Cynthia D. Bertelsen's Blog, page 9
February 26, 2022
Carnevale Cometh: Calzone, Yum Yum
What of calzone? And its cousin panzerotti? As cousins will often do, both look alike, except for size. And both end up seated at the communal table for celebrations like Carnevale. Calzone comes from a Latin word, calceus, meaning shoe, and may have been in used in everyday speech beginning around 1170. Today, the accepted … More Carnevale Cometh: Calzone, Yum Yum
February 25, 2022
Carnevale Cometh: Cenci by Any Other Name Would Taste as Sweet as Wine…
Hereupon, a whole host of absurd figures surrounded him, pretending to sympathize in his mishap. Clowns and party-colored harlequins; orang-outangs; bear-headed, bull-headed, and dog-headed individuals; faces that would have been human, but for their enormous noses; one terrific creature, with a visage right in the centre of his breast; and all other imaginable kinds of …
February 24, 2022
Carnivale Cometh, Again: Sumptuous Lasagne di Carnevale
And now for the food of Carnival, as interpreted by cooks in what is now Italy. (See previous post on Carnival for more history.) Greasy, fatty, protein-rich, oozing with cheese or sugar, the dishes created for Martedi Grasso (Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday) served a higher purpose than merely feeding hungry stomachs: the severe Lenten proscriptions … More Carnivale Cometh, Again: Sumptuous Lasagne di Carnevale
February 23, 2022
Carnevale Cometh, and Lent Beckons
Soon the streets of Venice will overflow with a flood – not of water, as usual – but of tourists and food. For soon the rituals of Carnevale, or Mardi Gras (also called Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday ) will once more surge into popular culture. The official date of Mardi Gras in 2022 falls … More Carnevale Cometh, and Lent Beckons
February 20, 2022
“Stoves & Suitcases” Book Trailer!
Take a girl with an iffy start in life. Mix in wanderlust and cooking. And lots of books. Add a dollop of yearning for home and belonging. Knead in a pinch of self-discovery. Let rise and ripen. The result is Cynthia D. Bertelsen’s Stoves & Suitcases: Searching for Home in the World’s Kitchens, a reflective … More “Stoves & Suitcases” Book Trailer!
February 7, 2022
Petits Propos Culinaires, an Oft-Overlooked and Unobtainable Tool Now Available in Digital
In these days of plague, I’ve spent much time thinking about the past. Not so much my own past as that of England. The runaway popularity of “Downton Abbey” and the resurgence of interest in Jane Austen contributed to a new rabbit hole I’m climbing down. And maybe too a little curiosity about the Black … More Petits Propos Culinaires, an Oft-Overlooked and Unobtainable Tool Now Available in Digital
January 24, 2022
Down the Rabbit Hole: Wandering through an Amazing Maze of Links
A long time ago, like many children, I read Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. The White Rabbit always intrigued me. Walt Disney’s interpretation of the character, with his twitching, nervous upper lip and hoppity movements, made me laugh. As did his habit of clutching his timepiece, which I called a grandfather watch. Just like the … More Down the Rabbit Hole: Wandering through an Amazing Maze of Links
January 11, 2022
Chocolate Cake for Imaginary Lives: Genevieve Jenner’s Brilliant Short Story Collection
British author Genevieve Jenner‘s debut collection of food-related short stories – Chocolate Cake for Imaginary Lives (Deixis Press, March 2022) – promises a delectable and unusual reading experience for those seeking tales of the intersection of food and life. Jenner offers up 38 stories, some taking as long to read as mixing dry ingredients together, … More Chocolate Cake for Imaginary Lives: Genevieve Jenner’s Brilliant Short Story Collection
December 31, 2021
Cabbage and Black-Eyed Peas, Oh My! A New Year’s Tradition in the South
New Year’s Day, coming up fast. Planning your menu, are you? There’s a good reason to hesitate, to take your time, because there’s really only one thing to eat that day. Black-eyed peas, a gift from a part of Africa ruled by the French for a long time. They were there as early as 1659 at St. … More Cabbage and Black-Eyed Peas, Oh My! A New Year’s Tradition in the South
December 15, 2021
Santa: The Magic. The Man. The Myth.
Santa is a magical creature. Santa is a man who lived in third-century Turkey (then called Lycia). Santa is a mythological being. Happily, Santa can be all three … The Magic: He flies through the night sky with the greatest of ease, in his reindeer-drawn sleigh. He knows where I live, the white house on … More Santa: The Magic. The Man. The Myth.
