. The prince wants a commission as a general, so the extravagances are to impress the king. In charge of all is the steward, Vatel, a man of honor, talent, and low birth. The prince is craven in his longing for stature: no task is too menial or dishonorable for him to give Vatel. While Vatel tries to sustain dignity, he finds himself attracted to Anne de Montausier, the king's newest mistress. In Vatel, she finds someone who's authentic, living out his principles within the casual cruelties of court politics. Can the two of them escape unscathed?

François Vatel:

(1631, Paris – April 24, 1671) was a "Maître d'hôtel" (translates to "butler" from French), famous for creating Chantilly cream, a sweet, vanilla-flavoured whipped cream, for an extravagant banquet for 2,000 people hosted in honour of Louis XIV by Louis, the great Condé in April 1671 at the Château de Chantilly; hence the name crème Chantilly.

At this same banquet, Vatel, the consummate perfectionist, was supposedly so distraught about the lateness of the fish—the banquet was to be held on a Friday—and about other mishaps that he committed suicide by running himself through with a sword. According to some versions of the story, his body was discovered by an aide who came to tell him of the arrival of the fish. His death was treated as a national tragedy.

From The birth of the celebrity chef:

Since the Middle Ages meals were, first and foremost, about extravagant presentation, and the most celebrated figure was the maître d’hôtel, or steward — the front man who designed all the special effects of a banquet. It was he who chose the dishes, oversaw the decoration of the table, arranged the entertainment and choreographed the guests. The most famous of these impresarios was François Vatel, who in the mid-1600s stage-managed spectacular dinners for his master, the Count de Condé. Vatel claimed immortality in 1671 when — while hosting a feast for 2,000 people in honor of the Sun King, Louis XIV — he was informed that the fish for the meal would not arrive on time, so he committed suicide, becoming France’s first true martyr to gastronomy. (One version of the story goes that his body was found by a servant who was rushing to tell him that the fish had actually arrived. History repeated itself in 2003, when French chef Bernard Loiseau killed himself when told that his restaurant would lose one of its three Michelin stars).

For Andy - real old-fashioned Christmas cake

Pam and Andy sent me fresh pecans for Christmas for which I am very grateful. Pecans are my favorite nuts but unfortunately we can't grow them here. Pam also included her recipe for pecan muffins. So my Andy (not Pam's) and I got talking about baking for Christmas.

My Andy is a great baker and had just finishing baking scrumptious nut and chocolate chip cookies which we had hot out of the oven with afternoon coffee. Today our neighbors announced the date for their usual Christmas tea and baked goodies potluck for the hood next week. Andy thought of baking Christmas cookies but that's what everyone else will bring.

I'm thinking more evil thoughts. Our neighbors are very strict Christian teetotalers so obviously I'm thinking about baking with booze - my specialty. I could do tipsy cake (fruit cake soaked in brandy) but the name will give it away. So I think I'll do South African sjokolade hawerkoek (chocolate oatcake.) The name sounds so innocent, wholesome and it's chockful of healthy coconut flakes too. The fact that the cake is then soaked in a pint of ruby port makes it even healthier as far as I'm concerned and I'm hoping that my neighbors will also enjoy it. Or is that too evil?

Anyway that got us talking about baking with booze. As a kid my favorite Christmas treat was plum pudding. I loved it not only because it had coins buried in it: a dozen or so "tickies" ("thrupenny" coins), some sixpence pieces, a few shillings, (twelve pennies) and one half-crown (2 shillings and sixpence) but because, just before it was served, it was covered in brandy and set on fire, then sliced and covered in hot English custard.

Then I had an inspiration. I said to Andy: "Let's bake a real old-fashioned Christmas cake this year." He said: "Gimme a recipe." I said: "Okay." And here it is.

Real Old-fashioned Christmas Cake:

1 lb flour (4 cups)
3/4 lb butter (1 3/4 cups)
1/2 lb soft brown or castor sugar
1 lb sultanas (2 2/3 cups)
1 lb currants (2 2/3 cups)
6 oz chopped mixed peel (1 cup)
1/4 lb glacïe cherries chopped (2/3 cup)
6 large eggs
1/4 lb almonds (1 cup)
1 teasp grated orange rind
1 TBS black treacle (molasses)
1 level teasp baking powder
1/2 teasp mixed spice
1 wineglass (or more) of brandy

1. Sieve the flour with the baking powder, spice and a pinch of salt.

2. Blanch the almonds and finely chop; chop the peel or put through a mincer; quarter the cherries.

3. Put the butter into a bowl and warm it slightly; beat with a wooden spoon. Add the sugar and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, using a level dessertspoon of flour as each egg is added. Then stir in the treacle (molasses).

4. Add half the rest of the flour, all the fruit, almonds and orange rind. Put the other half of the flour on top, stir and mix well but do not beat. Put in the brandy. If the mixture seems too stiff, add a little milk - the mixture should drop easily from a spoon.

5. Prepare a cake tin about 10 inches in diameter, grease the tin then line with buttered grease-proof paper high enough to come 2 to 3 inches above the top of the tin.

6. Put in the cake mixture, slightly press in the centre to make the cake rise evenly and stand the cake on a layer of coarse crushed salt on a baking tin (or cookie sheet). This will prevent the bottom becoming too brown before the cake is cooked.

7. Have the oven preheated at Gas 4, electricity 350F. Put the cake not higher than the centre of the oven - just below if possible. Lower the heat at once to Gas 2, electricity 300F for one hour, then lower the heat to Gas 1, electricity 275F. The cake will take from 5 to 6 hours to cook. Test with a warmed fine skewer or knitting needle after 5 hours.

8. After removing from the oven leave it in the tin for half an hour, then turn out onto wire rack, remove the paper. After about 12 hours, wrap in double sheets of greaseproof paper and store in a tin with tightly fitting lid until required for icing.

If preferred, the cake can be baked at Gas 3, electricity 325F for 1 hour, then turned to Gas 1 electricity 275F for the rest of the time.

MY TIP: I made the cakes in mid-October and wrapped them in brandy-soaked cheesecloth in tightly closed containers, removing and resoaking the cloths (in brandy) and rewrapping them a couple of times before I did the marzipan and icing a few days before Christmas.

ICING THE CAKE: - in two stages

ALMOND PASTE (Marzipan)

12 oz ground almonds (3 cups)
6 oz castor sugar (3/4 cup) (or fine fruit sugar)
6 oz sieved icing sugar (1 1/2 cups)
3 egg whites
few drops almond essence
3 TBS apricot jam, sieved

ROYAL ICING - (three days later)

4 egg whites
2 lbs icing sugar, sieved (7 to 8 cups)
4 teasp lemon juice
2 teasp glycerine

1. Mix almonds and sugar in a bowl, then blend in egg whites and almond essence to make a soft paste. Knead until it is smooth, then divide into three equal portions.

2. Roll one piece onto a sugared board to an 8-inch circle. Roll remaining two-thirds to a strip the same depth as cake, and long enough to go all the way around the edge.

3. Brush the sides of cake with apricot jam. Press long strip around sides and press firmly to join. Place circle of paste on top of cake. Allow to dry for at least three days before icing.

4. Whisk egg whites for royal icing until they become frothy. Add sugar, a tablespoon at a time, and beat well after each addition. Finally beat in lemon juice and glycerine. To prevent the icing hardening, cover bowl with a damp cloth.

5. Spread icing thickly over top and round sides of cake and smooth flat. Leave for a day to set and then decorate with red ribbon around sides.

Tip: Using glycerine in the icing ensures that it is not hard. The lemon juice adds flavour and helps tp make a softer icing.

Source: The Margaret Powell Cookery Book - London 1970.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

Now it's time for dessert. Andy made pistachio pudding. We'll have that with some of Pam's pecans, seedless grapes and whipped cream - oh and one of the chocolate chip cookies from this afternoon.